The Air Force Museum Gets Set To Honor A-1H Skyraider Pilots

This week, former A-1H Skyraider drivers will reunite at the museum to celebrate the dedication of the single seat Skyraider.

The National Museum of the Air Force (NMUSAF) has had an A-1E Skyraider on display since 1968. That aircraft is the exact tail number, 132649 that Major Bernard Fisher was flying on March 10, 1966 when he landed at the enemy held airstrip in Ashau valley and rescued a fellow A-1 pilot who had crash landed on that airstrip. Major Fisher was awarded the Medal of Honor for this daring and astonishing accomplishment.

Within two years of Major Fisher’s mission, about the same time his aircraft went on display at the Museum, the A-1H and A-1J became available to USAF Skyraider units in SEA as US Naval aviation units upgraded to jet aircraft. Unlike the two seat A-1E, The A-1H is a single cockpit aircraft and the visibility, especially out the right side, is far superior to the A-1E. In addition, the A-1H is an aerodynamically “cleaner” aircraft, thus able to fly longer missions with the same amount of fuel.

A more capable Skyraider

Until 1968, the “Sandy” mission (SAR helicopter escort and SAR on-scene command) was performed by the A-1E with outstanding results, but incurred heavy losses. The newer, more capable, A-1H assumed the SAR role in 1968 with all four USAF A-1 squadrons flying Sandy missions.

What is amazing is that even though it has been 50 years since the last USAF A-1H Skyraider took to the air on a Sandy mission, there has NEVER been an A-1H displayed in the Museum, but that is soon to change! The Museum has had an A-1H in storage since 1997. It was in sorry shape with many missing parts, especially exterior panels that were no longer available.

The A-1H Restoration

Sometime in 1997, an A-1H and A-1E Skyraider arrived at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (aka Boneyard) near Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ. Both crated aircraft were painted overall with varying shades of green. They were Skryaiders abandoned by the VNAF on South Vietnam following the fall of Saigon in April 1975. The speculation is that they were seized by US Customs after they were being exported from Vietnam by an unknown party.

Sun and sand at “the Boneyard” in Arizona in 1997

The A-1E wound up at the Hill Aerospace Museum near Ogden, Utah and is currently on display there as a tribute to then Major Bernie Fisher’s Medal of Honor mission. The A-1H made its way to NMUSAF. It was uncrated and partially assembled, but then languished in the storage hangar for several years.

Restoration effort were not begun until about 2011 when it was moved back to the Restoration Hangar. These efforts were short lived, however when it was discovered that there numerous missing parts, most notably several armored external panels aft of the engine cowl. Since these parts were not readily available, the restoration effort was shelved and the Skyraider was relocated back to the storage hangar.

In early 2019, I became increasingly frustrated and decided to act since there still was no plan for the restoration of the A-1H. One of my training classmates at Hurlburt Field for our A-1 checkouts was another first lieutenant by the name to Lance Smith. Lance had all right assignments, including non-flying assignments, and retired as a 4-Star General. I thought that might help get us some “traction” with NMUSAF to get the A-1H restored.  Boy howdy did it get traction.

A proposal for a Skyraider A-1H exhibit

A team of three former and one current Skyraider pilot visited the Museum in November 2019 and pitched a proposal that was ultimately accepted and acted on. The proposal was that the A-1H would be restored AND would become part of a larger more inclusive display exhibit titled Search and Rescue in Southeast Asia (SAR in SEA).  The A-1 Skyraider Association and its members and friends raised the necessary funds for the restoration of the A-1H. There will be a dedication ceremony on 18 November (invited guests only) and The Proud American will be on public display thereafter.

Painted To represent a heroic mission

The Museum’s A-1H will be marked as A-1H 139738. This aircraft was flown by LtCol William A. Jones III  on 1 September 1968 during a SAR mission for a downed F-4D crew that was down in southern North Vietnam The Skyraider bore the TT tail code of the 602nd SOS. The downed pilot was alive and needed rescue, while the WSO did not survive the Phantom’s ejection sequence. Jones located the survivor but on one of his passes over the survivor, he took heavy automatic weapons fire and his aircraft was damaged to the extent that the Yankee escape system would not function.

His cockpit filled with smoke and flames and his canopy was jettisoned as he tried to extract, but he could not leave the aircraft. In severe pain, be signaled his wingman to take the lead and they were able to reach their home base. After he landed, he refused treatment and told the intelligence personnel where the downed pilot was located. This information was relayed to the Sandys who remained in the SAR area and a successful rescue was accomplished. LtCol Jones was awarded the Medal of Honor for this mission.

