Grumman OV-1D Mohawk
The increasing vulnerability of the L-19/O-1 Birddog in both US Army and Marine service led the two services to jointly explore a replacement. For added reliability and durability, the new design would use two engines; for added speed, it would use turboprops; and it had to have excellent visibility from the cockpit. Since the Marines wanted an aircraft that could be armed with rockets and gunpods for self-defense and counterinsurgency, that requirement was added as well. The US Navy chimed in with a requirement that it be able to operate from light amphibious assault ships, which fit in well with another Army requirement that the design be able to fly from unimproved airstrips. Despite all of the demands, Grumman was able to satisfy all of them with the G-134. The Marines pulled out of the project due to lack of funding, but the Army pressed forward, naming the G-134 the YOV-1 Mohawk. It made its first flight in April 1959. It was redesignated OV-1 in 1962.
The USAF was against the project from the beginning, as fixed-wing armed Army aircraft infringed on the USAF's role. The Army was unsure if it wanted the Mohawk either, as it was expensive, and it was thought that a helicopter could do the same job. When the OV-1s were deployed to Vietnam, however, the Army's opinions changed: the Mohawk was robust, easy to fly, provided superb observation ability, and when equipped with side-looking radar (SLAR), gave the Army excellent reconnaissance that was better than most USAF types at the time. Much to the USAF's chagrin, the Army ordered more Mohawks. The USAF was able to secure an agreement that the OV-1 not be armed, but in practice over Vietnam, the Mohawks still carried rockets for "self-defense."
Following Vietnam, the OV-1 was continually updated, and its systems were not only useful in the battlefield surveillance role, but also in tracking drug runners, looking for missing persons, and checking for wildfire hotspots. A few would be deployed for the First Gulf War, but it was the Mohawk's swan song: the OV-1 was withdrawn from service beginning in 1991, in favor of the E-8A JSTARS. A number were also supplied to Israel in the 1980s, and to Argentina, which retired their Mohawks in 2013. 380 were built, and at least 20 are still around.
Operational details on this OV-1D, 61-2700, are scarce. It was delivered to the US Army in 1961 and may have seen service in Vietnam, though I was unable to find which unit. In the 1980s, it was transferred to the 171st Aviation Regiment (Georgia National Guard) and based at NAS Atlanta. 61-2700 was retired in 1987 and placed as a gate guard for the Army side of NAS Atlanta until 2007. Though NAS Atlanta was turned over to the Army in that year, 61-2700 was moved to the Marietta Museum of History's Aviation Park on the northwest side of Dobbins ARB, to join USAF and Navy aircraft on display there.
When it was displayed as a gate guard, 61-2700 was not in good shape--it deteriorated considerably in the humid Georgia environment and was inaccurately painted. Luckily, the Marietta Museum of History has done a fine job restoring the aircraft to its Vietnam-era appearance; 61-2700 looks like it just rolled out of Grumman.
Grumman OV-1D Mohawk
The increasing vulnerability of the L-19/O-1 Birddog in both US Army and Marine service led the two services to jointly explore a replacement. For added reliability and durability, the new design would use two engines; for added speed, it would use turboprops; and it had to have excellent visibility from the cockpit. Since the Marines wanted an aircraft that could be armed with rockets and gunpods for self-defense and counterinsurgency, that requirement was added as well. The US Navy chimed in with a requirement that it be able to operate from light amphibious assault ships, which fit in well with another Army requirement that the design be able to fly from unimproved airstrips. Despite all of the demands, Grumman was able to satisfy all of them with the G-134. The Marines pulled out of the project due to lack of funding, but the Army pressed forward, naming the G-134 the YOV-1 Mohawk. It made its first flight in April 1959. It was redesignated OV-1 in 1962.
The USAF was against the project from the beginning, as fixed-wing armed Army aircraft infringed on the USAF's role. The Army was unsure if it wanted the Mohawk either, as it was expensive, and it was thought that a helicopter could do the same job. When the OV-1s were deployed to Vietnam, however, the Army's opinions changed: the Mohawk was robust, easy to fly, provided superb observation ability, and when equipped with side-looking radar (SLAR), gave the Army excellent reconnaissance that was better than most USAF types at the time. Much to the USAF's chagrin, the Army ordered more Mohawks. The USAF was able to secure an agreement that the OV-1 not be armed, but in practice over Vietnam, the Mohawks still carried rockets for "self-defense."
Following Vietnam, the OV-1 was continually updated, and its systems were not only useful in the battlefield surveillance role, but also in tracking drug runners, looking for missing persons, and checking for wildfire hotspots. A few would be deployed for the First Gulf War, but it was the Mohawk's swan song: the OV-1 was withdrawn from service beginning in 1991, in favor of the E-8A JSTARS. A number were also supplied to Israel in the 1980s, and to Argentina, which retired their Mohawks in 2013. 380 were built, and at least 20 are still around.
Operational details on this OV-1D, 61-2700, are scarce. It was delivered to the US Army in 1961 and may have seen service in Vietnam, though I was unable to find which unit. In the 1980s, it was transferred to the 171st Aviation Regiment (Georgia National Guard) and based at NAS Atlanta. 61-2700 was retired in 1987 and placed as a gate guard for the Army side of NAS Atlanta until 2007. Though NAS Atlanta was turned over to the Army in that year, 61-2700 was moved to the Marietta Museum of History's Aviation Park on the northwest side of Dobbins ARB, to join USAF and Navy aircraft on display there.
When it was displayed as a gate guard, 61-2700 was not in good shape--it deteriorated considerably in the humid Georgia environment and was inaccurately painted. Luckily, the Marietta Museum of History has done a fine job restoring the aircraft to its Vietnam-era appearance; 61-2700 looks like it just rolled out of Grumman.