Douglas Skyraider

Купить бумажную книгу и читать

Douglas Skyraider

By Berkely R. Jackson, Tohoru Maruyama, Hideki Yamauchi

Publisher: Aero Publishers 1969 144 Pages

ISBN: 0816853037

PDF 19 MB

An airplane and its pilot assume a personality and partnership that is unequalled anywhere in the relationship between man and machine. A pilot has to know his airplane and respect her with all the faith in the world, for he will be dependent upon her for the protection he needs in time of danger. His airplane will be his protector and his weapon in battle, and only his knowledge of the aircraft and combat tactics will be with him in combat. This is a feeling that has been expressed by many pilots of the Douglas-SKYRAIDER since it was first flown in 1944.

Born among the ideas of jet_aircraft, the propeller-driven SKYRAIDER seemed to have very little chance for a successful future as an operational aircraft. Still, it was designed, tested and accepted by the U. S. Navy, where it would write a part of Naval Aviation history never to be equalled or matched by any other aircraft.

The Douglas SKYRAIDER is the last of the piston-powered attack workhorses of the United States Navy carrier-based aircraft. It will be long remembered by Naval Aviators along with the SBD Dauntless, F6F Hellcat and the TBFAvenger, which gained so much fame during World War II. Her animal-like characteristics and stubby profile will long be remembered by the pilots who flew her and by the personnel who handled and maintained her. Known by many names to different people, the one that fits her best is that of "Able Dog" which she had earned so ably. This "can do" aircraft of the Fleet, the SKYRAIDER, was sometimes referred to as the "Spad," named so because it was one of the oldest Naval combat aircraft in operation. The "Able Dog" was derived from her designation: AD, Attack Douglas, "Able Dog."

Given many classes or duties to perform, the SKYRAIDER did them all so well that it is still in operation with the Fleet and its masses of jet aircraft.