A real bomb-hauler, the A-1 Skyraider was designed at a time when jets were taking over. However, the Skyraider was such a good airplane that it served in Korea but also in Vietnam and in Algeria. Strong, capable of carrying a heavy load and versatile, Skyraiders served various airforces into the 1980s.
I first drew the Skyraider in January 2007, which makes it one of my older and lower-quality models. Recently, I was asked to draw a French “Sky”so I had to improve the initial model. This is the result:
1. AD-4NA Skyraider BuNo 126901 of the French EC 1/21 “Aurès-Némentcha”.
2. A-1H Skyraider of the VA-115 Eagles on board USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) in October 1965. Although they were aging aircraft, Skyraiders flew 23 campaigns during the Vietnam war.
3. This A-1H was seen at Los Alamitos in 1966, after VA-176 made its one and only combat tour in Vietnam on board USS Intrepid.
4. VA-65’s A-1H Skyraiders were on board USS Enterprise for Operation Sea Orbit. This operation was an around-the-world voyage of a task force composed of all nuclear powered ships. The sixty-five day cruise was accomplished without logistic support, which demonstrated the capability of these ships to steam to any area in the world and project power without support.
5. VA-216 “Black Diamonds” flew all late Skyraider variants, from the AD-4 to the AD-7 before transitioning to A-4s in 1959. This AD-4NA (A-1D) was operating from USS Yorktown in July 1956.