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CD48189 - 1/48 USAF A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam


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CD48189 will be a 1/48 sheet for USAF A-1 Skyraiders in Vietnam : mostly single-seat A-1Js but I may be persuaded to include an A-1E or two that were not covered in CD48046 (which will be reprinted in a few months). 

Edited by KursadA
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Would love to see Richard Drury's (author of My Secret War) 'TC 257' Midnight Cowboy/Sopwith Camel done correctly.   Another sheet manufacturer offered this up but the tail codes were way oversized.  His plane is depicted in the cover painting for the book "The United States Air Force Search and Rescue in Southeast Asia".  https://www.amazon.com/United-States-Search-Rescue-Southeast/dp/1782664289

I have both books if you need references of his plane.

Another link to a better pic of the above book cover.   https://boxartden.com/gallery/index.php/Boxart-Collection/Artists/Mike-Machat/Douglas-A-1H-Skyraider-960

 

Edited by Drifterdon
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I'd love to see A-1H 52-139738 "The Proud American" which probably has one of the most amazing combat records of any aircraft of the war.  It was used on a Medal of Honor mission, an Air Force Cross mission and was the last Skyraider shot down in the Vietnam War.

 

On September 1st 1968 while assigned to the 602nd SOS out of Nakhon Phanom, 738 was being flown by Squadron Commander Lt. Col. William Jones on a SAR as Sandy 01 escorting rescue helicopters trying to locate and rescue Capt. Wilson, the pilot of a downed USAF F-4C Phantom with the callsign "Carter 2".  The Phantom had gone down 20 miles NW of Dong Hoi in North Vietnam.  The backseater had already been captured, but although badly injured, the pilot had not yet been found by the enemy surrounding him.  While locating the airman, Lt. Col. Jones engaged in a gunnery duel with a multi-barrel NVA AA gun nearby.  738 was struck behind the pilot's seat setting off one of the rockets of the Yankee seat extraction system and setting fire to much of the fuselage from the cockpit aft.  Jones attempted to bail out using the Yankee system, but only managed to jettison the canopy.  Unable to bail out, Jones was also unable to communicate because the aircraft radios had been damaged in the fire.  Badly burned, Jones returned 738 to NKP where he belly landed the aircraft and then insisted in providing accurate location information on the downed pilot before receiving medical attention.  Jones died in a civilian plane crash in Virginia in November 1969...a year before his widow was presented with his Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon on August 6, 1970.

 

After being repaired and resuming combat service, on June 2, 1972 738 was being flown by Capt. Ronald E. Smith on another epic SAR mission.  Capt. Roger Locher and his pilot Maj. Robert Lodge had shot down 3 MiGs, when during the swirling combats over Hanoi on May 10, 1972 his F-4D "Oyster 01" was shot down by an NVAF Shengyang J-6 (Mig-19).  While Maj. Lodge died in the crash, Capt. Locher successfully ejected and evaded capture only to find himself north of the Red River only 40 miles from Hanoi and beyond any hope of rescue.  After managing to hide by day and move by night, Locher covered almost 12 miles across North Vietnam in 23 days before contacting friendly aircraft using his survival radio.  On June 1/2 1972 Capt. Smith was Sandy 01 in A-1H 738 leading a rescue force of 119 aircraft to bring Capt. Locher back alive.  Smith located Locher's position, directed bomb runs to suppress enemy defenses and then escorted the Jolly Green Giant rescue helo that pulled Capt. Locher out of North Vietnam.  Smith, and the pilot of the HH-53C Jolly Green pilot Capt. Dale Stovall were both subsequently awarded the Air Force Cross for the rescue.  Locher's recovery was the deepest rescue made in North Vietnam during the war...and was only 5 miles from Yen Bai airfield, one of the MiG bases surrounding Hanoi.

 

A-1H 738 was shot down on a strike mission over Laos on September 28, 1972 while being flown by 1 Lt. Lance Smith who bailed out and was rescued.  It was the last Skyraider lost during the Vietnam war.

 

There are several photos of 738 in combat.  Unfortunately they're all too big to post here.

 

Cameron

 

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Cameron,

The Proud American, 738, is another great example for this sheet.  

Another really historic Skyraider that would be great so see is "Firebird", TC 780.   It was involved in the SAR for Lt Col, Iceal Hambleton (Bat 21).  I've seen this decal in 1/32 but not in 1/48.

Don

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On 6/4/2020 at 2:03 AM, KursadA said:

CD48189 will be a 1/48 sheet for USAF A-1 Skyraiders in Vietnam : mostly single-seat A-1Js but I may be persuaded to include an A-1E or two that were not covered in CD48046 (which will be reprinted in a few months). 

Darn, I just bought a new Tamiya 1/48 A-1J by accident (I didn’t check the stash). 

Collin

Edited by Collin
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1 hour ago, 82Whitey51 said:

VA-145 Swordsmen, A-1J of LTjg Dieter Dengler off the Ranger in 1966...of "Rescue Dawn" fame. 🤙

 

 

That would be a great choice, too - I intended to make this a USAF-only sheet at first but may consider changing the scope by adding a few worthwhile Navy Spads like this one.

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1 hour ago, KursadA said:

 

That would be a great choice, too - I intended to make this a USAF-only sheet at first but may consider changing the scope by adding a few worthwhile Navy Spads like this one.


Or maybe a second, stand alone Navy Spad sheet???? 😉

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  • 1 month later...

Kursad,

if you haven’t already, you should check out Richard E Diller’s Book “Firefly - A Skyraiders Story”

 

https://www.amazon.com/Firefly-Skyraiders-Story-Americas-Secret/dp/1457519690/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Firefly+diller&qid=1595392891&sr=8-1

 

Some great pics of his personal mount “Kawliga” and the nose art. Also a great read.

 

David

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  • 3 months later...
2 hours ago, KursadA said:

It looks like the drawing of a beetle and "Die Maikafer" ("The Beetle" in German) written on it. 


Oh cool, thanks!  Looks like a unique and different subject.  I’ve never seen that plane before.

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Does anyone have photos of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Firebird" where the tail codes are visible? Any high resolution scans of the nose art from books would be very helpful, too. I looked everywhere online, but I am hoping there are some photos in a book somewhere.

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