This Day in Aviation History
March 18th, 1945
First flight of the Douglas XBT2D-1; the prototype of the the Douglas Skyraider.
 
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly AD) was 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 (USN), the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the United States Air Force (USAF), and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Air Force of the Republic of Vietnam (VNAF), and others. In U.S. service it was finally replaced by the LTV A-7 Corsair II swept wing subsonic jet in the early 1970s….
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Douglas A-1 Skyraider: http://gstv.us/1MLXUsZ
 
YouTube, Discovery Channel Great Planes Douglas A 1 Skyraider:
http://gstv.us/1Fz3bUl
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/21ybpUO
 
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