Douglas Skyraider in aviation art prints. by leading aviation artists Philip West and Stan Stokes. Douglas Aircraft delivered to the Navy Test Center an aircraft for testing in April 1945. This aircraft would prove to be the last of the great single engine propeller driven warbirds.   Its simplicity of maintenance, excellent flight characteristics, and overall performance were all rated very good to excellent. In May, with WW II still underway the Navy entered a production order for 600 aircraft. In 1946 the aircraft was renamed the Skyraider. Powered by a 2,500 HP R-3350-24W engine turning a 4-bladed 13.5 foot prop the AD-1 Skyraider was capable of carrying 4,000 pounds of bombs and/or wing loaded rockets. Improvements continued with future variants, and when equipped with a 3,020 HP power plant, the Skyraiders payload capacity increased to a whopping 6,500 pounds, with a top speed of 328 knots. As one of the largest single engine propeller aircraft ever built, the Skyraider saw plenty of action during the Korean conflict. The AD-6 variant was  produced in quantity (713), and saw plenty of service in Vietnam with the Navy, Marine Corps., USAF, and Vietnam Air Force. Despite the availability of high performance jet aircraft, the Skyraider proved its value on numerous occasions in Vietnam by providing close in support of ground troops