Over the past week or so, I’ve accumulated a few news items regarding military Cessnas plus another venerable warbird.

Royal Morrocan Air Force to replace its T-37s

This has been in work for a couple of years now, but the contract was finally awarded to Hawker Beechcraft in September 2009. The RMAF will replace its fleet of 14 T-37s (acquired in 1996 from USAF assets) with 24 T-6B aircraft. The RMAF Tweets are currently flying at the training base at Marrakech along with some other training aircraft (including the T-34C). This is part of a major upgrade of RMAF assets, according to Defense Industry Daily.

RMAF T-37B (Arnold ten Pas photo via Scramble.nl - click for more)

Cessna Skymasters need wing attachment inspections

Own a Cessna O-2 (or any other Model 336/337)? Cessna has announced that they issue a Supplemental Inspection Document for a thorough inspection of the wing attachment points. This could come as early as sometime during the first quarter of 2010. Technically, a SID is not mandatory in the US for non-commercial operators but, according to AVwebFlash, Cessna is considering it mandatory.

USAF O-2A (Empire News photo via Kansas Aviation Museum)

Gooney Birds to descend en masse on Oshkosh this year!

This year is the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3/C-47/Dakota (aka Gooney Bird) and plans are well underway for a mass arrival at Wittman Regional Airport on opening day of AirVenture 2010 (26 July). A total of 35 aircraft have registered for the arrival flyby formation. Now that should be a sight not seen since the major airborne assaults of WW II.

C-47s loaded with paratroopers and equipment of the First Allied Airborne Army preparing to takeoff for Holland 17 Sep 1944.

UPDATE: Interested in buying the O-2 profiled below? Email me at Walt@CessnaWarbirds.com and I will put you in touch with Tom.

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If any ex-O-2 FACs have some memorabilia related to their experiences in the unpleasantness in Southeast Asia, I know somebody who would really like to showcase it.

Tom O’Halloran, in Connecticut, has a beautifully restored O-2A that is ready for the airshow circuit next year. Not only does it look great, this particular O-2 has a somewhat special history — it was one of only six operated by the US Navy for eight years after being removed from the USAF inventory. Tom provided the photos below (except for the bottom one in the window comparison set, which was provided by John Wiley).

Tom O'Halloran with N590D (67-21300)

I discussed the Oscar Duck with Tom. Herewith the transcript of that discussion.

Walt Shiel: So, Tom, what led you to buy an O-2 in the first place?

Tom O’Halloran: I always have been fascinated with the O-2. I am a former military combat aviator myself, I was specifically drawn to it’s combat mission and the fact you can still purchase a true combat aircraft today with a fairly low operating cost compared to other warbirds. I was fairly selective…no, I would say very selective and waited for the perfect ship to come along, and when it did I did not hesitate. I can honestly say when I strap into the aircraft, it doesn’t know it is a small aircraft and I don’t either…I feel like I am stepping back in time and I can’t put into words how solid of an aircraft it is to fly. I know it will take me home every time.

Tom's O-2A

Walt: Where and when did you buy this particular airplane?

Tom: I purchased the aircraft in December 2007 from an individual owner who had restored the aircraft out on the West Coast…I honestly say it is the nicest O-2A in the world and could not be replaced or duplicated today. I wanted to keep the Military theme/history of the aircraft but bring it up to today’s standard for flying in the national airspace. From the rocket pods to UHF and FM radio and Gun Site…it is in perfect condition. I am a full-time professional corporate pilot flying and managing a Gulfstream that operates worldwide and needed GPS and TCAS at a minimum to keep me safe on those sunny weekend days in the Northeast.

Tom's cockpit

Walt: Do you have records of the aircraft’s military history?

