The Don Englebreston Collection

Douglas A-1 Skyraider in Close Formation, Air-to-Air Snapshot from a Wingman's Cockpit, Vietnam War Era

Douglas A-1 Skyraider in Close Formation, Air-to-Air Snapshot from a Wingman's Cockpit, Vietnam War Era

A Douglas A-1 Skyraider photographed from the cockpit of its wingman during a Vietnam War mission, the picture taken handheld through hazy air with part of the photographer's own aircraft intruding at the bottom of the frame. A single propeller blade is frozen above the cowling and a rocket pod or dispenser hangs beneath the wing. Informal formation snapshots like this one were made in enormous numbers by Skyraider pilots and survive today mostly in private collections. This print comes from the papers of a pilot of Operating Location Alpha Alpha, the Da Nang Skyraider detachment of the 56th Special Operations Wing, prepared for a Skyraider Association reunion in 2017. Project: 219043