A-1 Skyraider USAF

A-1 Skyraider airplane model. In the years following the Korean War, Skyraiders continued to serve the fleet in multiple roles, the roar of their engines increasingly surrounded by the thunder of jets on carrier decks. Some AD pilots trained for the possibility of nuclear war, flying so-called Sandblower missions, long-range flights to deliver nuclear bombs at low altitude that involved such an extended amount of time in the cockpit that aviators nicknamed them “Butt Busters.” By the time of the Vietnam War, the A-4 Skyhawk was increasingly the mainstay of the Navy’s carrier-based attack arsenal. However, Navy Skyraiders participated in the first strikes against North Vietnam in response to the Tonkin Gulf incident in August 1964, and continued flying attack missions until 1968, when the increasingly sophisticated antiaircraft defenses were deemed too hazardous.

Scale: 1/40. Wingspan 15 inches, Length 11 3/4 inches.