Tom:

May 1967 -  To 504th Tactical Air Support Group (Pacific Air Forces), Binh Thuy AB, Vietnam
Oct 1967 -  To Nakhon Phanom RTAFB Thailand (deployment to Ubon RTAFB, Thailand)
May 1969 -  To Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam
Sep 1970 -  To Cam Ranh Bay AB, Vietnam
Feb 1971 -  To 111th Tactical Air Support Group (Air National Guard), NAS Willow Grove, PA
Nov 1974 -  To 115th Tactical Air Support Group (ANG), Truax Field, WI
Aug 1979 -  To 163rd Tactical Air Support Group (ANG), Ontario MAP, CA
Aug 1982 -  Dropped from inventory by transfer to US Navy  (it flew for many years out at NAS Fallon, and I also have all the military logs from the Navy)

Walt: Who did the restoration and how long did it take?

Tom: The restoration was done mostly by an individual located on the West Coast…he is probably the most detail-orientated person I know and the quality is top notch. The restoration took over two years.

Walt: Any plans for taking your O-2 to airshows next season?

Tom: I have normally have options to attend several large shows each year, the problem is my work schedule is fairly unpredictable and I have missed several of the shows that I wanted to attend.  I always plan to get it to Oshkosh because I strongly feel it will win…maybe 2010.

As one of the first O-2s produced, Tom's aircraft has the smaller pilot side window (top). After the first few, all O-2As had the larger window (bottom).

Walt: Anything else you’d like to add?

Tom: I have never let it spend a night outdoors and it is ALWAYS kept in a heated hangar! If anyone would like to donate any memorabilia or anything at all for the O-2A, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tom, and good luck with your USAF/Navy Oscar Duck!

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NOTE: If you have anything you’d like to donate to support Tom and his O-2, email me at Walt@CessnaWarbirds.com and I will forward your message to Tom.

Tom and his O-2A making a low pass

Although almost all of the Cessna O-2s in US service were flown by the US Air Force, there were a few flown by other services.

Between 1974 and 1979, the US Army’s Berlin Aviation Detachment acquired two O-2A aircraft from the USAF to replace their two U-6A Beavers for support missions within the small Berlin Control Zone (the infamous Berlin Wall still stood and the city of Berlin was still divided). The Army repainted the aircraft in the same color schemes as other Berlin mission support aircraft.  Since the 1946 Berlin Air Agreement prohibited the operation of combat aircraft within the Berlin Control Zone, the Army had to remove the aircraft’s underwing hardpoints. At least one has been restored to Army colors and specifications and is owned by a private owner in California.

Restored US Army O-2A (Jim Grenier photo)

Between 1982 and 1990, the US Navy operated six O-2A aircraft from for routine mission support duties. At least two examples have been privately acquired, restored to Navy specifications and colors, and can be seen regularly at air shows.

Restored US Navy O-2A

During the Vietnam War, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to create his infamous electronic wall. Said wall was intended to detect any and all enemy movement on the Ho Chi Minh Trail that stretched from North Vietnam through Laos to South Vietnam. O-2 Forward Air Controllers (FACs) flying the Ho Chi Minh Trail out of Nhakon Phenom Air Base (NKP) in Thailand were frequently tasked to direct the dropping of electronic sensors along the Trail for McNamara’s Wall.

The unit that monitored these sensors, a highly classified unit code named Task Force Alpha, worked out of a separate guarded facility at NLP. Task Force Alpha personnel would provide coordinates for the FAC, demanding as close to pinpoint accuracy as possible.

The FAC flew into Laos, positively identified the location, and called for the fighters. Then-Lieutenant (now retired) Doc Lambert says, “You put down the smoke and then the fighters would come in at 500 feet or less on a delivery and the sensors would come off at a preset interval.”

Task Force Alpha could then electronically monitor any activity in the vicinity of the dropped sensors, relaying the information back to 7th Air Force headquarters, who then determined how many NVA vehicles or troops had passed through that area the previous night.

Doc Lambert with O-2 at NKP

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Story extracted from my book Cessna Warbirds: A Detailed and Personal History of Cessna’s Involvement in the Armed Forces.

In honor of Veterans Day 2009, I thought I would share a few brief synopses of some of the many O-1 Bird Dog and O-2 “Fighting Skymaster” pilots in the Korean and Vietnam Wars who went above and beyond the call of duty and received Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals, Air Force Crosses, and even the Medal of Honor for their actions.

