A U.S. Navy Douglas A-1H <i>Skyraider</i> (BuNo 135275) of Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25) "Fist of the Fleet" is launched from the aircraft carrier USS <i>Coral Sea</i> (CVA-43) for a mission over Vietnam. VA-25 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2) aboard the <i>Coral Sea</i> for a deployment to Vietnam from 29 July 1966 to 23 February 1967.<br>135275 was later transferred to the U.S. Air Force. It served with the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing and was hit by ground fire near Ban Len in the Plain of Jars, Xiangkhoang Province, Laos, on 19 March 1970. The pilot was able to fly back to Thailand but he had to bail out 45 km west of Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. The pilot was rescued.
USN
U.S. Navy photo <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv43-66/121.htm">[1]</a> from the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv43-66/index_008.htm">USS <i>Coral Sea</i> (CVA-43) 1966-1967 cruise book</a> available at <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://navysite.de/cruisebooks/index.html">Navysite.de</a>