Skyraider Nose art: The Proud American

This same A-1H now marked with the TC tail code of the 1st SOS and the nose art of The Proud American, was flown by Captain Ron Smith as a Sandy on one of the most astonishing SAR missions during the entire Vietnam War. An F-4D from the Triple Nickel (555th TFS) was downed on 10 May 1972, the first day of Operation Linebacker. and Roger Locher, Callsign Oyster 01B was down, but alive and evading the enemy. He was about 40 nm from Hanoi and north of Yen Bai Mig base near the Red River.

Over the next 20 days, he moved north to higher terrain away from the Red River. On 1 June, he heard SAM missiles being launched and then saw two F-4s streaking west away from Hanoi. He called on his survival radio, and said “Any U.S. aircraft, if you read Oyster 1 Bravo, come up on Guard.” The call was heard by the F-4s who relayed the information King, the HC-130 that served as the Airborne SAR Command Post.  Captain Ron Smith had his Sandy flight nearby along with the Jolly Green Giant HH-53s. Smith proceeded north for a while, then directed his wingman and the Jolly Greens to stay on the safer south side of the Red River Valley in the high terrain.

Smith proceeded across the Red River and started up the other side of the valley where he was able to contact Oyster 02B. He had taken heavy fire near Yen Bai, but he was able to locate Locher’s general position. He took a longer route back to the other Sandy and Jolly Greens and knew there was no way that the Jolly Greens could get across the Red River to the survivor’s location.  Without supressing the SAMs and dealing with the MiGs at Yen Bai airfield, there was no way the SAR task force could get Locher. When the Sandy’s and Jolly Greens reached NKP, they discussed their options. They got on the phone to 7th Air Force HQ and actually discussed the task with Gen Vogt.

The decision was made to “shut down” the Linebacker strikes on the next day and put 7th Air Forces entire effort to the SAR effort for Roger Locher. On June 2, 1972, a total of 119 aircraft – from KC-135 refuelers and radar-jamming EB-66s, to F-4 escorts, F-105 Wild Weasels, A-1 Sandys, and rescue helicopters – took off to rescue one of their own. Capt Ron Smith and his wingman, Capt Buck Buchanan led the effort and it went as planned.

After the large AAA guns, Migs and Sam sites were neutralized, led by the Sandys, the Jolly Green helicopter swooped in and snatched Roger Locher out to the North Vietnam jungle. This turned out to be the furthest north successful SAR during the entire Vietnam War. For his efforts, Captain Ron Smith was awarded the Air Force Cross.

A-1H 139738 is believed to be the only fixed wing aircraft to have been flown on both a Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross mission.

A-1E and A-1H/J Differences

The USAF actually had three different Skyraider models in the two-seat side-by-side configuration and two single-seat bubble canopy models. The A-1H, though older, was essentially the same as the newer A-1J. All three two-seaters, the A-1E, the A-1E-5, and the A-1G, had the wide side-lifting canopy enclosures and a large, normally blue plexiglass covered rear compartment, dubbed the “ Blue Room.”

What differentiated the A-1E from the A-1E-5 was a complete lack of engine and flight controls in the right seat. The A-1G was essentially the same as the A-1E, albeit a slightly newer version of the A-1E. All these versions are commonly referred to as the A-1E.

With a larger front profile compared to the “sleeker” profile of the A-1H/J, there was a noticeable increase in drag and in fuel consumption. Any time you put two exactly same aircraft in the same formation, the wingman typically burns more fuel per hour because he is constantly trying to maintain the proper position, whether it be close formation or tactical formation.

In a perfect world, when the two different types were paired together on a combat mission, it would be better for the A-1E to be in the lead with the A-1H on the wing. But nearly all the time, the flight lead was more experiences and felt entitled to fly the more desirable A-1H/J while the wingman had to learn to manage his fuel better.

One of the most important differences between the A-1E and A-1H/J was the reduced visibility out the right side of the aircraft in the A-1E. The diagram below shows only a reduced downward visibility of 11 degrees, but it sure seemed to be more. So much so that when maneuvering in the target area, it tended to force us into a left turning attack pattern. Rule 1 of maneuvering was to vary your turn direction and “jink” at least every five seconds to remain unpredictable. Always turning left decreased the unpredictability and increased the chances you might get hit.