Maybe a stupid question, but just out of curiosity what’s inside an AD-1 Skyraider? I’ve never really looked at them before, but I have a calendar in my office that shows a good picture of one (AF 26-959 “Naked Fanny”) and there is a hatch on the left side. It’s almost man-sized, maybe a little small but a man could get through it, and I just wondered what is in there since the AD-1 isn’t a cargo or passenger plane by any stretch of the imagination.
The Skyraider was an all around work horse.
Yes. It WAS a transport in a way.
But the access door you are referring to, was for the electronics crew when the Navy used the 'Raider as an AEW platform.
There were many forms of the old bird. Probably one of the most versatile planes ever.
A crew of three was generally in order for the AEW version. Pilot (naturally) and two electronics operators in the lower and center portion of the plane.
If my scanner was working I would scan a picture I have with the door open and the crew getting ready for a mission. Sorry. [:(]
Randie [C):-)]
Naked Fanny was the nickname for the USAF A-1 Sandy base in Laos, I can’t remember spelling, but the real name was something like Nakon Phnom. Somebody will correct it, I’m sure. I read that at least some varients of AD could carry either four or eight fully outfitted paratroopers in that cramped rear compartment. If you’ve been up close to one, you’ll see how that’s not far-fetched. By the way, somebody know how’s the Tamiya 1/48 kit of this plane? They are really fun to build (the old Monogram one) because the combinations and number of ordnance you can hang on it is almost limitless, as long as it was a non-guided munition, and color schemes for Navy versions were really gaudy. Does anyone remember a Revell release (I only saw it in History Makers series, grossly overpriced). It was in something like 1/30th scale and had recessed rivets and panel lines as well as working EVERYTHING. It was AF version. I can’t remember any original Revell release of this, when or what branch of service it represented.
"Naked Phannie’ was assigned to the 22 SOS at NKP, Thailand. There were four A-E’s modified with Tv camera mounted in the right wing. Under ‘Tropic Moon’ they flew night intradicition missions in Loas. Tail code “TT”, black bottoms and camo tops.
See, I told you someone would correct me.[:D]
That’s cool guys. The only ones I had ever seen pix of were ground support variants, I guess. They were all carrying lots of ordnance for that type of role. I had no idea they had AEW variants of them, and that many paratroopers in the rear must have truly cramped them up. Looking at the picture on my calendar, I guess you could do it But I’d hate to be one of them.
Didfal, the picture of Naked Fanny on my calendar (admittedly it’s most likely a rebuild of the original) does show the tail code TT and a camo top side, but the bottom appears to is gray. I don’t doubt that it was black in SEA but it’s gray now [:)]
Thanks for the info guys. That’s real interesting.
"Topic Moon’ was an extention of “Igloo White” and “Sky Spot” ops.Everything was tried to stop the trucks along the trail. While in Germany I got orders to go to Thailand only to find out I was gong to NKP which was closer to Hanoi and right on the Mekong River. The closest thing to a ‘modern’ a/c was OV-10’s or ‘Jolly Greens’, the rest were T-28s, A-26K, C123Ks and A1s. A true ‘Jungle’ AF.
There were many versions of the Skyraider (duh). All but the AD-5 (A-1E) had a single seat cockpit. There were at least three different variations that had crew positions in the fuselage just aft of the wing and accessed by a small door in the fuselage on one or both sides - the Airborne Early Warning (W) model with the big radome on the belly, a night attack variant (N) with a small radome on the wing, and an Electronic Counter Measures/Reconaissance (Q) variant. This compartment was big enough in the W and the N for two crewmen, side-by-side, operating whatever gear was applicable to the mission. The Q versions retained the fuselage mounted dive brakes and the entry door was on the right side only, forward of the dive brakes. These carried a single crewman.
The AD-5 was the widebody Skyraider with side-by-side seating in the cockpit. It came in various flavors with specific mission equipment as above, plus a utility version that could seat four comfortably in the area behind the cockpit (later dubbed the “blue room”), for a total of five passengers plus the pilot. All access was through the canopy - there was no separate fuselage door. The US Air Force used only the utility version, equipped with dual controls.
I think the single seat cockpit/crew compartment versions in private hands today are former AD-4Ns.
Again, thanks guys. That’s real interesting. Having never really looked at a Skyraider, other than to occasionally recognize them when I saw them, I’d never really paid much attention to them.
The picture on my calendar calls it an AD-1 but this site:
http://www.warbirdalley.com/a1.htm
shows the same bird from the opposite side and calls it an AD-4. In that respect, I suspect Tailspinturtle is probably right. That picture doesn’t show the cockpit very well, but the one on my calendar does and it is a single-seat cockpit I’m pretty sure.
No question - It’s an AD-4N masquerading as a USAF A-1H…
Thanks! I “Revised” the picture on my calendar [:)]
you can see decent photos of the cockpit here:
http://gra.midco.net/mlgould/
sharkskin,
The origional Revell AD was 1/40 scale and origionally released in blue plastic as a Korean War AD-2. That was back in the late 60s or early 70s. Was re-released for a little while in the early 90s as a late model (Vietnam) AD (Both Navy and Air Force I believe). There was one of the origional releases on E-bay a couple of months ago.
If you go to the IPMSStockholm website they had some really good Skyraider walkaround pics on there