Things Under Wings: Skyraider Outboard Wing Pylons

23 November 2025: With the help of Ed Barthelmes, I've retitled and revised with corrections and additions

The AD Skyraider had three different outboard wing pylons. The first was a simple rocket launcher:

The second was a direct substitute for the rocket launcher that allowed for up to 260-lb bombs and other stores to be loaded on it. The Mk 55 Bomb Rack was about 13 inches long and included sway braces.

Note that this AD-4 outboard wing panel has both types:

Note that the Mk 55 utilized the single-lug option to attach the bomb.

The AERO* 14A/B was subsequently developed that could be loaded with either a bomb (up to 500-lbs) or a rocket:

This picture illustrates the difference in the size of the Mk 55 and the AERO 14:

For the spacing of the AD's outboard wing pylons and details of the center line and inboard wing pylons, see https://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2015/07/douglas-ad-1-skyraider-pylons.html
 

*Note that strictly speaking, AERO should be all capital letters, since it is an acronym for Aircraft Equipment Reference Ordinal...