| O-1 Bird Dog L-19 / OE | |
|---|---|
 An O-1A Bird Dog | |
| General information | |
| Type | Observation aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Cessna |
| Status | Active aswarbirds and with civilian pilots |
| Primary users | United States Army |
| Number built | 3,431 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1950–1959 |
| Introduction date | 1950 |
| First flight | 14 December 1949 |
| Retired | 1974 (U.S.) |
| Developed from | Cessna 170 |
| Variant | Cessna 308 |
| Developed into | SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 |
TheCessna O-1 Bird Dog is aliaison and observation aircraft that first flew on December 14, 1949, and entered service in 1950 as the L-19 in theKorean War. It went on to serve in many branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, was not retired until the 1970s in a number of variants, and also served in theVietnam War. It was also called the OE-1 and OE-2 in Navy service, flying with the Marine Corps, and in the 1960s, it was redesignated the O-1. It remains a civilian-flownwarbird aircraft, and several examples are in aviation museums. It was the first all-metal, fixed-wingaircraft ordered for and by theUnited States Army following theArmy Air Forces' separation from it in 1947. The Bird Dog had a lengthy career in the U.S. military and in other countries, with over 3400 produced.
It was further developed into a turboprop-powered version in the 1970s, theSIAI-Marchetti SM.1019. An experimental variant was theCessna 308, a one-off to explore the possibility of a four-person liaison version.
The U.S. Army was searching for an aircraft that could fly over enemy locations to collect information related toartillery fire target locations and distances, as well as performliaison duties, and preferably be constructed of all metal, as the fabric-covered liaison aircraft used duringWorld War II (primarilyStinson andPiper products) had short service lives. After the specification for a two-seat liaison and observation monoplane was issued, theCessna Aircraft Company submitted theCessna Model 305A, a development of theCessna 170. The Cessna 305A was a single-engined, lightweight, strut-braced, high-wing monoplane with atailwheel landing gear.
The greatest difference from the Cessna 170 was that the 305A had only two seats intandem configuration (the largest tandem-seat aircraft Cessna ever produced), with angled side windows to improve ground observation. Other differences included a redesigned rear fuselage, providing a view directly to the rear (a feature later dubbed "Omni-View", carried over to Cessna single-engined aircraft after 1964), and transparent panels in the wings' center section over the cockpit (similar to those found on theCessna 140 and the laterCessna 150 Aerobat model), which allowed the pilot to look directly overhead. A wider door was fitted to allow a stretcher to be loaded.[citation needed]
The Army held a competition in April 1950 for the contract, with contenders from Cessna, Piper, Taylorcraft, and Temco. Cessna's entry was selected for service.[1]
The U.S. Army awarded a contract to Cessna for 418 of the aircraft, which was designated theL-19A Bird Dog. The prototypeCessna 305 (registration N41694) first flew on 14 December 1949, and it now resides in theSpirit of Flight Center in Erie, Colorado. Deliveries began in December 1950, and the aircraft were soon in use fighting their first war in Korea from 1950 through 1953. An instrument trainer variant was developed in 1953, later versions hadconstant speed propellers, and the final version, theL-19E, had a larger gross weight.
Around 1950,U.S. Air Force (USAF) orders for 60 L-19A aircraft were diverted to theUnited States Marine Corps (USMC), which designated itOE-1 under the1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system, took delivery from 1951 to 1953, and deployed the aircraft in Korea.[2][3] In 1959, two L-19E aircraft transferred from the U.S. Army to the USMC were also designated OE-1.[3][4] The USMC issued a requirement for a larger and faster version, prompting Cessna to adaptCessna 180 wings and a more powerful 260 hp (190 kW)Continental O-470-2 engine to the aircraft, which was designatedOE-2; 27 of these improved aircraft were delivered, but the sharp price increase dissuaded the USMC from future orders.[3][4][5]
Cessna produced 3,431 aircraft;[6] it was also built under license byFuji inJapan.[7] Initially, 2486 were produced between 1950 thru 1954, and an additional 945 were produced through 1958, and 60 more were produced in Japan.[8]
The L-19 received the nameBird Dog as a result of a contest held with Cessna employees to name the aircraft. The winning entry, submitted by Jack A. Swayze, an industrial photographer, was selected by a U.S. Army board.[9] The name was chosen because the role of the Army's new aircraft was to find the enemy and orbit overhead until artillery (or attack aircraft) could be brought to bear on the enemy. While flying low and close to the battlefield, the pilot would observe the exploding shells and adjust the fire via his radios, in the manner of a bird dog (gun dog) used by gamehunters.[citation needed]
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TheUnited States Department of Defense (DOD) ordered 3,200 L-19s that were built between 1950 and 1959, entering both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps inventories. The aircraft were used in various utility roles such as artillery spotting, front-line communications,medevac, and training.
