Of all the areas of Skyraider lore this subject is one in which the modeling community is particularly poorly served by both researchers as well as the industry. It is also the point on which modelers make many of their biggest mistakes when reproducing many versions of the airplane.
There are probably several reasons for this let down across the industry. I think a lot of the problem lies with the natural tendency of most researchers to gravitate toward “definitive” configurations coupled with the desire to publish whatever they find as easily and quickly as possible. This tendency to chase shiny things and go for low hanging fruit results many times in inattentive, often redundant research which lends less than optimum consideration even to the occasional 900 pound gorilla in the room.
I will have another blog specifically relating to research and many of my observations there will be applicable to the reasons why we are left somewhat wanting in our subject du jour, so I will not reiterate here.
Instead I want to break this overall discussion down into three primary areas spread over an equal number of eventual postings:
- Weapon racks, launchers and pylons
- Weapons themselves and
- Historically accurate loadouts
This blog will deal exclusively with the first installment: the racks and pylons themselves.
Even the rightly vaunted Steve Ginter leaves us all to seek on certain aspects of the subject, which is disappointing given the content of Volume One of his AD/A-1 anthologies. Much of the information in this discussion is there, but not all of it and frankly, given the thesis of the book, it really should be.
Before I begin, let me state emphatically the information I am communicating here is NOT intended to be entirely “definitive”; certainly not “authoritative” or the final word on anything. I am an engaged and somewhat knowledgeable researcher only and like all such am subject to mistakes, misunderstanding and correction. In fact, if any of my esteemed readers have more complete or detailed information on this (or any) subject, along with viable documentation, and wish to share I welcome all such with genuine gratitude and regard the occasional public “mea culpa” a minuscule price to pay for the gift of enlightenment.
For the following while I cannot produce this or that US Navy spec or Douglas directive specifically addressing the issue per se. What I do offer is a carefully thought out synopsis gleaned from long study of the historic photographic record, what unhappily scant commercially available research references presently exist along with heavy reliance on footnotes in applicable period and dash-model specific AD Skyraider Pilot’s Operating Handbooks and other technical manuals.
Racks and Pylons
All attack capable versions of the Skyraider, which means most of them, were equipped with plumbing and wiring for 15 external weapon stations: one on the fuselage center line, one on each stub wing and six on each outer wing.
How this seemingly simple concept sorts itself out for the model builder is another matter altogether. The Skyraider had an unusually long and varied career which took place over a period of exponential aviation advancement and was thrown into the most demanding aspect of aerial combat early in its developmental stages. Modifications, upgrades and retrofits accomplished over short periods of time were more the norm than otherwise and it soon becomes apparent seeking a cookie cutter answer to any question of configuration can quickly devolve into untying one massive Gregorian knot.
First let’s see how this basically seems to break down by version. By “basically” I mean the configuration of each dash number of the airplane as originally produced, delivered and utilized in service. By “seems” I mean information gleaned from the photographic record and period specific POH’s and tech manuals because in many cases, as I’ve said, written documentation otherwise is derivative, scanty or non-existent.
| VERSION | CENTER LINE RACK | STUB WING PYLON | OUTER WING RACK OR PYLON |
| AD-1 and AD-2 All subtypes except AD-2W | None; internal lugs only | Early rounded style MK-51 | MK-9 rocket launchers only |
| AD-2W | None | Early rounded style MK-51 | None |
| AD-3/AD-3Q except AD-3W | None; internal lugs only | Early rounded style MK-51 | Mk-9 rocket launchers and Mk-55 bomb racks |
| AD-3W | None | Early rounded style MK-51 | None |
| AD-4/AD-4Q Early, except AD-4W | None; internal lugs only | Early rounded style MK-51 | Mk-9 rocket launchers and Mk-55 bomb racks |
| AD-4/AD-4Q Late except AD-4W | None; internal lugs only | Later style MK-51 introduced from BN 127845 | Mk-9 rocket launchers and Mk-55 bomb racks |
| AD-4W all versions | None | Early rounded style MK-51 | None |
| AD-4N/NL/NA | Early: None; internal lugs only Later: AERO-3A | Both earlier model MK-51 depending on aircraft/time | Early: Mk-9 rocket launchers and Mk-55 bomb racks Later: AERO-14 launchers/racks |
| AD-4B Nuclear capable attack bomber | Early: None, Later: AERO-3A | Both earlier model MK-51 depending on aircraft/time | AERO-14 launchers/racks |
| AD-5 (A-1E/G) All attack versions | AERO-3A | Final style forward slanted MK-51 | AERO-14 launchers/racks |
| AD-6 (A-1H) | AERO-3A | Final style forward slanted MK-51 | AERO-14 launchers/racks |
| AD-7 (A-1J) | AERO-3A | Final style forward slanted MK-51 | AERO-14 launchers/racks |
The green data indicates dash models which were utilized from introduction of service through the end of hostilities in Korea. The red boxes are for those in US service post-Korean War through final retirement toward the end of Vietnam. While the wide fuselage AD-5/A-1E was in the fleet during the Korean War, (introduced in 1951) there is no record they served in the theater, so I have listed them with the post war models.
