1:48 Douglas A-1J Skyraider
Item #61073

About the Douglas A-1J Skyraider U.S. Air Force

Also going by the names Dauntless II, AD, A-1 Able Dog, and Spad,

the Douglas Skyraider saw almost 30 years of service. The
Skyraider's development started in June 1944. Not completed in
time for WWII, its first combat came with the outbreak of the
Korean War in June 1950. The first production version to roll out

of the Douglas factory was designated the AD-1. Twelve years and
seven versions later, over 3200 Skyraiders had been produced.

Among those, the AD-6 version, also known as "Able Dog Six", was
produced in the greatest numbers. The next and final version of
the Skyraider, the AD-7, was extremely identical to the AD-6, but

it had reinforced wing spars and wing fittings, as well as the
strongest landing gear of all the variants. The AD-7 housed the
new wright R-3350-26WB engine, which enabled a top speed of 285
knots. Due to a directive to standardize the designation of Navy
and Air Force aircraft, AD-6 and AD-7 became known as A-1H and
A-1J respectively.

In 1965, when U.S. air operations in Vietnam became more
aggressive, literally hundreds of Skyraiders, including the A-1J,

were deployed to the 14th and 56th Special Operations Wings
(SOW). Armed with Mk.82 and Mk.117 bombs, 20mm wing-mounted
cannons, and rocket launchers, the Skyraiders were used in a wide

variety of combat missions.