Nearest an AD-4 (A-1D) of the Cambodian air force photographed at Phnom Penh in 1972. In the background is AD-6 (A-1H) 137587. That is a strange bird in this picture since NO A-1Hs were ever delivered to the Cambodian AF. This aircraft is possibly ex-VNAF. It's presence in Cambodian colours remains to be explained. 137587 was strikken from US Navy records in late 1963. On 26 February 1962 two A-1Hs flew an attack against the Presidential palace in Saigon in an attempt to kill the head of South Vietnam's secret police, Ngo Dinh Nhu (brother of the President). One of these Skyraiders, flown by Lt. Pham Phu Quoc, was shot down by ARVN AAA. The other, flown by Lt. Nguyen Van Cu, escaped to Cambodia where it supposedly made a crash landing. Might this 137587 be the escaped Skyraider? A fuselage band is faintly visible on this Skyraider, and fuselage bands were very uncommon on Cambodian aircraft. (Photo: R. Linder).

Update: Found this in Feb. 2004 on http://www.acig.org . VNAF Skyraiders in Cambodian AF service!

"During the early 1960s Cambodia served as a safe heaven for a number of South Vietnamese defectors. The A-1H in the foreground was a former mount of the 518th Sqn South Vietnamese Air Force, and were to Phnom Penh in 1964 by a pilot protesting against the presecution of Budhists by the regime in Saigon. The Skyraider was put into Cambodian service alongside French-delivered A-1Ds. Interestingly, the A-1 in the rear of this photo is another ex-South Vietnamese example, and the one that crashed while landing in Pnom Penh on 26 February 1962, after a coup-attempt against President Diem." Photo: A. Grandolini collection

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