page_title: Douglas A-1 Skyraider
section_title: Vietnam War
hierarchical_section_title: Douglas A-1 Skyraider / Operational history / Vietnam War
caption_attribution_description: English: Four Douglas A-1E Skyraider aircraft fly in formation over South Vietnam on way to target on 25 June 1965. The aircraft were assigned to the 34th Tactical Group based at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. The A-1E 133899 was lost on 9 June 1966, 132633 on 10 November 1966, and 132638 on 4 May 1967. (U.S. Air Force photo)
context_page_description: The Douglas A-1 Skyraider is an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. The Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career; it became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter.
  It was operated by the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force, and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, and others. It remained in U.S. service until the early 1970s.
context_section_description: As American involvement in the Vietnam War began, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many carrier air wings, although it was planned to be replaced by the A-6A Intruder as part of the general switch to jet aircraft. Skyraiders from Constellation and Ticonderoga participated in the first U.S. Navy strikes against North Vietnam on 5 August 1964 as part of Operation Pierce Arrow in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, striking against fuel depots at Vinh, with one Skyraider from Ticonderoga damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and a second from Constellation shot down, killing its pilot.
  During the war, U.S. Navy Skyraiders shot down two Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 jet fighters: one on 20 June 1965, by Lieutenant Clinton B. Johnson and LTJG Charles W. Hartman III of VA-25; and one on 9 October 1966 by LTJG William T. Patton of VA-176. Using their cannons, this was the first gun kill of the Vietnam War. While on his very first mission, Navy pilot LTJG Dieter Dengler took damage to his A-1H over Vietnam on 1 February 1966, and crash-landed in Laos.
  As they were released from U.S. Navy service, Skyraiders were introduced into the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF). Skyraiders were also used by Air Force Special Operations Command for search and rescue air cover. They were also used by the USAF to perform one of the Skyraider's most famous roles — the "Sandy" helicopter escort on combat rescues. On 10 March 1966, USAF Major Bernard F. Fisher flew an A-1E mission and was awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing Major "Jump" Myers at A Shau Special Forces Camp. USAF Colonel William A. Jones III piloted an A-1H on 1 September 1968 mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In that mission, despite damage to his aircraft and suffering serious burns, he returned to his base and reported the position of a downed U.S. airman.
  After November 1972, all A-1s in U.S. service in Southeast Asia were transferred to the RVNAF. The Skyraider in Vietnam pioneered the concept of tough, survivable aircraft with long loiter times and large ordnance loads. The USAF lost 201 Skyraiders to all causes in Southeast Asia, while the Navy lost 65 to all causes. Of the 266 lost A-1s, five were shot down by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and three were shot down in air-to-air combat; two by VPAF MiG-17s.
  On the night of 29 August 1964, the first A-1E Skyraider was shot down and the pilot killed near Bien Hoa Air Base; it was flown by Capt. Richard D. Goss from the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group. The second A-1 was shot down on 31 March 1965 piloted by USN LTJG Gerald W. McKinley from the USS Hancock on a bombing run over North Vietnam. He was reported missing, presumed dead. The third A-1 was shot down on 29 April 1966, and Pilot Capt. Grant N. Tabor, was lost on 19 April 1967; both were from the 602 Air Commando Squadron. The fifth A-1 Skyraider was from Navy Squadron VA-25 flying a ferry flight from Naval Air Station Cubi Point (Philippines) to USS Coral Sea and was lost to two Chinese MiG-17 on 14 February 1968. Lieutenant (j.g.) Joseph P. Dunn, USN, had flown too close to the Chinese island of Hainan, and had been intercepted. Lieutenant Dunn's A-1H Skyraider 134499 (Canasta 404) was the last U.S. Navy A-1 lost in the war. He was observed to survive the ejection and deploy his raft, but was never found. Initially listed as missing in action, he is now listed as killed in action and posthumously promoted to the rank of Commander. Shortly thereafter, A-1 Skyraider naval squadrons transitioned to the A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II or Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.
  In contrast to the Korean War, fought a decade earlier, the U.S. Air Force used the naval A-1 Skyraider for the first time in Vietnam. As the Vietnam War progressed, USAF A-1s were painted in camouflage, while USN A-1 Skyraiders were gray/white in color; again, in contrast to the Korean War, when A-1s were painted dark blue.
  In October 1965, to highlight the dropping of the six millionth pound of ordnance, Commander Clarence J. S
caption: A-1E Skyraiders fly in formation over South Vietnam on way to target on 25 June 1965. The aircraft are assigned to the 34th Tactical Group, based at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam.
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