In U.S. service, the L-19 replaced thePiper L–4 Grasshoppers andStinson L–5 Sentinels.[1]
With the adoption of the1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, the Army L-19 and Marine Corps OE were redesignated as the O-1 Bird Dog, and soon entered theVietnam War. During the early 1960s, the Bird Dog was flown by theRepublic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF), U.S. Army, and U.S. Marines in South Vietnam and later by clandestine forward air controllers (e.g.,Ravens) in Laos and Cambodia. Because of its short takeoff and landing (STOL) and low-altitude/low-airspeed capabilities, the O-1 also later found its way into USAF service as aforward air controller (FAC) aircraft for vectoring faster fighter and attack aircraft and supporting combat search-and-rescue operations recovering downed aircrews.
During the Vietnam War, the Bird Dog was used primarily for reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery adjustment, radio relay, convoy escort, and the FAC of tactical aircraft, including bombers operating in a tactical role.
Supplementing the O-1, then gradually replacing it, the USAF switched to theCessna O-2 Skymaster andNorth American OV-10 Bronco, while the U.S. Marine Corps took delivery of the OV-10 to replace their aging O-1s. Both were faster twin-engined aircraft, with the OV-10 being aturboprop aircraft. Still, the U.S. Army retained the Bird Dog throughout the war, with up to 11 reconnaissance airplane companies deployed to cover all of South Vietnam, theVietnamese Demilitarized Zone, and the southern edge of North Vietnam. Its quieter noise level, lower speed, tighter maneuverability, STOL ability, and better visibility (even to the rear) kept it highly valued by the ground units it supported and highly feared by enemy units over which it flew. The last U.S. Army O-1 Bird Dog was officially retired in 1974.
During the Vietnam War, 469 O-1 Bird Dogs were lost to all causes. The USAF lost 178, the USMC lost seven, and 284 were lost from the U.S. Army, RVNAF, and clandestine operators. Three Bird Dogs were lost to enemy hand-held surface-to-air missiles.[10]
Two O-1 Bird Dogs were lent to theAustralian Army's161 Reconnaissance Flight operating out ofNui Dat inPhuoc Tuy Province. One was lost to ground fire in May 1968, killing 161's commanding officer. Another Bird Dog was built by this unit's maintenance crew, using aircraft sections salvaged from dumps around Vietnam. It was test-flown and later smuggled back to Australia in pieces, contained in crates marked as "aircraft spares". This aircraft now resides in the Museum of Army Flying at the Army Aviation Center atOakey,Queensland.[11]
As the USAF phased out the O-1 in favor of the O-2 and OV-10, many O-1s in the United States were sold as surplus. During the 1970s and 1980s,Ector Aircraft remanufactured many as theEctor Mountaineer, with their original powerplants, and as theEctor Super Mountaineer, with theLycoming O-540-A4B5.
In United States Service, it was mostly replaced by the O-2 Skymaster and OV-10 Bronco, although it lingered in many roles due to unique advantages.[8]
In the early 1970s, as the O-2 Skymaster and OV-10 Bronco replaced the O-1 in frontline USAF service, several former USAF O-1s were turned over to the USAF's civilian auxiliary, theCivil Air Patrol (CAP), for duties such as aerial search in support of domestic search-and-rescue operations. However, since very few CAP pilots had prior training and experience as professional military aviators and/or significant experience with tailwheel aircraft, many CAP O-1 aircraft were damaged in ground loops and other takeoff, landing, or taxiing mishaps.
