Some of my families happiest days were when my dad was in the Navy and flew as a crewman aboard some rather obscure aircraft. I found some sad pictures..sad because these planes sit discarded and ready for the scrap heap....sort hurts.
To the left are two A3D Skywarriors known affectionately as "Whales" recently served with NASA for research. They sit in the desert, their fate uncertain....If you look just in front of the engine intake, on the fuselage, there is a painted-out circle....it looks like the old "Sea Dragon" Emblem of old VAH-3 which was the squadron my father retired from....My father flew in A3s with VAH-7 (Heavy Seven)you can see the emblem more clearly in the image below....
To the right is an A-5 Vigilante which is now in an outdoor museum in the desert. It is done up in the colors of VAH-3 and you can clearly see the sea-dragon emblem right behind the red intake markings....This is why my Dad had to quit flying..he had to either upgrade to become a B/N or quit....at the time he had only 2 years left which he spent in administrative duties...at the end he almost hated the Navy. I think it was because he couldn' fly anymore.
This is one of the most famous (and rare ) pictures of the AJ-2P "Savage" by North American Aviation. I know the history of this photo really well, because that was a Detachment from VJ-62 taken around 1954 when they were returning from Germany. They are flying over Sanford, Florida and the lake in the background is Lake Monroe. If you look at the lead aircraft you'll see the "third crewman" looking out the window toward the camera (the 3rd crewman sat facing backwards).....and that, would be my Father.....Just sharing some memories tonight.....don't know why......
