A Douglas A-1 Skyraider, tail number ending 776, cruises above the Southeast Asian jungle in company with a North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco, photographed from a third aircraft in the formation. This pairing was the backbone of Vietnam-era close air support and rescue work: the fast, agile Bronco located and marked targets with smoke rockets, while the piston-engined Skyraider, able to loiter for hours with a heavy load of bombs and rockets, delivered the strike. Nicknamed the Spad by its crews, the A-1 was already a generation old when it became indispensable, most famously in the Sandy role escorting Jolly Green rescue helicopters to downed aircrew. Project: 219827