MOBILE, Ala. — It once flew sorties in the Korean War and, after retirement in the 1980s, saw additional service in the French Air Force. Now this historic Douglas AD-4N Skyraider is resting comfortably inside the aircraft pavilion at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile.

The Department of Homeland Security made the acquisition and relocation of the aircraft possible. It was dedicated on Thursday, May 24.

AD-4N aircraft, nicknamed “Spad,” were introduced in the late 1940s and used in the Korean War. They became the backbone of United States Navy aircraft carrier and United States Marine Corps (USMC) strike aircraft sorties in the Korean War. Its weapons load and 10-hour flying time far surpassed the jets that were available at the time.

AD-4N aircraft carrying bombs and flares flew night-attack sorties, and radar-equipped ADs carried out radar-jamming missions from carriers and land bases. More than 3,000 were produced before production ceased in 1957.

Later versions were used during the Vietnam War in the 60s and 70s.

According to a Department of Homeland Security press release, a federal judge in Alabama issued a forfeiture order for the Skyraider following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) determined that it had been smuggled into the United States illegally.

“I find it very poetic that its legacy is being preserved in the very state where it was seized and forfeited as a result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of that Homeland Security division in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. The Mobile native added, “This may come as a surprise to some of you that the Department of Homeland Security generally raises an eyebrow or two when a private citizen attempts to import a fully operational military aircraft into the United States without any sort of permission or approval.”

On Dec. 21, 2011, Judge William M. Acker Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, ordered that the aircraft, log books, four 20mm M3 aircraft cannons and assorted aircraft parts be forfeited to the government as property brought into the United States in violation of U.S. law.

“The Skyraider aircraft, its cannons and parts are all subject to import licensing requirements as ‘defense articles’ under the Arms Export Control Act. Federal law prohibits the importation of defense articles without a license or permit,” Parmer stated at the time. “ICE aggressively investigates these cases in order to deter this type of illegal activity and protect those who abide by our nation's laws.”

ICE officials said the aircraft, owned by Claude Hendrickson, president of Dixie Equipment in Woodstock, Ala., was flown into the country in August 2008 without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State. The pilot, who was reportedly hired by Hendrickson to fly the plane from France into the United States, provided false information to CBP officers at the Port of Buffalo, N.Y., to gain admittance into the country, the officials said.

The 20mm cannons arrived at the Port of Savannah, Ga., on Oct. 8, 2008, inside two 40-foot shipping containers being imported by Dixie Equipment. CBP officers discovered the cannons concealed in a wooden box, hidden under aircraft parts in the nose of one of the containers, although the cannons were not listed on the entry form, bill of lading, invoice or any other documentation submitted by Dixie Equipment.

CBP officers seized the cannons and aircraft parts on Oct. 15, 2008. The HSI investigation following that seizure indicated the Skyraider aircraft had entered the United States illegally. HSI agents seized the plane pursuant to a court order on April 24, 2009, at the Bessemer Airport, where it had been delivered to Hendrickson in August 2008.

The aircraft, cannons and assorted aircraft parts, including three Wright engines, were transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy’s National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola for the purpose of preserving the aircraft's value as a part of the nation’s naval aviation history.

But because the museum already has a Skyraider in its collection, Parmer said he arranged to have it loaned for display at Battleship Park.

For more information about Battleship Park and the displays there, visit, www.ussalabama.com.