Warbird Information Exchange

Here is the USAF history of 132415.

Of the two Navy serials quoted at the start of this topic, 134630 was damaged with VA-145 on the 1st November 1956, taken to O&R Alameda where it was struck of charge, 8th March 1957.

135247 was written off with VA-196, 18th April 1963.

Here are some pics I took last Friday in the NMUSAF Restoration Hangar. The guide said the aircraft apparently contains some Russian-made parts..probably installed during her service with the SVNAF.

SN

Nice photos!

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

I had a polite e-conversation with the Curator earlier this year. He says that their best detective work hasn't produced a tail number. I asked if they had considered lightly sanding the tail or the placard area under the windscreen, as this had produced nice results on 665 "Lieutenant America"; he said they'd already tried that. I take him at his word, but I was in the resto hangar around the time Steve Nelson's photos were shot and saw no evidence of sanding. Do any of our A-1 experts know of any additional/hidden data plates that would include the serial/bureau number other than the main one in the cockpit?

He says that, absent an actual tail number, they'll try to pick a representative scheme and get her ready by next summer for the SE Asia gallery re-do.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

I doubt they were from her SVNAF service (Supported by our supply network) as they ceased to exist when the war ended. They were then absorbed into the North's AF.That is probably when the Rooskie parts were inserted.

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Cheers!

Lance Jones

[quote="Ken"]I had a polite e-conversation with the Curator earlier this year. He says that their best detective work hasn't produced a tail number. I asked if they had considered lightly sanding the tail or the placard area under the windscreen, as this had produced nice results on 665 "Lieutenant America"; he said they'd already tried that. I take him at his word, but I was in the resto hangar around the time Steve Nelson's photos were shot and saw no evidence of sanding. Do any of our A-1 experts know of any additional/hidden data plates that would include the serial/bureau number other than the main one in the cockpit?

He says that, absent an actual tail number, they'll try to pick a representative scheme and get her ready by next summer for the SE Asia gallery re-do.

Ken[/quote]
Maybe I'm being cynical, but my money would go on it being painted up in a representative scheme come what may.

As for discovering the ID, there must be something, somewhere, on a big ship like that, even if the obvious plates have all been deliberately removed by somebody..?

An old issue of Flypast had an article with a number of Skyraiders and canned engines still remaining in Vietnam. Does anyone know what ever became of them? This one does look like one of the machines in the article.

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Defending Stearmans on WIX since Jeff started badmouthing them back in 2005.

Satellite imagery appears to show these airframes still in place in Vietnam, although they looked, even in the 1999 article, to be in fairly poor shape. This A-1H, IMHO, is 99% the one pictured in that article and the A-1E beside it came over also and is now on display at the Hill AFB museum.

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

A good look at the FlyPast May 1999 issue pretty much confirms that the H-model and E-model shown sitting "complete" in a hangar at Bien Hoa AB are the two airplanes that were later photographed at AMARC and are now at Hill AFB & NMUSAF respectively. The NMUSAF has said that they have been unable to determine the serial of the H-model, yet, in other publications, they've stated that they're confident the plane was transferred from the USN to the VNAF in 1961 and it never saw service with the USAF. What's interesting is that, in my recent research, I was reminded that VNAF airplanes didn't have tailhooks. Maybe it had been a late transfer from the USAF ...

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

I examined these 2 A-1s carefully at Davis Monthan in January 1998 shortly after their arrival there in Nov 1997 whilst doing book research. I could find nothing that identified the BuNo's or gave any clue as to their identity. There was no clue in the shipping data that identified their origin either. There seemed to be very little documentation on them.

When the May 1999 Flypast article appeared and I saw the picture of the 2 A-1s in the hangar at Bien Hoa I thought that they must be the aircraft. The article was written by Mike Woodley of Aces High, I wonder what the date was of his visit to South Vietnam - anyone know him?

The SVNAF 83rd Special Opertions Group operated A-1s on clandestine missions and I've seen a couple of pictures of of them in a very similar dark green scheme. The lack of any identification plates looks like someone has taken the trouble to mask their identity, possibly a connection the 83rd SOG?.

I would be very surprised if they weren't the aircraft pictured in the hangar at Bien Hoa.

Rgds

Barry Fryer

Thanks BOF. Do you have any photos from your visit to D-M beyond those already seen here on WIX?

Hearing more from Mike Woodley would be most welcome and I imagine he would have more photos than the ones that made it into the magazine.

While I can see how the dark green would make one think of the 83rd SOG, those airplanes normally had 2-tone topsides and I believe the other poster is right in saying that the two mystery Spads wear the shade of overall green used by the North when operating many captured aircraft. Comparing the colors of the cowl, pylons, tailhook, etc, I have no doubt these two A-1's are the same ones that showed up at D-M.

I assume the "mystery", once known, would actually be a bit of a disappointment, but I have trouble understanding why so little of these two birds is known.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

You'll have seem Mike Woodley's Aces High team at work in a movie, pretty much for certain.

Contact? Start here: http://aces.aerial-filming.com/

Regards,

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

So I'm looking at Baugher's list for the other A-1 thread and it lists A-1H 134600 at "at NMUSAF in bad need of restoration". Google this and get an image of 134600 with the VNAF as well as images of it in Dayton.

When did this go from mystery Spad to mystery solved??

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

Baugher's not 100% accurate, I've found. He's a pretty darn good resource, but I have found errors here and there in his lists. He makes regular corrections all the time as new information comes to him.