I’m sure the following is, in no way, an exhaustive list, but it represents the awards that I am aware of. If you know of others, please add them using the comment form below.

Only one forward air controller received the Congressional Medal of Honor (an award that President Obama apparently is not aware is vastly different than the civilian Medal of Freedom). Herewith is a short version of what earned this brave young pilot his Medal of Honor:

On 24 February 1967, Air Force Capt Hilliard A. Wilbanks flew his O-1 to assist in an operation against enemy forces attacking near Dalat, South Vietnam. While flying reconnaissance for a ARVN Ranger Battalion, Captain Wilbanks discovered dug-in enemy troops on hilltops preparing to ambush the Rangers and promptly requested helicopter gunships. When the enemy realized their ambush had been compromised, they began a mortar, machine gun, and automatic weapon barrage. Wilbanks took numerous hits as he tried to mark the enemy positions with marking rockets for the gunships. To keep the enemy troops at bay until the gunships arrived, Wilbanks opened fire with his M-16. Firing out of the side window of his O-1, Capt Wilbanks distracted the enemy troops and slowed their advance. The outnumbered Rangers managed to withdraw as the attackers diverted their fire to Wilbanks’ low-flying aircraft. Despite the numerous hits on his O-1, Wilbanks continued to cover the withdrawal. On his final pass, however, he was severely wounded and crashed between the opposing forces. For his heroic support of the Rangers, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

The rest of the stories in my files (compiled while researching my book Cessna Warbirds) are presented in chronological order:

Feb 1951, L-19, Korea, Capt Charles Posz and observer Lt Ralph Clark, Distinguished Flying Cross – while circling at 6,000 feet to check on an enemy position near Pyongyang six miles behind the lines, their Bird Dog was struck by AAA. Clark regained control by applying full left rudder and aileron and accelerating to 125 MPH (speeds below 110 MPH led to a stall). Posz finally brought the plane down at full throttle and 135 MPH, taking almost all of the 4,600 foot runway at Chunchon to stop the Bird Dog, which had lost 12 feet of its right wing. Posz was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster for his DFC for heroism in diverting enemy attention with repeated low-level passes while friendly forces retrieved the trapped crews of two disabled tanks, without regard for his own safety in his unarmed aircraft.

Oct 1951, L-19, Korea, Capt George B. Daniels, Distinguished Flying Cross – for dropping two flame throwers by parachute from his L-19 to Army troops pinned down during an attack on enemy forces at Heartbreak Ridge.

Oct 1951, L-19, Korea, Capt Robert R. Harding, Air Medal, Oak Leaf Cluster – for delivering plasma at night to an unlighted forward airstrip embedded in the midst of 1,500-foot hills. To prevent the six bottles of life-giving fluid from getting shook up, crew chief Corporal Laurence F. Anderson rode along and held them and was also awarded the Air Medal.

Nov 1963, O-1, Vietnam, Capt Richard L. Whitesides, Air Force Cross (posthumous) – for actions in continuing to direct air strikes against enemy positions despite repeated anti-aircraft hits on his own aircraft.

Mar 1965, O-1, Vietnam, Maj William W. McAllister, Air Force Cross (posthumous) – for directing air strikes in darkness and deteriorating weather on two consecutive nights.

Dec 1965, O-1, Vietnam, Capt Delbert W. Fleener, Air Force Cross – although wounded, he continued to fly cover until a downed pilot was successfully rescued.

Feb 1966, O-1, Vietnam, Capt Ramon A. Horinek, Air Force Cross – for directing air strikes both from his O-1 and from the ground throughout a major battle.

Aug 1967, O-2, Vietnam, Capt Donald Stevens, Air Force Cross – for flying cover and providing radio relay for a downed pilot for eight hours until the stricken aviator could be picked up by helicopter.

Nov 1967, O-1, Vietnam, Maj Joseph B. Madden, Air Force Cross – for continuing to direct badly needed air strikes from his damaged aircraft.

