China Lake Skyraiders ...

[Mark Allen M]

Part 1


NAF China Lake AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 135278, cluster bomb, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 09 May 1955.


NAF AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 135278


NAF AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 135278


NAF China Lake AD-1 Skyraider BuNo 9177, AAFFR gun pod (converted external fuel tank for 2.75 Mighty Mouse rockets) arming, China Lake, 12 February 1951.


NAF China Lake AD-1 Skyraider BuNo 9177, firing 2.75 Mighty Mouse rockets from a converted external fuel tank, NAF China Lake, 26 January 1950.


NAF China Lake AD-1 Skyraider BuNo 9239, DOA camera, Armitage Field, China Lake, 01 August 1952.


NAF China Lake AD-2QU Skyraider BuNo 122373, APQ 46-XN2, Armitage Field, China Lake, 16 October 1952.


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123904, FFAR Aero X6B rocket pods, Armitage Field, China Lake, 27 February 1954.


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123904, FFAR Aero X6B rocket pods, Armitage Field, China Lake, 27 February 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123904, Mk-43 Rocket-assisted Torpedo (RAT), Armitage Field, China Lake, 01 June 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123904, Mk-43 Rocket-assisted Torpedo (RAT), Armitage Field, China Lake, 23 February 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123920, Armitage Field, China Lake, 12 February 1950


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123920, Armitage Field, China Lake, 12 July 1951


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123920, HPAW, Armitage Field, Hot Line, China Lake, 10 October 1950


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123920, Sidewinder 1 missile, Armitage Field, China Lake, 03 January 1952


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider BuNo 123920, Sidewinder 1 missile, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 15 February 1951


NAF China Lake AD-4 Skyraider, BuNo 123904, Mk-43 torpedo, Armitage Field, China Lake, 22 June 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233 with wing mounted FFAR pods, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 17 May 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233, Big Richard, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 11 February 1953


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233, BOAR, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 10 September 1953

[Mark Allen M]

Part 2


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233, High Performance Air-to-Ground Rockets (HPAG), Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 11 August 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233, High Performance Air-to-Ground Rockets (HPAG), Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 11 August 1954


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233, transportable, stackable, 5 ZUNI FFAR rocket pods, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 02 December 1953


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132233, transportable, stackable, 5 ZUNI FFAR rocket pods, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 02 December 1953


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132325, ASROC, Walker Lake, 09 December 1957


NAF China Lake AD-4B Skyraider, Mk-34 Lulu ASW nuclear depth bomb, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 05 December 1957


NAF China Lake AD-5 Skyraider BuNo 132654, RUM-139 ASROC & cameras, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 19 October 1956


NAF China Lake AD-5 Skyraider prototype BuNo 124006, Mk-12 Brok special weapon, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 06 January 1956


NAF China Lake AD-5 Skyraider prototype BuNo 124006, Mk-12 Brok special weapon, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 06 January 1956


NAF China Lake AD-5N Skyraider BuNo 132521, Polaris, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 30 March 1960


NAF China Lake AD-5N Skyraider BuNo 132612, Sadeye, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 12 September 1961


NAF China Lake AD-5N Skyraider BuNo 132612, ZUNI launcher, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, circa 1961


NAF China Lake AD-5N Skyraider BuNo 132654, ASROC, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 11 July 1957


NAF China Lake AD-5N Skyraider BuNo 132656, ASROC depth charge, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 30 April 1959


NAF China Lake AD-5W Skyraider BuNo 132784, FFAR rocket pods, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 11 March 1955


NAF China Lake AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 135278, boresight, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 24 January 1955


NAF China Lake AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 135278, boresight, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 24 January 1955

[Mark Allen M]

Part 3


NAF China Lake AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 135278, cluster bomb, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 09 May 1955


NAF China Lake NA-1G Skyraider BuNo 132598, Rockeye ordnance, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 07 January 1966


NAF China Lake NA-1G Skyraider BuNo 132598, Briteye, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 31 October 1963


