Warbird Associates Inc. The Douglas A-1 (formerly AD) Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the 1950s and early 1970s. It was a propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a World War I fighter. However, the Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career and inspired a straight-winged, slow-flying, jet-powered successor, the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog).
The U.S. Army Air Forces issued its first requirement for a jet bomber in 1943. However, it was not until after the war, when German research on high-speed aircraft became available that the design of the B-47 was finalized. The B-47 became the first all jet bomber produced anywhere in the world. Over two thousand Stratojets were built between 1947 and 1957.
