American observation aircraft
The
Cessna O-2 Skymaster
(nicknamed "Oscar Deuce") is a military version of the
Cessna 337 Super Skymaster
, used for
forward air control
(FAC) and
psychological operations
(PSYOPS) by the US military between 1967 and 2010.
Design and development
[
edit
]
The O-2 lacks the 337 propeller spinner
In 1966, the
United States Air Force
(USAF) commissioned
Cessna
to build a military variant of the Skymaster to replace the
Cessna O-1 Bird Dog
.
Both the civilian and military Skymasters were low-cost twin-engine piston-powered aircraft, with one engine in the nose of the aircraft and a second in the rear of the fuselage. The
push-pull configuration
provided centerline thrust, allowing simpler operation than the low-wing mounting of most twin-engine light aircraft, and allowed a high wing to be used, providing clear observation below and behind the aircraft.
Modifications made for the military configuration included fore-and-aft seating for a pilot and observer, instead of the six seats of the civilian version; installation of view panels in the doors (for improved ground observation); installation of flame-retardant foam in the wing-mounted fuel tanks (slightly increasing weight, and reducing maximum fuel capacity by 3%); installation of military, rather than civilian, communication and navigation equipment and antennas; removal of
propeller spinners
; increased gross weight (5,400 lb vs. 4,400 lb in civilian version), with component strengthening as required to support the increase; and removal of interior upholstery.
The first O-2 flew in January 1967, and the plane went into production shortly thereafter. Performance (especially at cruising altitudes) was degraded due to the added antennas and significant weight increase, but was considered sufficient for the anticipated low-level operation.
Operational history
[
edit
]
United States
[
edit
]
U.S. Air Force
[
edit
]
O-2B Skymaster dropping leaflets over Vietnam
The USAF took delivery of the O-2 Skymaster in March 1967 and the O-2A also entered the U.S. Army's inventory during 1967, from USAF stock. By 1970, a total of 532 O-2s had been built, in two variants, for the USAF.
During the
Vietnam War
, the O-2A was introduced as a replacement for the
O-1 Bird Dog
, in the
forward air control
(FAC) aircraft and served in that role with the
20th Tactical Air Support Squadron
. The O-2B was equipped with loudspeakers and a leaflet dispenser for use in the
psychological operations
(PSYOPS) role.
While it was intended that the Skymaster be replaced in the FAC mission by the
OV-10 Bronco
, the O-2A continued to be used for night missions after the OV-10's introduction, due to the OV-10's high level of cockpit illumination, rendering night reconnaissance impractical.
[1]
The O-2 was phased out completely after additional night upgrades to the OV-10.
[2]
[3]
A total of 178 USAF O-2 Skymasters were lost in the Vietnam War, to all causes.
[4]
Following the Vietnam War, the O-2 continued to operate with both
U.S. Air Force
and
Air National Guard
units into the late 1980s.
U.S. Navy
[
edit
]
Six former USAF O-2A airframes were transferred to the
U.S. Navy
in 1983 for use as range controllers with
Attack Squadron 122
(VA-122), the Pacific Fleet Replacement Squadron for the
A-7 Corsair II
at
Naval Air Station Lemoore
, California. These aircraft were later transferred to
Strike Fighter Squadron 125
(
VFA-125
), the
F/A-18 Hornet
FRS at NAS Lemoore, in 1986 for use in the same range control role.
[5]
These O-2A aircraft were eventually replaced by
T-34C Turbomentor
aircraft transferred from the Naval Air Training Command.
U.S. Army
[
edit
]
Of the six USN aircraft mentioned above, two were transferred to the
U.S. Army
in late 1990.
[5]
USAF O-2As were augmented by the 1990 aircraft transfer from the Navy. Several disassembled USAF O-2s remain in storage at
Davis-Monthan AFB
, Arizona.
[5]
Two O-2As were used at
Laguna Army Airfield
, Arizona as part of testing programs carried out by the
Yuma Proving Ground
. These were retired in October 2010 and sent to a museum.
