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 World War II, became the U.S.'s last propeller-driven attack aircraft. First flown in 1945, it served through the Korean and Vietnam ...

The A-6 was the answer. Expected to replace the ageing, prop-driven A-1 Skyraider, the A-6 actually coexisted with the A-1 in service until 1973, at which point the A-1 was finally retired from ...