To reduce both risk and repair costs, the USAF directed CAP that all O-1 aircraft in CAP service be eventually replaced for safety reasons by single-engined, tricycle-gear, civilian Cessnas common to general aviation, primarilyCessna 172 andCessna 182 aircraft. The only O-1 remaining in the CAP inventory is a permanent static display aircraft on a pylon in front of CAP headquarters atMaxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
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Many former USAF and former CAP O-1 and L-19 aircraft were sold to private owners as recreational aircraft, and others went toglider clubs in the U.S. as a reliable and robust vehicle to tow gliders into the air. As with most aircraft used for glider towing, the aircraft has also been outfitted with mirrors mounted to the struts. Others went to museums, where they are usually displayed in their military combat markings.
In Canada, theRoyal Canadian Air Cadets use former CAF L-19 aircraft equipped with a towing rig to tow theirSchweizer 2-33A[12] gliders for the Air Cadet gliding program.[13] These particular L-19 variants are used in the Atlantic, Eastern, and Pacific regions. They have been modified for noise reduction using a smaller-diameter, four-blade Hoffman composite propeller in all regions except the Pacific region and exhaust modification. The fuel-delivery system has also been modified from the original design, placing the fuel-selector valve closer to the pilot. The L-19/O-1 is a popular warbird with private pilots.
In the U.S., the Franconia Soaring Association in Franconia, N.H., uses an O-1, tail number N4796G, to tow its gliders, including Schweizer SGS 1-26 gliders and Grob G103 Twin Astir and Pilatus B4-PC11 sailplanes, as of July 2012.[14]
As of June 2009, more than 330 were registered with the USFederal Aviation Administration. Others are owned and operated outside the U.S. by individuals and flying organizations.
American television personality and actorEd McMahon was a Marine Corps aviator who piloted an OE during the Korean War, flying 85 combat missions and earning sixAir Medals in 1953.[15]
Captain Sidney Harrison, U.S. Army, a decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean War, crashed his Cessna O-1 on a flight from Wichita, Kansas, to Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, in 1952. The wreckage is still in the woods above Palmer Lake, Colorado, and can be reached by an 11.1-mile (17.9 km) hike.[16]
CaptainHilliard A. Wilbanks, USAF,posthumously received theMedal of Honor for sacrificing his life on February 24, 1967, while supporting anARVN Ranger Battalion atDi Linh, nearDa Lat,South Vietnam. After knowing their ambush had been compromised and fighter support would soon come, the Viet Cong charged into the Rangers. Trying to slow them down, Wilbanks shot the rest of his phosphorus rockets at the enemy. After he ran out of rockets, he made strafing passes, firing hisM16 rifle from the side window of the plane. After the third pass, he was wounded and crashed, and died while being evacuated by helicopter.[citation needed]
On 29 April 1975, the day before thefall of Saigon during the Vietnam War, Republic of Vietnam Air Force Major Bung-Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and took off fromCon Son Island. After evading enemy ground fire, Major Bung-Ly headed out to sea and spotted the aircraft carrierMidway. With only an hour of fuel remaining, he dropped a note[17] asking that the deck be cleared so he could land.[18] As no other way existed to make room,Midway's commanding officer, Captain (later Rear Admiral)Lawrence Chambers, ordered US$10 million worth of South VietnameseBell UH-1 Iroquois ("Huey") helicopters to be pushed overboard into theSouth China Sea. The Bird Dog that Major Bung-Ly landed aboardMidway is now on display at theNational Naval Aviation Museum atNaval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[19] A similar aircraft was restored in the markings of the aircraft flown by Major Bung-Ly for an exhibit at theUSSMidway Museum inSan Diego, California.[20]
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These are mostly historical (not current) list of operators:
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1962–63[46]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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