Dec 1967, O-2, Vietnam, Capt Jerry Sellers, Air Force Cross (posthumous) – for deliberately provoking enemy ground fire to allow him to locate the enemy and direct fighter aircraft strikes.

Jan 1968, O-2, Vietnam, Capt Kenneth Sellers, Air Force Cross – for providing close air support for Army ground troops despite heavy enemy ground fire.

Jan 1968, O-2, Vietnam, Lt Col Karl Feurriegal, Air Force Cross – for directing air strikes despite heavy ground fire to prevent an enemy overrun of friendly forces.

Jan 1968, O-2, Vietnam, Lt Col Allan Baer, Air Force Cross – for demonstrating “extraordinary heroism” in the face of enemy ground fire during difficult nighttime FAC missions.

Nov 1968, O-2, Vietnam, Capt Phillip Maywald, Air Force Cross – for providing support and directing air cover for a downed pilot for over two hours while coordinating a helicopter pick-up.

Nov 1968, O-2, Vietnam, Capt Donald Marx, Air Force Cross – for intentionally drawing enemy fire away from unarmed support aircraft.

Mar 1972, O-2, Vietnam, Maj Fred McNeill, Distinguished Flying Cross – for supporting the 81st ARVN Ranger Battalion pinned down in a tight section of the Plei Trap Valley. McNeill led a two ship of Navy A-7s through the clouds into the narrow valley on little more than a compass heading in an attempt to save the Rangers and their American advisors, pushing his O-2 to its maximum speed while the two A-7s wallowed along on his wing at what was, for them, a dangerously slow speed. He placed one marking rocket at each end of the ridgeline. The A-7s then laid down napalm along that ridge as the NVA opened fire with everything they had. The two A-7s zoomed up out of the valley to return to their ship. The ARVN troops and their advisors were ecstatic as the strike successfully broke up the enemy attack, and the unit’s commander credited that one attack with over 400 KBA.

Note: For anyone who doesn’t know, the Air Force Cross is only one notch below the Medal of Honor.

In the Vietnam War alone, 222 Air Force forward air controllers died as the result of that war, and their names are inscribed on the Wall at the Vietnam War Memorial.

When then-Major Fred McNeill (who has since passed on) served as an O-2 FAC in the Central Highlands of II Corps during 1972, he operated out of Pleiku into Cambodia, Laos, and even extreme southern North Vietnam. In the spring of 1972, he was tasked to direct an airstrike in support of an ARVN firebase on a mountain top northwest of Kontum. The ARVN had deployed a reconnaissance patrol, composed of about 100 ARVN troops and 20 US Army advisors, along an extremely rocky and absolutely barren ridgeline that stretched south from the firebase. Once well away from their base, they began taking intense fire from an entire company of NVA regulars that were scaling the sides of the ridge from both directions.

A-37 in revetment

When McNeill received the orders for a dawn close air support mission, the only available tactical aircraft was a pair of A-37Bs from Bien Hoa. . .Kontum was at the limit of their combat range. The squadron commander, Colonel Weed, and his wingman agreed to fly the mission, and McNeill asked them to bring all the napalm they could carry (four 750-pound canisters apiece). McNeill arrived in the target area at first light and contacted the pinned-down patrol. They were completely surrounded with no way to dig in or find cover on the rocky ridge. Casualties were already running to 30 percent and they were about to be overrun completely.

The rules of engagement prohibited dropping napalm within 100 meters of friendly troops unless the troops were safely dug in. However, the patrol leader insisted that McNeill direct the napalm attack. . .they were going to die, anyway, if he did not. To be sure there was no misunderstanding or later recriminations, McNeill recorded the approval and the patrol leader’s name on his standard-equipment tape recorder.

As the A-37s reported overhead and ready for the attack, with no excess fuel for subsequent attacks, McNeill briefed them carefully and told one of them to drop on the north side of the ridge and the other on the south side of the ridge. McNeill placed one marking rocket on each side of the ridge to mark the point where he wanted them to start laying down the napalm. He gave final attack directions to Colonel Weed and his wingman and then gave them a post-attack heading for a direct route to Pleiku, the nearest suitable airfield.