Of course I am painting with something of a broad brush. For instance, -4’s and even a few -3’s hung around for a fair while after Korea and the photo record also clearly indicates a good amount of retrofit took place at some point in time. Thus pictures of -4’s, as opposed to -4B’s, with centerline AERO-3’s as well as AERO-14’s, sometimes shipped alongside MK-55’s on the same wing, while uncommon are not unknown. (See picture) . This is especially true of Naval Reserve Units since technical manuals for them dating from as late as 1958 cover use, installation and maintenance of all the listed pylons including the MK-9 rocket launcher and the MK-55 bomb rack. (See below)
Did these retrofits happen while shooting was still going on in Korea? Clearly they sometimes did, as pictures of Marine AD-2’s clearly armed with 250lb bombs exist, these weapons could only have been carried on MK-55 racks at the time being too heavy for Mk-9’s and with the AERO-14’s still some time in the future.
My personal belief is the AERO-14 was not in front line use before the 4-Baker model came along because I can find no reference to the equipment in Douglas POH’s prior to revision dates during which the AD-4B’s were in service. This, however, is more an argument from silence rather than being definitive. There simply is no quick to hand information to support a conclusive answer, so like “the proper shade of PC-10” it seems we are left with a best guess scenario. Like I said, forget about cookie cutters.
This information does, however, represent a huge “gotcha” for unwary modelers contemplating early and/or Korean War era AD’s because:
- All kits of the airplane universally supply only representations of the later AERO-14 outer wing racks.
- Only one or two give even a nod toward anything other than the final forward raked MK-51 stub wing pylons
- All kits, to my knowledge, provide AERO-3A’s for the centerline and infer its universal application
Thus, many builders assuming the manufactures have done their research and their marketing is trustworthy, (always a bad bet), may take these parts to correctly apply across the range of Skyraider versions and consequently be led entirely astray. This misunderstanding is abetted in no small measure not only by the aforementioned incomplete nature of the body of research but in some instances by entirely ersatz information being put forward as “fact.”
What’s the upshot?
Basically this: if you want to build any version of the Skyraider from a time period before the advent of the nuclear capable AD-4B; which includes the vast majority of those involved in combat in the first two years of the Korean War, it will be necessary to alter all 15 weapon stations to be anywhere near historically accurate.
Here are some suggestions as to how to go about it:
Center line: Easy enough; just ditch or carve off the AERO-3A, locate and drill a couple of holes for the weapon’s lugs in the bottom of the fuselage and you’re pretty much good to go. Since the majority of AD’s from the period up to mid-late 1951 did not have the external aluminum armor, you’ll need to remove that in the process.
Stub wing: The Douglas MK-51’s are a little different proposition and there are various approaches; here are a few suggestions. For excellent configuration documentation see Ginter’s first volume (ref. #3) page 73.
- For 1/48 scale builders there are and/or have been aftermarket sets which provide the early rounded configuration required for AD-1’s through AD-4’s but most of them are pretty much OOP. If you can locate one, I say go for it. I will cover some of these in detail in the blog on “Skyraider Kit Aftermarket”
- The old ESCI AD-4W-esque thing had something which sort of looked the part. Personally, having tired it, I think you’re better off just scratch building them, which really isn’t all that difficult in 1/48 scale. The Trumpeter 1/32 scale kit also has them; they need some work but can be used.
- Alternatively I have had good luck, especially with the Tamiya kits, stuffing the assembled kit parts full of epoxy putty to make a solid piece and then carving the rounded version from the result. It’s a fair amount of work but is a step easier than building from scratch and has the advantage of pretty much fitting the curvature of the underside of the wing when done.
- Nowadays, though, I admit to simply SLA 3D printing the parts which I designed from factory drawings in SolidWorks. This approach also makes it easier to quickly change scales as needed.
- Jay Sherlock in his book (Bibliography entry #15) suggests scavenging wing pylons from a P-47 kit as a starting point. It’s an intriguing approach but one I’ve never tried so cannot comment. If anyone out there has done it, send us some pix and share; it would be very interesting to see how it turned out.
Outer wings: Here’s where things can get a little gnarly. There are probably as many approaches to this as there are model builders who wish to try, and pretty much anything which works is legitimate.
First and primary, we’re going to have to change the location holes of just about every kit available regardless of the time era of the aircraft modeled. The outer wing pylon locations are not equally spaced though most kit makers would have you believe otherwise. Jay Sherlock mentions this in his book and for an excellent picture view of the subject see Tommy Thomason’s outstanding “Tailhook Topics” blogsite here: http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2011/10/ad-skyraider-modeling-notes.html . Note there also, not only are the outer pylons not equally spaced along the wing, they are perpendicular to the wing surface, not to the ground, while the stub wing stations are orientated to the ground.
