Nothing beats Round Engines
Data from McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920
[29]
General characteristics- Crew: One
- Length: 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m)
- Wingspan: 50 ft 0¼ in (15.25 m)
- Height: 15 ft 8¼ in (4.78 m)
- Wing area: 400.3 ft² (37.19 m²)
- Empty weight: 11,968 lb (5,429 kg)
- Loaded weight: 18,106 lb (8,213 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Wright R-3350-26WA radial engine, 2,700 hp (2,000 kW)
Performance- Maximum speed: 322 mph (280 kn, 518 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)
- Cruise speed: 198 mph (172 kn, 319 km/h)
- Range: 1,316 mi (1,144 nmi, 2,115 km)
- Service ceiling: 28,500 ft (8,685 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
- Wing loading: 45 lb/ft² (220 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (250 W/kg)
Armament
- Guns: 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) M2 cannon
- Other: Up to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of ordnance on 15 external hardpoints including bombs, torpedoes, mine dispensers, unguided rockets, or gun pods
The A-1 Skyraider received various nicknames including: "Spad" and "Super Spad" (derived from the aircraft's AD designation, its relative longevity in service and an
allusion to the "
Spad" aircraft of
World War I), "Able Dog" (phonetic AD), "the Destroyer", "Hobo" (radio call sign of the USAF
1st Air Commando/1st Special Operations Squadron), "Firefly" (a call sign of the
602nd ACS/SOS), "Zorro" (the call sign of the
22nd SOS), "The Big Gun," "Old Faithful," "Old Miscellaneous," "Fat Face" (AD-5/A-1E version, side-by-side seating), "Guppy" (AD-5W version), "Q-Bird" (AD-1Q/AD-5Q versions), "Flying Dumptruck" (A-1E), "Sandy" (the
602nd ACS/SOS call sign for Combat Search And Rescue helicopter escort), and "Crazy Water Buffalo" (South Vietnamese nickname).
While the Skyraider is not as iconic as some other aircraft, it has been featured in some Vietnam-era films such as
The Green Berets (1968),
Flight of the Intruder (1991) flying as Sandy escort, and in
We Were Soldiers (2002) in the ground support role. The Skyraider also played a computer-generated role in Werner Herzog's
Rescue Dawn (2007).
[13] Skyraiders were also featured in the classic Korean war movie
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1953). A formation of U.S. Navy A-1s stood in for
U.S. Army Air Force P-47s in the 1962 film
The Longest Day
Related developmentComparable aircraft