Survivability of the A-1 Skyraider in WW2 combat?

[stg 44]

I know the Skyraider only entered service in 1946, but against a WW2 air force/air defense how well could it have operated as an attack aircraft for CAS? Was it only really able to fight COIN type operations or could it have faced an army like the Soviets in a contested air environment?

[Orwell1984]

It performed very well in the Korean War in an attack role, often against strong AA defences.

http://www.historynet.com/able-dog-was- ... -built.htm

As well as torpedoing a dam
http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stor ... achon-dam/

In addition to shooting down MIG jet fighters during the Vietnam War
http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/14/th ... e-mig-17s/

I think it would have performed just as well in a WW2 environment.

[stg 44]

I take your point, but the North Korean and Chinese armies were not that particularly modern of militaries and the air space over North Korea wasn't all that contested. Mig Alley was specifically around the Yalu river valley in a defensive mission against other jet aircraft, specifically the B-29 strategic bomber, not an area contested by piston engine fighters on sweeps against targets not that much slower than themselves. I'm thinking of how the Stuka fared in Europe beyond 1942.

[woneil]

In its day, the AD was essentially a big fighter-bomber. With external stores released it could hold its own in air-to-air, as it demonstrated both in Korea and Vietnam against unwary MiGs. Survival against ground fire depended on tactics and the tactical situation. It would certainly have been among the most survivable of contemporary CAS platforms, at least on a par with the F4U and P-47. While it was somewhat larger than these, care had been taken to minimize vulnerable area. It did offer an important advantage in cockpit visibility, owing to the high cockpit position (which also aided carrier approaches). And its 4x20mm gave it an advantage in defense suppression. And it had the power to get out of Dodge following weapons release, always important in CAS survivability.

[James A Pratt III]

AA fire over North Korea during the 1952-53 period is usually described as very heavy. Air combat was also greater as well. North Vietnam as the war went on had one of the strongest air defense networks in history.

[Carl Schwamberger]

AA fire over North Korea during the 1952-53 period is usually described as very heavy. Air combat was also greater as well. North Vietnam as the war went on had one of the strongest air defense networks in history.

One analyst described it as the USSR displaced the equivalent of one of its regional air defense systems to the Red River basin.