Douglas AD-6 Skyraider BuNo 129444 was the first ...

[Mark Allen M]

... to be painted in Gull Gray over White after the USN switched from Gloss Sea Blue. El Segundo production line, July 27, 1955.

[maxum96]

There's a Skyraider in the picture?

[phil65]

Can't be, too clean...

Phil

[Ken]

A. I love it.

B. I would like to download a copy of this photo.

C. Were there any other images from this session available?

D. Can you confirm the bureau number, as 129444 was not an AD-6?

Ken

[airnutz]

Shortly after the photo session the AD was filled with oil and it was never that clean again...

[Adam Kline]

Great find.

[Mark Allen M]

A. I love it.

B. I would like to download a copy of this photo.

C. Were there any other images from this session available?

D. Can you confirm the bureau number, as 129444 was not an AD-6?

Ken

E. Glad you like it.

F. It's all yours.

G. I'll check.

H. I'll check as well.

[mike furline]

http://www.skyraider.org/skyassn/skyserials.htm

[Mark Allen M]

Keep digging! Someone will eventually figure it out.

[JohnTerrell]

Thank you for the post, Mark! I love anything to do with Skyraiders. My grandmother worked for Nevada Air Products, located in Reno, in the early 50's, manufacturing tail components (rudders and horizontals) for Douglas Skyraider production. I have always wondered at the potential for any of her work to possibly still remain today in any of the surviving Skyraiders.

[Snake45]

I spent some time today trying to figure out the BuNo confusion with no success whatsoever.

I did learn, however, how many websites just straight-up copy and paste information from each other. The answer is: An appalling number.

[jdvoss]

Although this 1955 revised paint scheme was quite a significant change for naval aircraft I did make an interesting observation a mere four years later. It was 1959 and I had taken my first job (ever) at the Douglas LONG BEACH plant on the C-133 Cargomaster. In a remote corner of that building there was an AD-6 being worked on in a quasi-secure area. The aircraft had a fresh WRAP-AROUND olive green paint scheme with all stenciled nomenclature in black. The US insignia was small and in std R,W, & B colors. What the ultimate mission of this A/C was remains a mystery to me as this was about six years ahead of any advertised US involvement in SE Asia.

Anyone have any input ???

JDV
http://www.fuselagecodes.com

[Snake45]

Although this 1955 revised paint scheme was quite a significant change for naval aircraft I did make an interesting observation a mere four years later. It was 1959 and I had taken my first job (ever) at the Douglas LONG BEACH plant on the C-133 Cargomaster. In a remote corner of that building there was an AD-6 being worked on in a quasi-secure area. The aircraft had a fresh WRAP-AROUND olive green paint scheme with all stenciled nomenclature in black. The US insignia was small and in std R,W, & B colors. What the ultimate mission of this A/C was remains a mystery to me as this was about six years ahead of any advertised US involvement in SE Asia.

Anyone have any input ???

JDV
http://www.fuselagecodes.com

VERY interesting! Overall OD sounds like a US Army scheme. This wouldn't have been too long before the Army was floating proposals for its own organic fixed-wing CAS aircraft and ultimately testing the F-5, G.91, and A4D for the job.