Not at all an unusual opinion. One article notes, “The first time I saw a Skyraider, I wasn’t very impressed,” said former U.S. Marine Corps Captain William C. Smith. “After flying Corsairs, I thought it looked like a great big airplane with a little bitty engine.” Later that same writer said, “My original opinion of the plane did a complete 180,” Smith recalled. “When you fly combat, you need to have confidence in your airplane, and after that first week there was no question in my mind that our ADs were the best planes in the world for the job expected of us....” Smith added, “Even after all these years of progress, I believe the AD is still the best airplane ever made for close-in attack option…better, in fact, than anything flying today.”Gents,
Another one: why the ADM James Holloway III being fresh winged LT just before Korean War rated Vought AU-1 as "second best", worse than Douglas AD-1? Final Corsair was battle-proven, after all, while Skyraider's fame was still uncertain then...
In his career my father flew aircraft ranging from the Wildcat to the Crusader including the Skyraider and later the A-4 Skyhawk. In his diary he noted the A-4 was a better aircraft but the AD-1 was a superior attack bomber. Go figure.