Douglas originally designed the Skyraider to meet World War II requirements for a carrier based dive bomb/torpedo aircraft. The Skyraider was produced too late for World War II. After being delivered in 1946, it became the backbone of naval air attack in Korea. As an outstanding performer, it continued service well into the Vietnam conflict earning numerous names like Able Dog and Spad, until retirement in 1971. Many different variants of Skyraiders were produced, including a six place A-1E, and a single place A-1H with dive brakes. A production run of over 3,100 Skyraiders were built from 1946 to 1957.