Douglas A-1 A-4 AD-5 Skyraider

This is my all time favorite plane. It was developed at the end of WWII, but served in a variety of roles from Korea through Vietnam. The plane was minuscule in cost and maximal in use. They carried any and all armaments the navy and air force had and they were MiG killers in both wars. They were essential in rescues of pilots shot down during Vietnam. The Jolly Green rescue helicopters in Vietnam depended on A-1 planes to clear the rescue area before going in to extract downed pilots.

The A-1 could carry rockets, bombs, napalm, and be configured as air tankers for jets requiring extra fuel before or after missions.

The wide bodied A-D carried 4 crew members and was used for electronic countermeasures among other tasks.

The early A-1 planes were used extensively on WWII aircraft carriers, but the A-1 remained in the fleet and served aboard the super carriers and even the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise during Vietnam (pictured here.)

The first fleet airborne early warning planes were modified A-4 with airborne search radars. Notice the large belly mounted radar dome on this picture below. 

This last picture is an A-1 landing on the USS Kitty Hawk. I included it because it brought back memories to me. We trained for night operations off San Diego. During the training, the lights were on. When we arrived on Yankee Station off Vietnam I was up on deck around sundown preparing for our first launch. I was inside an E-2 checking equipment. When I stepped out, nightfall had arrived. It was pitch dark and there were no lights on anywhere. The E-2 was on the port catapult with propellers spinning and there was an A-1 on the inside catapult with props spinning. I couldn't stay put, so I had to belly crawl past the E-2 and the A-1 hoping to stay below the whirling props. That was the last time I was ever on deck at night without a flashlight.