Cessna O-1 Bird Dog - Operational History

Operational History

The United States Department of Defense (DOD) ordered 3,200 L-19s that were built between 1950 and 1959. The aircraft 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), U.S. Army aviators, and clandestine (Ravens) aircrews. The Raven FACs flew over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia. In 1964, the DOD issued a memorandum directing the U.S. Army to turn over its "Fixed Wing" O-1 Bird Dogs to the U.S. Air Force, while the army began its transition to a "rotor-wing" force (helicopters).

The Army was allowed to retain some O-1 Bird Dogs for artillery observation (spotting/forward air control) until the new helicopters entered service. All previous operators mentioned above, including the U.S. Army, continued using the O-1 Bird Dog throughout the war, but the bulk of the O-1s were operated by the U.S. Force from 1964 until the end of the war in 1975 (flown primarily by South Vietnamese airmen in 1975). During the Vietnam War, the aircraft were used for reconnaissance and forward air control (FAC). The U.S. military used the Bird Dog throughout the war for visual reconnaissance, mortar suppression, convoy escort and communications relay. Supplementing the O-1, then gradually replacing it, was the USAF Cessna 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. The Viet Cong feared the Bird Dog the most and nicknamed it "Old Lady." It was much quieter that the O-2 or OV-10 and the pilot could see to the rear, which could not be done in its replacements.

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 U.S. Army, South Vietnamese Forces, and clandestine operators. Three Bird Dogs were lost to enemy surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).

Two Bird Dogs were loaned to the Australian Army's 161 Reconnaissance Flight operating out of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province. One was lost to ground fire in May 1968, killing 161's Officer Commanding. 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 at Oakey Queensland.

As the 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 1980s, Ector Aircraft remanufactured many as the Ector Mountaineer with their original powerplants, and as the Ector Super Mountaineer with the Lycoming O-540-A4B5.

In the 1970s, as the O-2 Skymaster and North American OV-10 Bronco replaced the O-1 in front-line USAF service, several former USAF O-1s were turned over to the service's civilian auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), for such duties as aerial search. However, since very few CAP pilots had prior training as military aviators and/or experience with tailwheel aircraft, many of these aircraft were damaged in groundloops and other accidents and all were eventually replaced for safety reasons by single-engine tricycle-gear civilian Cessnas common to general aviation. The only O-1 remaining in the CAP inventory is a static display on a pylon in front of CAP Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Many of these O-1 aircraft were sold to private pilots as recreational aircraft, while others went to museums where they are usually displayed in their military combat markings. Still others found their way to glider clubs in the U.. a reliable and powerful 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.

In Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Cadets use former CAF L-19 aircraft equipped with a towing rig to tow their Schweizer 2-33A gliders for the Air Cadet gliding program.These particular L-19 variants are used in the Atlantic, Eastern, and Pacific regions. They have been modified for noise reduction by the use of 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 ex-military "warbird" with private pilots. In the United States, the aircraft remains a popular "glider tow." The Franconia Soaring Association in Franconia, N.H. uses an old 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.

As of June 2009, more than 330 were registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. Others are owned and operated outside the United States by individuals and flying organizations.