The Army radio operator keyed his microphone to say something just as the napalm from the A=37s began to explode. As the initial explosions died out, McNeill could hear the troops whooping and hollering through the still-keyed mic. . .the napalm had been laid precisely on target without hitting a single ARVN or US Army soldier. The NVA immediately broke contact and pulled back — after losing up to 300 of the own troops to the napalm. The A-37s zoomed away and took up their heading for Pleiku with their fuel state dwindling.

O-2A in revetment

When McNeill landed back at Pleiku, he discovered that Colonel Weed’s wingman had ran out of fuel on the runway and had to be towed to a parking spot for refueling. That night in the Pleiku bar, neither of those Dragonfly pilots was able to buy his own beer. . .every Pleiku pilot was too impressed with their performance that day!

Disponibili anche in nero

Before the first O-2As had reached South Vietnam, USAF asked Cessna to determine the feasibility of modifying the design to create a new FAC aircraft to eliminate the O-2’s shortcomings while capitalizing on the positive features that led to its selection in the first place. A Cessna design team quickly developed Cessna Preliminary Design Memorandum Report No. 26, titled “Model 348 2-Place Tandem Turboprop Military FAC Aircraft,” and issued it on 17 March 1967.

This proposed Model 348 retained the O-2A’s fuselage from the rear doorpost aft but replaced the forward fuselage with a narrower design for improved downward visibility. Beefed-up wings and empennage allowed a maximum gross weight of 5,500 pounds, providing up to 3,600 pounds of useful load (crew, fuel, and weapons). The design also incorporated tandem seating (with the rear-seat observer sitting just aft of the wing leading edge), enhanced electronics and avionics, a forward-looking infrared surveillance equipment, a downward-looking reconnaissance camera, a side-firing minigun, a 12-inch-wide bullet-resistant center windshield section, and an additional hardpoint on each wing for more weapons or external fuel tanks. A pair of 370-horsepower Allison 250-B14 turboprop engines drove 86 inch, constant speed, reversing propellers.

O-2TT mock-up with dummies in the cockpit (Kansas Aviation Museum/Robert J. Pickett Collection photo)

Cessna proposed developing a modification kit for field installation that reused the existing aft fuselage, tail booms, wings, main landing gear, and flight control surfaces. Estimated performance at 4,800 pounds gross weight included a maximum cruise speed of 200 KIAS, a sea-level rate-of-climb of 2,800 feet/minute, and a maximum range of 773 nautical miles. USAF designated the project the O 2TT (for Tandem Turboprop), and Cessna estimated a kit cost of $38,150 per aircraft plus the cost of the Allison engines. Cessna also estimated the non-recurring development costs at only $143,710. Cessna claimed that the first kit could be delivered to the field within 17 months and require 532 manhours to install.

Unfortunately for Cessna, the USAF opted for the Rockwell OV-10 Bronco instead.

The O-2A “Fighting Skymaster” (aka Oscar Deuce, Mixmaster, etc.) served long and faithfully through much of the Vietnam War. Tales of derring-do by its mostly young pilots are legion. The following story is one of them.

The late Major Fred McNeill, an O-2 FAC with the 700 pilot 20th TASS at Pleiku and the first USAF FAC to fly missions inside Cambodia, recalls the day he scared up a pack of elephants that, during previous debriefings, he had told the Intelligence officers were being used to transport supplies. The Intelligence folks had not believed his stories, although he had been certain he saw the tracks of the elephants. One day, he and a South Vietnam observer were flying over a small village near Pleiku at 10,000 feet (to get above a dense cloud of smoke caused by locals burning off their rice fields).

To prevent any of the enemy combatants on the ground hearing his approach, McNeill shutdown both engines, rolled inverted, and dove straight down on the village. When he restarted the engines in the dive, they emitted a tremendous bra-a-a-at! sound that spooked the elephants in the village. As the animals scattered, McNeill’s observer snapped a few photographs.

