EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016: Warbirds - Douglas Skyraider

Fred Harl and Carmelo Turdo

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 attracted some heavy-hitting warbirds, and one of the most impressive was the massive Douglas Skyraider.  The Skyraider first flew in March of 1945, and thus missed combat in World War II.  It did prove to be a successful naval attack aircraft in the Korean War, and later served in the U.S. forces and South Vietnamese Air Force in Southeast Asia into the 1970s.  The Skyraider was used in the close air support role, delivering ordinance while assisting U.S. combat search and rescue forces during the Vietnam War.

Featured here are three Skyraiders.  Bad News, an AD-1 owned by the Warbird Heritage Foundation and based in Waukegan, IL.  The other two, AD-6 (500) and AD-5W (703), are owned by the Cavanaugh Flight Museum and saw service in the 1960s and 1970s.  They have very interesting service histories.