The conflict in Vietnam during the 1950s through to the 1970s was indicative how 'modern' warfare was being played out in the latter half of the 20th century. In many cases, small low tech armies continually kept a much stronger, well equipped force in a continual state of conflict with no clear front lines. As such conflicts happen, older equipment, vehicles, and aircraft continue to soldier on well past their thought useful life. One of these was the venerable old Douglas AD Skyraider, known at the time as the A-1 and called by one of its many nicknames, the Spad. Designed in the 1940s during the closing years of World War II, it was built to be simplistically rugged and able to carry a large amount of ordinance. Originally these capabilities were to be used on the Pacific Front against Japan lugging ample bombs and torpedoes off of carriers, but by 1970 it was instead using its brute force to participate in SAR missions to rescue downed aircrew under the callsign 'Sandy'. Its relatively slow speed and numerous pylons made it an ideal platform to loiter over downed airman keeping potential captors at bay with 20mm cannon, miniguns, bombs, rockets, incendiary and antipersonnel ordnance. Once the crew was rescued by chopper, the Spad acted as escort instead of a fast jet. It was the AD's swansong of a long and prosperous combat career spanning over thirty years with the US military.
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