Despite the photos, they still had a hard time convincing the Intelligence officers that there really were elephants down there. Regrettably, those photos vanished into the inner sanctum of military intelligence, never to be seen again.

O-2A in revetment at Pleiku AB, Vietnam, in 1972 (Fred McNeill photo)

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Be sure to read the dozens of other war stories in, and get one of the few remaining copies of, Cessna Warbirds !

The following is an excerpt from my book Cessna Warbirds:

The O-2A had been tested and certified for carrying a pair of SUU-11A/A 7.62mm minigun pods on the inboard weapons pylons. The first O-2A pilots in South Vietnam, in fact, used the miniguns in combat. Pilot bravado soon led to the FACs taking on enemy ground forces while waiting for fighter aircraft to arrive with heavier, and more effective, weapons. When an unarmored and slow O-2 squared off against a crew-served AAA weapon like a 23mm, even with those “mighty” miniguns aboard, the O-2 invariably lost. Unfortunately, many O-2As sustained needless hits while pressing attacks, and several pilots were shot down.

Pacific Air Force (PACAF) headquarters quickly outlawed the minigun pods and removed them from the theater entirely. From that point on, USAF FACs, whether flying the old O-1s or the new O-2s, were prohibited from carrying any armament except white phosphorous (“Willie Pete”) target marking rockets.

An Early O-2A sporting a pair of miniguns (Kansas Aviation Museum/Robert J. Pickett Collection by permission)

When then-Lt Doc Lambert first arrived at Nakhon Phanom Air Base (NKP), Thailand, each FAC was issued an M-16 that he carried with him on missions. Most of them would carry three or four clips of ammunition in their helmet bags. When the fighters had gone home and the FAC had some fuel left, he might find some enemy troops (maybe trying to fill in the bomb craters on the roads) and poke his M-16 out the open right window.

Likewise, then-Lt John Wiley recalls that they tried various techniques for firing the M-16 out the window. They found that if it was fired upright through the small vent window, the shells were ejected into the instrument panel and cracked a lot of instrument glass. If the weapon was held inverted, the shells flew into the back and bounced around in the radio rack assembly. To prevent the shell casings from being ejected into the cockpit, the gun was held far enough out the right side window to ensure they were ejected outside. Unfortunately, those spent casings tended to strike the rear propeller and put nicks in it, causing bad vibrations.

The maintenance technicians were replacing a lot of rear propellers, which were being bought in sufficient numbers to cover this unexpected damage. After several months, the squadron commander at NKP ordered that no more M-16s could be carried — besides the propeller supply problem, he did not want his FACs flying that low or trying to fight the battles on their own. After that, they were only allowed to carry their service issue .38 revolvers. Not to be completely foiled by petty regulations, many FACs took to shooting at the enemy soldiers with that little .38 sticking out the small vent window on the pilot’s side!

During 1970, the 23rd TASS FACs discovered that the NVA was moving supplies down a river that wended its way down from Tchepone and more or less paralleled Route Nine. The enemy had stretched cables across the river and just floated the supplies downstream. The FACs often went out searching for those cables and any supplies that might be in the river during the day. Occasionally, there were no fighters available and, since the river rafts tended to be lightly defended, the FAC would just fire some “Willie Pete” rockets at the barges. White phosphorous burns very hot and proved capable of exploding the oil drums or burning through the cables and releasing the supplies, which then floated away uncontrolled.

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Be sure to get one of the few remaining copies of Cessna Warbirds to read the whole story of “Fighting Skymaster” and the 12,000 other military Cessnas!

Another from the Cessna Warbirds Collection by Kerrie Shiel (my wife)

O-2A (Cessna 337) "On Patrol." Click to buy a print for $35.

Original oil on canvas painting is 16″ x 20″

Each print is 12″ x 15″ and printed on museum-quality stock

Price per print: $35 plus shipping

Click here to buy your print

OR

Click here to read more about the O-2A “Fighting Skymaster”

NOTE: This article was originally published in Cessna Flyer magazine back in December 2007. I have not had time to update it, so the number of Cessna warbirds being flown and/or restored in Australia and New Zealand may have changed. But I’m pretty sure the specific aircraft mentioned are still owned and flown by the people and organizations indicated.