NAF China Lake NA-1G Skyraider BuNo 132598, fuze test pod, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 08 September 1965


NAF China Lake NA-1G Skyraider BuNo 132598, mk-81's, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, circa July 1970


NAF China Lake NA-1G Skyraider BuNo 132598, Rockeye cluster bomb, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 01 January 1964


NASWF Albuquerque AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 134613 with a Mark 105 Hotpoint special weapons shape and JATO, Armitage Field, China Lake, 13 September 1954


NAF China Lake XBT2D-1 Dauntless II BuNo 9094 firing spin stabilized rockets (GASR) from stovepipe launcher, LB-2, China Lake, 17 May 1949


NAF China Lake XBT2D-1 Dauntless II BuNo 9094 firing spin stabilized rockets (GASR) from stovepipe launcher, LB-2, NAF China Lake, 17 May 1949


NAF China Lake XBT2D-1 Dauntless II BuNo 9094, GASR, LB-2, NAF China Lake, 17 May 1949


NAF China Lake XBT2D-1 Dauntless II BuNo 9094, GASR, LB-2, NAF China Lake, 17 May 1949


NASWF Albuquerque AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 134613 with a Mark 105 Hotpoint special weapons shape and JATO, Armitage Field, China Lake, 13 September 1954


NOTS NAF Inyokern AD-2QU Skyraider BuNo 122373, Armitage Field, 16 October 1952


VAW-11 Early Elevens AD-5Q Skyraider BuNo 135031, RR-756, radar pod, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 12 August 1960


VAW-11 Early Elevens AD-5Q Skyraider BuNo 135031, RR-756, radar pod, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 12 August 1960


VMC-1 AD-2Q Skyraider BuNo 122386, RM-9, 19652-1953


VX-5 Vampires AD-4B Skyraider BuNo 132386, XE-14, NAF China Lake, circa 1954


VX-5 Vampires AD-5N Skyraider BuNo 132598, XE-21, HOPI, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 06 June 1958


VX-5 Vampires AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 134530, XE-13, BOAR, & VX-5 AD-7 Skyraider BuNo 142015, XE-3, behind XE-13, west side of the Line Shack, Armitage Field, NAF China Lake, 15 December 1956


XBT2D-1 Dauntless II BuNo 09094 firing spin stabilized rockets (GASR) from stovepipe launcher, LB-2, China Lake, 26 May 1949


XBT2D-1 Dauntless II BuNo 9094 with spin stabilized rockets (GASR) and stovepipe launcher, NAF China Lake, circa 1949

[Ken]

Mark,

Great pix! I can see whee many of these test weapons went on to see wide operational use.

There are a few images here I'd like to have in my reference files, but I see the owner has disabled download. Absent getting a copy, is there a way to open these in another application just in order to zoom in for more detail?

Ken

[Scott Rose]

Great collection Mark, thanks for sharing.

[Larry Kraus]

Ken, I had no trouble downloading all of the China Lake Skyraider pictures using my 5th generation iPad Pro. I used both saving as a screenshot and then editing to save the captions and directly downloading the pictures from the WIX page using Safari as a browser.

[JohnB]

Great images!

Looking at the "Depth bomb" and the two "special weapon" shapes made men wonder if the Skyraider was the only piston single engine, nuclear capable type in U.S. service (and possibly the world)?

Also noteworthy is the photos range from 1949 to 1965, the Skyraider was a long serving beast.

[Clifford Bossie]

Great images!

Looking at the "Depth bomb" and the two "special weapon" shapes made men wonder if the Skyraider was the only piston single engine, nuclear capable type in U.S. service (and possibly the world)?

Also noteworthy is the photos range from 1949 to 1965, the Skyraider was a long serving beast.

The AJ Savage was nuke capable. I wonder if the AM-1 Mauler might have been as well.

EDIT: Derp! I just re-read your question, John, and missed the "single engine". It is an excellent question and now requires research.

[JohnB]

I considered the Martin AM, but considering its limited production numbers, I don't know if the Navy went to the trouble of qualifying the type for Special Weapons.