[6]
South Vietnam
[
edit
]
35 USAF O-2 aircraft were later transferred to and operated by the former
Republic of Vietnam Air Force
.
[3]
El Salvador
[
edit
]
During the
Salvadoran Civil War
, the
Salvadoran Air Force
received a total of 23 O-2As and 2 O-2Bs from the United States, the first arriving in 1981. They were employed to observe the movements of
FMLN
formations and direct air strikes against them, playing a major role in forcing the rebel movement to abandon large-scale operations.
Near the end of the war in 1990, the rebels' acquisition of
SA-7
missiles resulted in the loss of two O-2As, while another was destroyed by mortar fire, and two more were lost in crashes.
[7]
Civilian use
[
edit
]
CAL FIRE
[
edit
]
In the mid-1970s, the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
, or CAL FIRE, found that the contractor-owned air attack aircraft, mostly single-engine
Cessna 182s
and
Cessna 210s
, did not provide the airspeed and safety needed for the department's new air tanker program. In 1974, Senior Air Operations Officer Cotton Mason inspected 40 USAF O-2s at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
. The best 20 were selected and shipped to
Fresno, California
. These aircraft had been FAC aircraft in Vietnam and were shipped back to the United States in containers, and were disassembled and on pallets when they arrived at Fresno. A crew of
California Conservation Corps
(CCC) members under the supervision of a CDF Battalion Chief, who was an FAA Certificated Mechanic with Inspection Authorization (IA), reassembled the aircraft.
They were placed in service in 1976, and served CAL FIRE for more than 20 years, until replaced by a fleet of
OV-10 Broncos
.
[8]
Variants
[
edit
]
Planform view showing attachment points
- O-2A
- Version designed for use in forward air control missions, with underwing ordnance hard points to hold
rockets
,
gun pods
or
flares
. 513 delivered.
[3]
- O-2B
- Version designed for
psychological warfare
, equipped with
loudspeakers
and a leaflet dispenser, and not armed. Thirty-one former civil 337s were converted to O-2Bs.
[9]
Operators
[
edit
]
Botswana
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Ivory Coast
Haiti
An O-2A of the
Imperial Iranian Air Force
Iran
Namibia
- Namibian Air Force
? Six O-2A,
[10]
five of which were delivered on June 26, 1994, for use in the anti-poaching and anti-smuggling role.
[13]
El Salvador
Solomon Islands
South Korea
South Vietnam
Thailand
United States
Uruguay
Zimbabwe
Aircraft on display
[
edit
]
Displayed at the
Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins)
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21331,
National Museum of the United States Air Force
,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
, Ohio
[17]
[18]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21368, Air Commando Park,
Hurlburt Field
, Florida
[19]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21430,
Fort Worth Aviation Museum
,
Fort Worth, Texas
.
