The Cessna O-2 Skymaster: America's Eye in the Sky Over Vietnam
Like so many general aviation pilots, I trained on a variety of Cessnas – the 152, 162, 172, and 182. The Cessna is synonymous with general aviation, enjoying vast swathes of the market share for weekend warriors and aspiring commercial pilots. And for good reason. The distinctively high-winged Cessna is aerodynamically stable, easy to maintain, and intuitive to operate. But Cessna’s reliable aircraft are not exclusively for general aviation. Indeed, the US military has previously employed Cessna aircraft in surveillance roles—most notably the O-2 Skymaster.
Introducing the Skymaster
Nicknamed the Oscar Deuce, the O-2 is a Cessna 337 Super Skymaster converted for forward air control and psychological operations. The O-2 enjoyed a multi-decade service life with the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Army—having been introduced in 1967 and only retired in 2010.
The O-2 was developed in the 1960s as a cheap and simple aircraft, with twin-engines, as a supplement to Cessna’s already-serving forward air control prop, the O-1 Bird Dog. The tell-tale Cessna high-wings were perfectly suited for giving occupants an unobstructed view of the battlespace below. To further enhance viewing capability, the O-2 was designed with two seats, with one observer’s seat located directly behind the pilot’s seat – whereas the civilian 337 was designed with six seats in three rows of two. Other changes were made, too. Notably, the 337’s opaque doors were outfitted with transparent viewing panels; flame-retardant foam was installed in the wing-mounted fuel tanks; civilian communications gear was swapped in favor of military communications gear. The end result was a 5,400 pound aircraft, which weighed one thousand pounds more than its civilian counterpart. To accommodate the increased weight, the O-2 was strengthened structurally. The added weight did slow the O-2 down relative to the 337. But the Air Force deemed the performance reduction acceptable given the low-speed nature of the forward air control mission.
Built for Vietnam
The USAF accepted delivery of their first O-2 in early 1967, towards the beginning of what would be a nearly-decade-long American effort to quell communism in Vietnam. The O-2 served admirably as a forward air control aircraft, which entailed coordinating close air support for troops on the ground. And the O-2 doubled in a psychological operations role. Accordingly, the O-2 was outfitted with loudspeakers and a leaflet dispenser, for pushing propaganda.
Flying the O-2 proved to be hazardous; over the course of the Vietnam War, 178 O-2s were lost.
The USAF had intended to phase out the O-2 for the garage-designed OV-10 Bronco. But the O-2 continued to serve even after the OV-10’s introduction, most especially for nighttime missions (the original OV-10 had a highly illuminated cockpit, which made nighttime reconnaissance difficult to perform for the crew, thus the O-2 remained the USAF’s best nighttime option until a revised OV-10 was developed with dimmed cockpit instrumentation.
While the O-2 is now retired from all branches of the US military, the aircraft can still be found in service worldwide. Botswana, Costa Rica, Iran, Namibia, Solomon Islands, and Uruguay – these are a few of the nations still operating the O-2 today.
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.