AD-4 Skyraider "Able Dog"

Near the end of the second World War, the US Navy was looking for a replacement for their obsolete SBD Dauntless dive bomber. The Douglas aircraft Company designed and tested their new Dauntless II in March, 1945. From this initial production order, just prior to the end of the war in the Pacific, came the AD Skyraider. The term "Able Dog" for the Skyraider was originally from when this was the phonetic alphabet for 'AD'. The first version of the AD1 had gradual improvements made to its design, which eventually lead to the introduction of the AD-4 Skyraider in 1949.