Cessna O-2A Skymaster
By 1966, the Vietnam War was in full swing, and the USAF was noting the alarming rise in losses among its Forward Air Control (FAC) community, at that time flying mostly Cessna O-1 Bird Dogs. The O-1 was a good FAC platform, but single engined; the FAC role required low and slow flight, making it vulnerable to ground fire. The USAF’s requirement for an “off-the-shelf” interim replacement for the O-1, which would retain the O-1’s good visibility from the cockpit and have better survivalbility, was suited well by Cessna’s Model 337 Skymaster. The Model 337 used a unique “push-pull” twin engine setup, which had better performance and reliability than a single-engined aircraft, but did not require twin-engined certification to fly. The USAF immediately ordered 532 Skymasters as O-2A FAC aircraft and loudspeaker-equipped O-2B psychological warfare aircraft, with the first reaching USAF units in March 1967.
The O-2, nicknamed “Oscar Deuce” or “Duck” by its pilots, proved to be an excellent FAC platform, even if the twin-engined reliability was thought by its pilots to be oversold—the only thing that handled worse than an O-2 on one engine, the saying went, was an O-2 with no engines. Using marker rockets on underwing hardpoints, FAC O-2s would mark a target for USAF or South Vietnamese strike aircraft to attack VC/NVA positions in the dense jungle and mountains of South Vietnam, and occasionally Laos or even the southern portion of North Vietnam. FAC pilots were known to make strafing runs or salvo their rockets into attacking enemy troops if the situation on the ground was desperate, and some O-2 pilots even equipped their aircraft with side-firing machine guns to act as “emergency gunships,” though the USAF discouraged this activity. The FAC role was dangerous enough: 178 O-2s were lost during the Vietnam War, nearly one out of every five the USAF acquired. As it turned out, the O-2 was at least as effective as its scheduled replacement, the OV-10 Bronco, and its involvement in Vietnam ended only when American involvement did in 1973.
Following the Vietnam War, the O-2 remained in service as a FAC, though it was gradually relegated to liaison duties with Air National Guard units as the OV-10 and jet-powered OA-37B Dragonfly replaced it. The Skymaster was finally retired from USAF service around 1986, but several remained in service with the US Army as test aircraft and the US Navy as range safety aircraft for the strike training program. The last O-2 left US service in 2010. Many ex-USAF aircraft were supplied to other nations as liasion or counterinsurgency aircraft, or in Africa, anti-poaching aircraft.
This is 67-21422, an O-2A acquired by the USAF in 1967. It may have served in Vietnam (likely with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, either at Da Nang, South Vietnam or Nakhon Phanom, Thailand); after the war, it was passed on to the 163rd Tactical Air Support Group (California ANG), based at Ontario Municipal Airport. When the 163rd TASG transitioned to the F-4C Phantom II in 1982--which must have been quite the jump--67-21422 was retired. The South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth AFB acquired it sometime thereafter, and it has been on display since.
Like most USAF O-2s, 67-21422 is rather anonymous, in overall light gray; this color was chosen because it blends best against cloudy skies, which were quite common in Vietnam. As of 2018, it was recently repainted.
Cessna O-2A Skymaster
By 1966, the Vietnam War was in full swing, and the USAF was noting the alarming rise in losses among its Forward Air Control (FAC) community, at that time flying mostly Cessna O-1 Bird Dogs. The O-1 was a good FAC platform, but single engined; the FAC role required low and slow flight, making it vulnerable to ground fire. The USAF’s requirement for an “off-the-shelf” interim replacement for the O-1, which would retain the O-1’s good visibility from the cockpit and have better survivalbility, was suited well by Cessna’s Model 337 Skymaster. The Model 337 used a unique “push-pull” twin engine setup, which had better performance and reliability than a single-engined aircraft, but did not require twin-engined certification to fly. The USAF immediately ordered 532 Skymasters as O-2A FAC aircraft and loudspeaker-equipped O-2B psychological warfare aircraft, with the first reaching USAF units in March 1967.
The O-2, nicknamed “Oscar Deuce” or “Duck” by its pilots, proved to be an excellent FAC platform, even if the twin-engined reliability was thought by its pilots to be oversold—the only thing that handled worse than an O-2 on one engine, the saying went, was an O-2 with no engines. Using marker rockets on underwing hardpoints, FAC O-2s would mark a target for USAF or South Vietnamese strike aircraft to attack VC/NVA positions in the dense jungle and mountains of South Vietnam, and occasionally Laos or even the southern portion of North Vietnam. FAC pilots were known to make strafing runs or salvo their rockets into attacking enemy troops if the situation on the ground was desperate, and some O-2 pilots even equipped their aircraft with side-firing machine guns to act as “emergency gunships,” though the USAF discouraged this activity. The FAC role was dangerous enough: 178 O-2s were lost during the Vietnam War, nearly one out of every five the USAF acquired. As it turned out, the O-2 was at least as effective as its scheduled replacement, the OV-10 Bronco, and its involvement in Vietnam ended only when American involvement did in 1973.
Following the Vietnam War, the O-2 remained in service as a FAC, though it was gradually relegated to liaison duties with Air National Guard units as the OV-10 and jet-powered OA-37B Dragonfly replaced it. The Skymaster was finally retired from USAF service around 1986, but several remained in service with the US Army as test aircraft and the US Navy as range safety aircraft for the strike training program. The last O-2 left US service in 2010. Many ex-USAF aircraft were supplied to other nations as liasion or counterinsurgency aircraft, or in Africa, anti-poaching aircraft.
This is 67-21422, an O-2A acquired by the USAF in 1967. It may have served in Vietnam (likely with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, either at Da Nang, South Vietnam or Nakhon Phanom, Thailand); after the war, it was passed on to the 163rd Tactical Air Support Group (California ANG), based at Ontario Municipal Airport. When the 163rd TASG transitioned to the F-4C Phantom II in 1982--which must have been quite the jump--67-21422 was retired. The South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth AFB acquired it sometime thereafter, and it has been on display since.
Like most USAF O-2s, 67-21422 is rather anonymous, in overall light gray; this color was chosen because it blends best against cloudy skies, which were quite common in Vietnam. As of 2018, it was recently repainted.