The war's nerve with this picture showing installation of
the 20mm gun, the inner pylon below and the six racks for
rockets fixed to the folded half wing. Note also the
relatively small wing actuating levers as so as the two
parts articulated ailerons control rods. When at Boufarik
BA 142, I assisted a two days firing campaign of the
whole 20th Wing on a beach located near the Algerian town
of Cherchell. The site was such that it was necessary for
Skyraiders to follow a sharp ground line descending from
a little road to the Mediterranean Sea. They were passing
just a few meters over the road before us, already firing
their four 2Omm raging cannons or their 5 inches rockets
or releasing light and medium bombs, all this on quite a
lot of light or armoured vehicles including tanks. This
noria was the most formidable spectacle I saw, aircraft
by groups of two or four, circling and plunging one
behind the other until all their considerable lot of
ammunitions was out. A few minutes of infinite silence
and another batch of AD-4s arrived and again and again
all the day, including noon hours... I believe that no
target during a war was submitted at a so heavy and
almost continuous fire from all a Wing of fighter-bombers...and
always, I have sounds of engines, 2Omm guns and rockets
and bomb explosions as so as the vision of these
fantastic aircraft at a quite short distance flashing
from their gun nozzles or rocket racks without to speak
about the recoveries through pieces of bulletts, rockets,
bombs bouncing when hitting armoured vehicles launching
also their lots of heavy metal in the skyand surrounding
the aircraft passing through. It was the most critical
moment for us of the medical service, here in case of a
crash on the shore or ditching in the sea after a hit by
a bouncing munition or for all other reasons, young
Algerian boys, being competiting to do recuperation of
the thousands and thousands of 2Omm copper cases. We
tried to discourage them to prevent all drama but we all
know what is a determinated young boy to gain some money
coins!!!!!!
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