O-1 Bird Dog

:"Bird Dog redirects here. For other uses, see bird dog" infobox Aircraft
name= L-19/O-1 Bird Dog


caption= An O-1E Bird Dog
type= Observation aircraft
national origin = United States
manufacturer= Cessna
designer=
first flight= 1949
introduced= 1950
retired= 1974 (US)
status=
primary user= United States Air Force
more users= United States Army Royal Thai Air Force Vietnam Air Force
produced=
number built= 3,431
unit cost=
developed from= Cessna 170
variants with their own articles=

The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft. It was the first all metal fixed wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army, since the U.S. Army Air Force separated from the army in 1947, becoming its own branch of service, U.S. Air Force. The Bird Dog had a lengthy career in the U.S. military as well as in other countries.

Design and development

The U.S. Army was searching for an aircraft that could adjust artillery fire, as well as perform liaison duties, and preferably be constructed of all metal, as the canvas covered Liaison airplanes used during World war II (primarily Stinson and Piper products) had a short service life. The US Army issued the specification for a two-seat liaison and observation monoplane and the Cessna Aircraft Company submitted the Cessna Model 305A a development of the Cessna 170. The Cessna 305A was a single-engined light-weight strut-braced high-wing monoplane with a tailwheel landing gear. The greatest difference from the Cessna 170 was that the 305A only had two seats, in tandem configuration (the only tandem-seat plane that Cessna ever produced), with angled side windows to improve ground observation. Other differences included a re-designed rear fuselage, providing a view directly to the rear (a feature later dubbed "Omni-View" and carried to Cessna single-engine planes after 1964), and transparent panels in the wings' center-section (similar to those found on the Cessna 140 and the later Cessna 150 "Aerobat" model), which allowed the pilot to look directly overhead. A wider door was fitted to allow a stretcher to be loaded.

The U.S. Army awarded a contract to Cessna for 418 aircraft which was designated the L-19A Bird Dog. The prototype Cessna 305 (registration "N41694") first flew on 14 December 1949. Deliveries began in December 1950 and the aircraft was soon in use fighting its first war in Korea from 1950 through 1953. An instrument trainer variant was developed in 1953, later versions had constant-speed propellers and the final version the L-19E had a larger gross weight. Cessna produced 3,431 aircraft which was also built under license by Fuji in Japan.

The L-19 received the name Bird 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.Fact|date=June 2007 The name was chosen because the role of the army's new airplane 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 game hunters.

Operational history

The Defense Department ordered 3,200 L-19s that were built between 1950 and 1959. The planes were used in various utility roles such as artillery spotting, front line communications, medevac and training. In 1962 the Army L-19 was redesignated the O-1 (Observation) Bird Dog and entered its second war in Vietnam. During the early 1960s the Bird Dog was flown by South Vietnamese airmen (ARVN-Army Republic Vietnam/SVAF South Vietnamese Air Force), US Army aviators, and clandestine (Ravens) aircrews. In 1964 the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a memorandum directing that the U.S. Army turn over its "Fixed Wing" O-1 Bird Dogs to the US Air Force, while the army began its transition to a "rotor-wing" force (helicopters).

The U.S. Army was allowed to retain some O-1 Bird Dogs for artillery observation (spotting/forward air control) until the new army helicopters entered service. All previous operators mentioned above, including the US Army, continued using the O-1 Bird Dog throughout the war, however the bulk of the O-1s were operated by the U.S. Air Force from 1964 until the end of the war in 1975 (flown primarily by South Vietnamese airmen in 1975). During the Vietnam War, the planes were used for reconnaissance and forward air control (FAC). Supplementing the O-1, then gradually replacing it, was the USAF O-2 Skymaster, a faster, twin-engine aircraft which entered Vietnam in the mid 1960s. The last U.S. Army O-1 Bird Dog was officially retired in 1974.

During the course of 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 US Army, South Vietnamese Forces, and clandestine operators. Three Bird Dogs were lost to enemy surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). [Hobson, Chris. "Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, NAVY, and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961-1973". Hinkley UK: Midland Press, 2001. ISBN 1-857801-156.]

As USAF phased out the O-1 in favor of the O-2, many O-1s in the United States were sold as surplus. During the 1970s and 80s, Ector Aircraft remanufactured many as the Ector Mountaineer with their original powerplants, and as the Ector Super Mountaineer with the Lycoming O-540-A4B5.

Many O-1s were turned over to the Civil Air Patrol for such duties as aerial search. Many of these were damaged in groundloops and other accidents, and eventually all were replaced by tricycle-gear Cessnas. The only O-1 remaining in CAP inventory is a static display on a post in front of CAP headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base.

In Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Cadets use L-19 aircraft equipped with a towing rig to tow their Schweizer 2-33 [ [http://www.cadets.ca/aircad/gliding-planeur/4_e.asp Air Cadets | Gliding ] ] gliders for the Air Cadet gliding program. [ [http://www.cadets.ca/aircad/gliding-planeur/intro_e.asp Air Cadets | Gliding ] ] These particular L-19 variants are used in the Atlantic Region, Eastern Region and Pacific regions. They have been modified for noise reduction by the use of a smaller-diameter, 4-blade Hoffman composite propeller and exhaust modification. The fuel delivery system has also been modified from the original design, placing the fuel selector valve closer to the pilot. As with most aircraft used for glider towing, the aircraft has also been outfitted with mirrors mounted to the struts.

