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AD-4N Skyraider F-AZHK was built with c/n 7802 at the Douglas El Segundo plant, California, with United States Navy Bureau Number (BuNo) 127002. In 1961 she was delivered to the French Air Force (l'Armée de l'Air) with serial 61.
In 1959 the first Skyraiders were ordered and was handed over to the French Air Force on 6 February 1960 after being overhauled and fitted with French equipment by Sud-Aviation. In total the French Air Force operated 113 Skyraiders mainly in Algeria. The AD-4N/NAs were initially acquired by the French to replace Republic P-47D Thunderbolts used in operations against rebels in Algeria during the 1950s. At that time, France considered Algeria as an integral part of France with the natives given full privilege as French citizens. However, with the Soviet Union and others fanning the fire of independence, an independence war was fought between 1954 and 1962.
Delivered in three versions; 20 AD-4s, 88 AD-4Ns and 5 USN AD-4NAs, all were converted into AD-4Ns all modified to single-seat aircraft. The aircraft were used by Escadre de Chasse (EC) 020 comprising of EC 01.020 "Aures Nementcha," EC 02.020 "Ouarsenis" and EC 03.020 "Oranie", EC 021 comprising of Escadron d'Appui Aerien 01.021 and Escadron d'Appui Aerien 02.021 and EC 022 "Ain" all units used the Skyraider in the close air support role armed with rockets, bombs and napalm.
In 1972 F-AZHK was delivered to the Armée de l'Air Gabonaise (Gabon Air Force) with serial TR-LQE. She was one of eight Skyraiders that were donated to Gabon, where they were flown by French mercenaries serving with the Presidential Guard. In 1976 the US broker Jack Spanich from Detroit, Michigan did an attempt to buy her and had US civil registration N91989 reserved for her. Just like her sister F-AZDP she never went to the US but stayed in Gabon. Only until 1991 when she was recovered by her new French owners, Michele Gineste and Maurice Etchetto. She arrived in Le Havre, France in January 1992 and was registered as F-AZHK in the French civil register.
She is painted in the colours of EC 01.020 "Aures-Nementchas" with code 20-LN. The unit was based at Boufarik, Algeria, in July 1960 with a four aircraft detachment at Bone also in Algeria. In September 1962 the complete unit was being relocated to Bone. In March 1963 the unit had a four aircraft detachment in Djibouti, a French Colony located in the Horn of Africa. In May 1963 the unit once again moved back to Boufarik before being disbanded in September of the same year. Most of the personnel and aircraft were dispatched to Escadron d'Appui Aerien 01.021 that was formed on October 1, 1963 in Djibouti and previously was a detachment from EC 01.020.
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