The Cessna O-2 Skymaster was a forward air control, observation aircraft, which was used by the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. It was developed from the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, which was a private aircraft design. It was a reliable and maneuverable plane flying at low altitudes, and it was also cheap and easy to maintain. In 1967, it was sent to South Vietnam where it would also carry out ground-attack missions; to fulfill that role, it was fitted with four hardpoints for a wide variety of light air-to-ground weaponry. In Southeast Asia, it replaced the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog. The USAF would receive a total of 531 O-2s during the Vietnam War years. In the 1970s, it was also used in action in Rhodesia, Africa, in low-intensity warfare against leftist guerrillas.
The prototype of the Cessna O-2 Skymaster performed its maiden flight on January 27, 1967, and it would be introduced into service with the US Air Force only two months later, on March 28, 1967. Its unusual power arrangement, with both engines on the centerline of the aircraft, made it easier for the pilot to keep control of plane if one engine was lost. Cessna built this military aircraft in two versions: the O-2A, which was designed to be used in forward air control and observation missions; and the O-2B, which was conceived for psychological warfare as it was equipped with loudspeakers and a leaflet dispensers. In observation and forward air control missions, the O-2A flew low and close to targets to identify and indicate position of enemy troops or command post for friendly bombers and artillery units to attack and destroy enemy targets.
Technical Characteristics
The Cessna O-2 Skymaster was a two-seat, twin-twin engine monoplane. Its short, monocoque fuselage was of all-metal construction. The aircraft had straight, high wing, with the trailing edge tapering towards the wing tip. Th wing was mounted with a slight dihedral angle and was supported and reinforced at the root by two lateral struts. The plane had a twin-boom configuration, with twin vertical fin and rudder. It had a comfortable, pressurized cockpit with two seats for pilot and observer. It was powered by two Teledyne Continental IO-360-C/D, air-cooled, piston engines, which were mounted in tandem along the centerline, with one in front of cockpit and the other behind it. The aircraft had retractable, tricycle-type landing gear.
Specifications
Type: observation aircraft
Length: 9 m (29 feet, 9 inches)
Wing Span: 11.58 m (38 feet)
Wing Area: 18.81 m2 (202 square feet)
Height: 2.84 m (9 feet, 4 inches)
Power Plant: two, in-tandem, 210-HP, Teledyne Continental IO-360-C/D, flat-sexi piston engines.
Maximum Speed: 320 km/h (198 mph)
Range: 1,706 km (1,060 miles)
Service Ceiling: 6,000 m (19,800 feet)
Crew: two
Armament: 70-mm marker rockets and light bombs and machine guns.
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| The Skymaster had two in-tandem piston engines and was equipped with two rocket pods. |
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| View of belly of aircraft as it banks left. Notice the bombs it carries on the four hardpoints. |
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| The O-2 flying over Vietnam in the early 1970s. |