Notable flights

On 29 April 1975, South Vietnamese Air Force Major Bung-Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and took off from Con Son Island. After evading Viet Cong arms fire Major Bung-Ly headed out to sea and spotted the USS Midway aircraft carrier. With only an hour of fuel remaining, he dropped a note asking that the "runway" [sic] be cleared so that he could land. Knowing there was no room for this to happen, Rear Admiral Lawrence Chambers ordered that US$10 million worth of Huey UH-1 helicopters be pushed overboard into the South China Sea. The Bird Dog that Major Bung-Ly landed is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. [Watter, Steve. [http://www.boundless.org/regulars/hungry_years/a0000910.html "Clear the Decks."] "Focus on the Family", 2004. Retrieved: 9 July 2008.]

Variants

;L-19A (Cessna 305A):Initial production version for United States Army, redesignated O-1A in 1962, 2486 built.;TL-19A:L-19As converted to dual control trainers, redesignated TO-1A in 1962.;XL-19B:L-19A with a 210shp XT-50-B01 engine, one built.;XL-19C:19A with a 210shp XT51-T-1 engine, two built.;TL-19D (Cessna 305B):Instrument trainer version of the L-19A with dual controls, redesignated TO-1D in 1962, 310 built.;L-19E (Cessna 305C):Improved version of the L-19A with equipment changes and higher gross weight, became O-1E in 1962, 469 built.;OE-1:60 L-19As delivered to the United States Marine Corps, redesignated O-1B in 1962.;OE-2 (Cessna 321):Redesigned version of the OE-1 with Cessna 180 wings and remodified fuselage, became O-1C in 1962, 27 built.;O-1A:L-19A redesignated in 1962.;TO-1A:O-1As converted as trainers.;O-1B:OE-1 redesignated in 1962.;O-1C:OE-2 redesignated in 1962.;O-1D:A number of TO-1Ds converted for Forward Air Controller duties with the United States Air Force.;TO-1D:TL-19D redesignated in 1962.;O-1E:L-19E redesignated in 1962.;O-1F (Cessna 305E):Forward Air Controller conversions of the O-1D for the USAF.;O-1G (Cessna 305D):Forward Air Controller conversions of the O-1A for the USAF.;SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019:Turboprop variant for the Italian Army

Operators

;AUS
*Australian Army - single example;AUT
*Austrian Air Force;CAN
*Royal Canadian Air Force
*Canadian Army
*Royal Canadian Air Cadets;CHI
*Chilean Air Force;FRA
*French Army;IDN
*Indonesian Army;ITA
*Italian Army;JPN
*Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force;MLT
*Armed Forces of Malta Air Wing;NOR
*Royal Norwegian Air Force;PAK
*Pakistan Army;PHI
*Philippine Air Force;KOR
*Republic of Korea Air Force;flag|South Vietnam
*Vietnam Air Force;ESP
*Spanish Air Force;THA
*Royal Thai Air Force
*Royal Thai Army
*Royal Thai Navy;USA
*United States Air Force
*United States Army
*United States Marine Corps;VNM
*Vietnam People's Air Force (captured South Vietnamese aircraft)

pecifications (O-1E)

aircraft specification

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=
crew=2
length main= 25 ft 9 in
length alt= 7.85 m
span main= 36 ft 0 in
span alt= 10.97 m
height main= 7ft 3½ in
height alt= 2.22 m
area main= 174 ft²
area alt= 16.16 m²
empty weight main= 1,614 lb
empty weight alt= 732 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
max takeoff weight main= 2,400 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 1089 kg
engine (prop)=Continental O-470-11
type of prop= flat six piston
number of props=1
power main= 213 hp
power alt= 159 kw
max speed main= 130 mph
max speed alt= 209 km/h
range main= 530 miles
range alt= 853 km
ceiling main= 20,300 ft
ceiling alt= 6,200 m
climb rate main= 1,040 ft/min
climb rate alt= 317 m/min
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
armament=

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Cessna 170
* Cessna 172
* T-41 Mescalero
similar aircraft=
* Stinson L-13
lists=
see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Adcock, Al. "0-1 Bird Dog." Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc. Aircraft Number 87. 1988. ISBN 0-89747-206-3.
* Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. "The Aircraft of the World". London: Macdonald, 1955.

External links

* [http://www.l-19bowwow.com International Bird-Dog Society]
* [http://acam.ednet.ns.ca/l19/l19.htm Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum]
* [http://www.warbirdalley.com/l19.htm Warbird Alley]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/hist-ac/o-1c.pdf Standard Aircraft Characteristics: O-1C (Navair Publication)]
* [http://www.centercomp.com/ILPA/index.html International Liaison Pilots and Aircraft Ass'n (ILPA)]