[20]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-10962, Main Gate,
Shaw Air Force Base
, South Carolina
[21]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21331, c/n 337M-0037, marked as 68-6864, c/n 337M-0153,
Air Force Armament Museum
,
Eglin Air Force Base
, Florida
[22]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21376,
105th Airlift Wing
area,
Stewart Air National Guard Base
, New York
[23]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-11164,
USAF Airman Heritage Museum
,
Lackland Air Force Base
, Texas
[24]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-6865,
Kelly Field
Heritage Museum,
Lackland Air Force Base
/
Kelly Field
Annex (formerly
Kelly Air Force Base
), Texas
[25]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21318,
Connecticut Air & Space Center
,
Sikorsky Memorial Airport
, Connecticut
[26]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21326, Dyess Linear Air Park,
Dyess Air Force Base
, Texas
[27]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21395, Air Mobility Command Museum,
Dover Air Force Base
, Delaware
[28]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-10848,
Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum
,
Travis Air Force Base
,
Fairfield, California
[29]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-10853, Hill Aerospace Museum,
Hill Air Force Base
, Utah
[30]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21380,
Museum of Aviation
,
Robins Air Force Base
, Georgia
[31]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-6871, Grissom Air Museum,
Grissom Air Reserve Base
(formerly
Grissom Air Force Base
), Indiana
[32]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-11160,
182nd Airlift Wing
complex,
Peoria Air National Guard Base
,
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport
, Illinois
[33]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 68-6901,
Pima Air and Space Museum
(adjacent to
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
), Tucson, Arizona
[34]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21413,
Castle Air Museum
(former
Castle Air Force Base
), Atwater, California
[35]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21411, in storage at
Museum of Aviation
,
Robins Air Force Base
,
Warner Robins, Georgia
. Formerly on display at
Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum
,
Rantoul, Illinois
.<
[36]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21330,
Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
,
Space Coast Regional Airport
, Titusville, Florida
[37]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21395,
Evergreen Aviation Museum
, McMinnville, Oregon
[38]
- O-2B, AF Ser. No. 67-21465,
March Field Air Museum
,
March Air Reserve Base
(formerly
March Air Force Base
), California
[39]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 69-7644,
American Wings Air Museum
, Anoka County Airport Jane's Field (KANE),
Blaine, Minnesota
[40]
- O-2A, AF Ser. No. 67-21416,
Yankee Air Museum
, Belleville, Michigan
[
citation needed
]
- In addition, several O-2s are privately operated as "
warbirds
".
Specifications (O-2)
[
edit
]
O-2 Line drawing
Data from
[41]
General characteristics
- Crew:
2
[42]
- Length:
29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
- Wingspan:
38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
- Height:
9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
- Wing area:
202.5 sq ft (18.81 m
2
)
- Aspect ratio
:
7.13:1
- Empty weight:
2,848 lb (1,292 kg)
- Max takeoff weight:
5,400 lb (2,449 kg)
- Powerplant:
2 ×
Continental IO-360
C/D air-cooled
flat-six
engines, 210 hp (160 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed:
199 mph (320 km/h, 173 kn) at sea level
- Cruise speed:
144 mph (232 km/h, 125 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
- Range:
1,060 mi (1,710 km, 920 nmi)
- Service ceiling:
19,800 ft (6,000 m)
- Rate of climb:
1,180 ft/min (6.0 m/s)
Armament
See also
[
edit
]
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
[
edit
]
- ^
The OV-10 Bronco Association (March 2002).
"What is the Pave Nail system?"
. Retrieved
3 May
2010
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Skutack, Daniel (February 2003).
"COVEYs in Southeast Asia"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 8 July 2011
. Retrieved
3 May
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Fact Sheets: Cessna O-2A Skymaster, Cessna O-2A Skymaster"
. Archived from
the original
on 1 August 2008.
- ^
Hobson, Chris.
Vietnam Air Losses, USAF/USN/USMC/ Fixed-Wing Southeast Asia 1961?1973
. 2001.
ISBN
1-85780-115-6
- ^
a
b
c
United States Military Aviation Directory, AIRTime Publishing, Norwalk CT, c2000, p. 231,
ISBN
1-880588-29-3
- ^
James Gilbert (October 2010).
"Retired aircraft soars in Yuma one last time"
. Army Times Publishing Company
. Retrieved
14 November
2010
.
- ^
Cooper, Tom.
"El Salvador, 1980?1992"
. ACIG.org
. Retrieved
30 January
2013
.
- ^
"Public domain material from "CDF Aviation Management History", CDF official website, retrieved 23 August 2007"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 April 2015
. Retrieved
23 August
2007
.
- ^
Andrade 1979, p. 140
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
"Cessna Skymasters used by non-US Air-Forces"
Archived
March 12, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
,
Skymaster.org.uk
. Accessed 10 May 2010.
- ^
"Haiti Air Force"
.
www.aeroflight.co.uk
.
- ^
"21st. Counter Insurgence Squadron O-2A"
. Archived from
the original
on 27 July 2012.
