05/31/2008. Remarks by Phil Juvet: "The McClellan Air Museum (former McClellan AFB Museum) became the Aerospace Museum of California in November 2005.
The A-1E is painted in the markings of the 1st Special Operations Squadron, 14th Special Operations Wing USAF during the Vietnam War. In reality this one (US Navy BuNo. 132463; c/n 9480) was accepted by the Navy in 1954 as an AD-5 and assigned to VMA-331 (USMC) at NAS Miami, Florida, USA. In 1959 it was assigned to FASRON (Fleet Air Service Squadron) 3 at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, USA, with deployment to NAF (Naval Airfield) Naples, Italy in April 1959, and USS Forrestal in August 1960.
In January 1961 it went to VA-176 aboard USS Shangri-La, then going aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1961; and returning to NAF Naples, Italy in July 1961. Its last unit was VA-65 on the USS Intrepid in September 1961, during which it deployed aboard USS Enterprise from August to October 1962 and was redesignated A-1E.
It was retired in July 1963 and flown to the museum in a C-5 on October 29, 1985. It was one of 212 AD-5s built by Douglas in El Segundo at LAX (Los Angeles International), California. The airframes were built in the Torrance Plant, California, and trucked to El Segundo for engines, electronics, and flight test."