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Aficionados of ex-military Cessnas can be found around the world, including Australia and New Zealand. Museums and private owners Down Under have restored and continue to fly at least 33 Cessna Warbirds today – Model 180s, O-1 Bird Dogs, O-2 “Fighting Skymasters,” and A-37B Dragonfly attack jets. The Australia/New Zealand warbird community, although smaller, is just as active as its US counterpart.

Between 1959 and the early 1970s, the Royal Australian Army operated a fleet of Cessna 180s – eight 180As, seven 180Ds, and four 180Es. Seven of them served with the  161 Independent Reconnaissance Flight of the First Australian Task Force during the Vietnam War. Four are currently being flown by private owners in Australia, and one by a private owner in New Zealand. In addition, one is owned and flown by Australia’s Temora Aviation Museum, and two are in the collection of the Museum of Australian Army Flying, including the last Australian 180 flown in Vietnam.

Two Cessna O-2Bs (military Cessna 337 Skymasters) currently grace the skies of Australia. One is owned and regularly flown by the Temora Aviation Museum, while the other belongs to Randal McFarlane. Although O-2s were never operated by the Australian military, 36 Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilots flew as O-2 forward air controllers (FACs) with the US Air Force in Vietnam. Randal purchased his “Fighting Skymaster” from a US owner several years ago. It had seen duty in Vietnam and, at one time, had been painted overall black – probably during its service with the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron in Pleiku, a unit that flew special nighttime FAC missions. During restoration, he found a biblical fish emblem on the aircraft’s nose with the annotation “Proverbs 21:31,” a feature he has retained on the combat veteran. Numerous bullet holes, and subsequent patches, are recorded in the official US Air Force logs. [Note: Proverbs 21:31 in the King James version reads: “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.”]

Randall McFarlane's O-2A

Australia’s 161 Independent Recce Flight operated two O-1 Bird Dogs in Vietnam, but both were on loan from the US Air Force. The unit acquire its first O-1 from the US Army in 1967 and flew it regularly in the FAC and “road recce” roles (“road recce” involved overflying the roads to check for enemy boobytraps and roadblocks). In September 1967, this O-1, which continued to carry US Army marking but with the Australian unit’s kangaroo emblem on the tail, was damaged in a landing accident in strong, gusty crosswinds. While this first O-1 was being repaired, the US Army replaced it with another Bird Dog. However, it was shot down on May 23, 1968, while 161 Flight’s commanding officer Major George Constable flew an escort mission near Bien Hoa for a convoy of Australian Army vehicles. Constable was killed.

Museums and private owners in Australia currently fly 15 O-1s, with another four presently undergoing restoration. Four others are owned by individuals in New Zealand. Colin Pay, a successful Australian crop duster who restored the derelict hulk of the last Spitfire flown by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) into an airshow-quality aircraft, retrieved all of the Bird Dogs now Down Under from Thailand and Vietnam. The Royal Australian Air Force Museum maintains one O-1E in its collection. In addition to his O-2 mentioned above, Randal McFarlane, Managing Director of regional airline McAir Airlines and a founding member of the Australian Warbirds Association, owns an O-1G dubbed “Little Puff” — a combat brag alluding to the Vietnam-era AC-47 gunships nicknamed “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

Randal McFarlane's O-1G "Little Puff"

As a side note, Randal also owns a TBM Avenger, a Douglas A-26 Invader, and one of the original Harvard Mk IV’s converted by 20th Century Fox for the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!, which has also appeared in the movies Battle of Midway and Empire of the Sun.