- ^
AIR International
, December 1994, p. 323.
- ^
World Air Forces ? Historical Listings Thailand (THL)
, archived from
the original
on 25 January 2012
, retrieved
30 August
2012
- ^
"Aviation Photo #1611364: Cessna O-2A Pelican - USA - Navy"
.
Airliners.net
.
- ^
Porfilio, Gabriel (19 June 2017).
"Uruguayan Navy accepts three Cessna O-2As from Chile"
.
IHS Jane's 360
. Orlando. Archived from
the original
on 20 June 2017
. Retrieved
20 June
2017
.
- ^
United States Air Force Museum
Archived
2010-07-26 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Cessna O-2A Skymaster"
.
National Museum of the United States Air Force
.
- ^
"Hulburt Field - O-2A Skymaster"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 June 2010.
- ^
"vmap - O-2A Skymaster (Gray)"
. Vmap.wikispaces.com. 20 November 1967. Archived from
the original
on 24 March 2016
. Retrieved
20 February
2014
.
- ^
Shaw AFB
Archived
2010-10-05 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
USAF Armament Museum
Archived
2010-09-07 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
New York ANG - 105th AG, Newburgh
Archived
2010-07-03 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
USAF History and Traditions Museum
Archived
1999-08-31 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Kelly Field Heritage Museum
Archived
2010-07-26 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Connecticut Air & Space Center
- ^
Dyess Linear Air Park
Archived
1999-08-31 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Air Mobility Command Museum
Archived
2010-12-04 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Travis Air Force Museum
Archived
2010-07-29 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Hill Air Force Base - Fact Sheet: SUPER SKYMASTER"
. Hill.af.mil. Archived from
the original
on 21 September 2012
. Retrieved
16 September
2012
.
- ^
"Museum of Aviation - Cessna O-2A Skymaster"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 September 2010.
- ^
"Grissom Air Museum - Cessna O-2A Skymaster"
. Archived from
the original
on 1 December 2010.
- ^
Illinois ANG - 182nd AG, Peoria
Archived
2010-06-23 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Pima Air & Space Museum
Archived
2010-07-26 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Castle Air Museum
Archived
2006-02-06 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"USAF Serial Number Search (67-21411)"
. Retrieved
14 February
2018
.
- ^
Valiant Air Command Museum
Archived
2010-12-04 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Help us save a Vietnam Vet!"
.
www.evergreenmuseum.org
. Archived from
the original
on 14 April 2021
. Retrieved
29 April
2020
.
- ^
March Field Air Museum
Archived
2010-08-13 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"American Wings Air Museum"
.
aviationmuseum.eu
. 16 October 2013
. Retrieved
17 May
2016
.
- ^
Donald & Lake 1996
, p. 115
- ^
Dorr & Bishop 1996
, p. 237
- ^
a
b
c
d
"T. 0. lL-2A-l - External stores - FAC_Book/0-2_Dash_One"
.
Chancefac.net
. Archived from
the original
on 16 November 2018.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Andrade, John (1979).
U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909
. Midland Counties Publications.
ISBN
0-904597-22-9
.
- Donald, David; Lake, Jon, eds. (1996).
Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft
(Single volume ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing.
ISBN
1-874023-95-6
.
- Dorr, Robert F.; Bishop, Chris (1996).
Vietnam Air War Debrief
. London: Aerospace Publishing.
ISBN
1-874023-78-6
.
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Cessna O-2 Skymaster
at Wikimedia Commons
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Single-engine
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Four engines
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Cessna Citation
family
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Military
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a
Redesignated during development •
b
Not built •
c
Produced only by Reims •
d
Transferred to
Beechcraft
during development •
e
Early models had no "I" suffix; some sources call these aircraft the
Citation 500
|
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USAAC/USAAF sequence
(1924?1942)
| |
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Tri-service sequence
(1962?present)
|
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1
Unconfirmed
|