That’s because the Pentagon needed a plane that could fly low and hover for protracted periods over a battlefield—a niche that jets couldn’t fill. In other words, the A-1 was America’s original Close ...
What You Need to Know: The A-1 Skyraider, introduced during ... the A-1 was meant to replace World War II airframes including the Douglas SBD Dauntless, the Grumman TBF Avenger, and the Curtiss ...