Rob Fox, an Australian professional photographer and editor of the excellent Flightpath magazine, owns an outstanding example of an O-1G. Rob notes that during restoration of his Bird Dog, he found over 40 patched bullet holes, silent testimony to the hazards faced by combat FACs. Now that the aircraft is fully restored and flying, he devotes one day each month to participate in the interactive display held by the RAAF Museum at RAAF Point Cook (an airfield established in 1914), where he  displays his Bird Dog and explains its important combat role to visitors. Rob says the old warhorse exhibits “spirited performance” and “amazing STOL capabilities.” He also notes, “In the cockpit, all the controls are where they should be and ergonomically it is dream — even for a tailwheel aircraft it has brilliant forward vision for the pilot.”

Rob also uses his Bird Dog as a photography platform. The large, opening side windows and general stability make it an excellent camera ship. Rob has even taken successful “air-to-air photographs with  a BAC Strikemaster jet.” For airshows, Rob has flown “the FAC role directing T-28Ds, O-2s, C-180s and A-37Bs,” all also combat veterans from the Vietnam War.

In addition to the O-1s and 180s, four privately-owned Cessna A-37B Dragonfly aircraft are based in Australia and one in New Zealand. All five originally belonged to the South Vietnamese Air Force, later “acquired” by the North Vietnamese when they overran the South in 1975. The first A-37B to zoom into the skies Down Under was acquired from Vietnam and restored by Westfield Group heir David Lowy in the early 1990s. Lowy is the founder and president of the Temora Aviation Museum, which now operates a second A-37 that he regularly flies. He was also the 1998 Australian Aerobatic Champion and a member of the Australian Aerobatic Team at the World Aerobatic Championships in 1996 and 1998.

Cessna warbirds are, indeed, an important part of the warbird scene Down Under, with no signs of interest waning anytime soon.

I recently added a page to this site that lists all of the flight manuals we (Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC) have for sale for Cessna warbirds, plus a few other non-Cessna military aircraft.

In addition to the pilot’s flight manuals for the Cessna A-37, LC-126, O-2A/B, T-37B, AT-8/AT-17/UC-78/Crane I/JRC-1, and U-3A/B, we also have the flight manuals (aka Dash Ones) for the McDonnell Douglas F-4C and F-4E, the Lockheed Martin F-16C, the Lockheed T-33A, the Northrop T-38A/AT-38B, the Republic F-105, and the North American F-100C and F-100D (plus the F-100 Performance Data manual, aka the “-1-1″).

We also have the following manuals related to various military Cessnas:

O-2A Weapons Delivery Manual
T-37B Primary Flying Manual
T-37B & C Spin Test Reports
T-37B Structural Repair Instructions
T-37B Illustrated Parts Breakdown
T-41A Instructional Techniques Handbook

And, finally, we have the Aerodynamics for Pilots pamphlet (ATC Pamphlet 51-3, 1979) and a Tactical Air Command Air Strike Planning Guide (titled Airstrike Planning/Execution — Why? How? When? Where? and issued in the mid-1970s).

For the links to these manuals (where you can view the table of contents, see some sample pages, and buy your own copy), just visit the “Flight Manuals & more” link in the blue banner at the top of any page on this site.

Clicca QUI per vedere il filmato in streaming
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Ho realizzato questo piccolo video tributo per tre semplici ragioni:

1) Adoro il Cessna O-2 / C337: 45 anni sul groppone ma e’ sempre un piacere vederlo librarsi fra le nuvole;
2) BAT 21 e’ un film fico (sorvoliamo pero’ sull’accuratezza generale);
3) reputo i Controllori Aerei Avanzati (FAC) fra i piloti piu’ cazzuti in assoluto.

Il montaggio e’ stato realizzato con Sony Vegas, mentre il brano in sottofondo, se qualcuno se lo dovesse domandare, e’ “Come Fly With Me” di Frank Sinatra.

PS: “Oscar Deuce” (da O-2) era il nickname ufficioso affibbiatogli dai piloti USA in Vietnam

Links:

http://www.skymaster.org.uk/ – fansite britannico dedicato allo Skymaster
http://www.337skymaster.com/ – Skymaster Owners and Pilots Association
http://cessnawarbirds.blogspot.com/ – blog dedicato ai Cessna in divisa