Next, we need to come up with a way to represent both the little MK-9 if we want to ship rockets, (HVAR or ATAR) and the larger MK-55’s to load bombs or some other store 260lb or less. Once we have done this, we must remember the leading edges of all are 14 scale inches aft of where the AERO-14’s locate on all present kits. (Kudos to Steve Ginter for that little bit of important trivia as well, see reference volume one of his Skyraider series, page 153, bottom middle column.)
The biggest hurdle is getting not only the shape but the dimensions right. Once more, thanks to Tommy Thomason (https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2013/) we can get the skinny on the MK-9 and AERO-14 racks.
The MK-55 however has proven elusive for a long, long time. As I mentioned earlier, these are not referenced except in a single resource. I mean, they’re only hanging on every AD-2, AD-3 and AD-4 Skyraider in Korean War service right out of front of God, MacArthur, Sigmund Rhee and everybody along with being observed on, including but not limited to, the F8F, F9F-2/3, and Korean War F2H’s and F4U’s. Yet, not one researcher, except Jay Sherlock, even mentions them and no one ever identifies them…nothing…nada…zero…zilch…bupkis.
Well, until now that is…
My all-time favorite whodunit author James Lee Burke observes,
“I long ago became convinced that the most reliable source for arcane and obscure and seemingly unobtainable information does not lie with the government or law enforcement agencies…so where do you go to find a researcher who is intelligent, imaginative, skilled in the use of computers, devoted to discovering the truth, and knowledgeable about science, technology, history, and literature, and who usually works for dirt and gets credit for nothing? ….the reference librarian…”
Case in point, enter stage right Technical Researcher Extraordinaire Mr. Frank Turchi of the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola FL. Weeks of his tireless efforts in searching through and scanning ancient technical manuals in answer to a cry for help from little old moi have now produced definitive information to hand at last. Burke says elsewhere, “…God bless reference librarians…” and I couldn’t agree more; they’re a dying breed and the world will be very much the less when they’re all gone.
All we’ll have left then is the internet and blithering left wing talking heads; next thing you know, people could be doing really silly shit like locking themselves in their houses for months and wearing face diapers or something…
After turning over a few less than promising leads, Frank hung in there and was able to finally strike pay dirt with a copy of NAVAER 00-80T-65 published for the Naval Reserve in 1958 which contains technical information for releasing gear for fleet aircraft of the period, which still included both the MK-9 and MK-55 racks. Highly detailed drawings, pictures and specs in that reference combined with photo research extrapolations have given me the info necessary to produce the scale drawings of the pylons which I will include in the “Research” section for anyone interested. If you like them or find them useful, drop Frank a line at fltavcm9@bellsouth.net and tell him thanks; they wouldn’t be there but for him.
As for reproducing in miniature here’s where we are right now.
Mk-9 rocket pylons.
- In 1/32 scale I discovered a while back the Trumpeter F8F-1 kit has them on sprue “M”. There are six in the kit and they can be utilized for the Skyraider as well. For my own part I made a RTV mold of them and cast parts as needed until I got the drawings from Thomason website and now 3D print. The Trumpeter shape and size are not too bad, but there is no detail.
- In 1/48, several of the F9F panther kits have something very similar which can be modified for use on an AD if desired, but the best I have seen come from the Hasegawa F4U-5 kits. In this scale, and given the size of the prototype it can be just as easy to sand a piece of Plastistruct or Evergreen strip of the right size to an airfoil shape and part off pieces as needed.
- 1/72, I think the scratchbuild method above is probably the simplest approach; they’re really tiny in braille scale.
M-55 Bomb racks:
So far I have not found any kit in any scale which has anything even close. I had hopes when I dug out my 1/32” Bearcat because they were used on the F8F, but no such luck; MK-9’s only. I do not have the F8F-2 kit, perhaps Trumpeter put some in there, if so and anyone knows let us in on it.
What I have done for my own use is to turn my drawings into CAD models for 3D printing. I’ve got it pretty close, but I make no pretense it is exact it the millimeter; I have tech manuals and good photo reference but no factory drawings as of yet. My prints work in all practicality, but my OCD monster is less than totally satisfied.
Aside from you doing the same, I’m sorry I have no really good suggestions for you. On previous models I have cut the supplied AERO-14 racks in half in both chord and depth and reshaped them to a symmetric airfoil and used the results; again for 1/48 and smaller this can be a very workable solution, but for 1/32” to me it’s a little dodgy; my next effort (hopefully eventually seen here in the blog) will have my 3D printed versions.
So, there it is; the problem, the results and a few suggestions for seeing things through to a successful conclusion. As always, any helpful input from out there is always welcome; if you’ve found a way through the briar patch which hasn’t occurred to me I would be most grateful for the pointer.
