Skyraider: the Air Force's flying tank скачать в хорошем качестве

Skyraider: the Air Force's flying tank

As I often do, I wander through the Air and Space Museum, which I know almost by heart... or at least, I thought I did. In this place where we think we know everything, there's always a detail, an aircraft, a memory that shakes up our certainties. This time, I linger in the hall dedicated to the Second World War. It seems less alive than before, or maybe I've changed... The fact remains that, as I wander through the aisles, I come across an intruder: the Douglas A-4 Skyraider. With its folded wings, its squat silhouette, and its hellish face, it's impossible to ignore. Yet, chronologically speaking, it has no place there. But it's there. And its history in the French Air Force is worth pausing to consider. From an American aircraft stored in the Arizona desert to a fire support beast in Algeria, the Skyraider has enjoyed an unexpected second life under the tricolor. 🎙 In this video, I tell you about this aircraft's odyssey in the French Army: How it was spotted in the United States by three French officers in 1959, Why it was purchased for the price of a used camper van, How it replaced the exhausted P-47 Thunderbolts, Where it was reconditioned by SFERMA, And above all, how it flew in Algeria, Djibouti, Madagascar, Chad... until the last missions of the 1/22 Squadron in 1976. 📚 I also talk about its technical specifications, its variants (AD-4N, AD-4NL, etc.), the special canisters and napalm, the pilots, the squadrons, the accidents, the maneuvers, the heat waves, the failed radio communications, and even... the collectors. 👨‍✈️ It's a story of scrap metal, sand, oil, politics... but above all, of men, missions, and exhausted machines that still fly. 🔧 And if you want to go deeper: models, simulators, books, museums... I'll give you some ideas at the end of the video. 👉 A video for enthusiasts, the curious, model makers, gamers, or simply those who love stories about military aviation, between fighting, logistics, and memory. 🛫 Settle in, we're taking off for a forgotten story... but one that's firmly anchored under the wings of the Skyraider.