EA-1F(AD-5Q) #135018, VAW-33 Det.65 AE-850 ca 1963

The primary mission of VAW-33 Detachment 65 was to provide ECM in both offensive and defensive aspects. A secundary mission of great value was ASW. During the cruise and in the course of specia fleeet exercises, VAW-33 made several original sightings and subsequent 'kills' of submarines. The DET was composed of three aircraft, five pilots, two NAO's and forty enlisted.

The AD-5Q / EA-1F, based on the A-1 Skyraider, used ECM equipment to detect and jam enemy radar, providing clear avenues for inbound attack and fighter aircraft. The fuselage was packed with a host of sophisticated sensory equipment including a radio receiver and search radar. By 1956 the first AD-5Q (redesignated EA-1F in 1962) took to the air on its maiden flight. The aircraft retained provisions for a wing armament of four 20mm cannon and installation of bomb racks, though it was the equipment it carried to detect and jam enemy radar that was the aircraft's greatest offensive weapon.