The Douglas Skyraider was a propeller-driven bomber and ground attack weapons system, unglamorous but almost perfectly suited to its various roles.
In the closing years of World War II it was realized that fighter airplanes had become so advanced, so speedy, that the great weight of the rear gunner, his turret, and his equipment in torpedo and dive bombers were redundant. Douglas was given a contract to construct a single-engined, single seat bomber and attack airplane for use aboard Navy carriers, and they came up with a winner.
It was a big airplane with a radial engine, and it could carry a huge load of ordinance -- a better bomb load than a B-17, or a nuclear weapon. First flown in 1945, it was finally retired after service in Korea and Vietnam, sometime in the 1960s.
The narration is pretty candid. The notorious Curtis Helldiver is disparaged. And the Skyraider's chief weakness is pointed out -- it was slow.
But imagine one of the jobs they did in Vietnam: helicopter escort for downed pilots. When the downed pilot was located by radio, the job of the Skyraider pilots was to fly low circles around the area, trying to draw enemy fire so that the guns could be located and attacked, and the area made safe for the helicopters rescue of the pilot on the ground. Some job!
There is a scene that lays out the power of the Skyraider in a feature film, "The Bridges at Toko-Ri." Worth catching, though saddening.
In the closing years of World War II it was realized that fighter airplanes had become so advanced, so speedy, that the great weight of the rear gunner, his turret, and his equipment in torpedo and dive bombers were redundant. Douglas was given a contract to construct a single-engined, single seat bomber and attack airplane for use aboard Navy carriers, and they came up with a winner.
It was a big airplane with a radial engine, and it could carry a huge load of ordinance -- a better bomb load than a B-17, or a nuclear weapon. First flown in 1945, it was finally retired after service in Korea and Vietnam, sometime in the 1960s.
The narration is pretty candid. The notorious Curtis Helldiver is disparaged. And the Skyraider's chief weakness is pointed out -- it was slow.
But imagine one of the jobs they did in Vietnam: helicopter escort for downed pilots. When the downed pilot was located by radio, the job of the Skyraider pilots was to fly low circles around the area, trying to draw enemy fire so that the guns could be located and attacked, and the area made safe for the helicopters rescue of the pilot on the ground. Some job!
There is a scene that lays out the power of the Skyraider in a feature film, "The Bridges at Toko-Ri." Worth catching, though saddening.