File:United States Air Force - O-2A Skymaster (observation plane) 5 (48112093508).jpg

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(South Dakota Air & Space Museum collection, Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA)


From exhibit signage:

O-2A Skymaster

Top Speed - 200 miles per hour Crew - 1-2 Range - Regional Payload - Smoke rockets, flares, and other light ordnance

Multi-tasking Under Fire

This plane flew slow and low over Vietnam, directly supporting ground troops. Called a Forward Air Controller, the pilot kept track of friendly forces' locations and marked enemy positions with smoke rockets, identifying targets for fast-flying jets. At the same time, the pilot had to avoid anti-aircraft fire and watch out for enemy planes, while coordinating on three separate radios with soldiers on the ground, fighter jets, and command posts.

"At night we flew with Starlight Scopes [early night vision] hanging heads out the windows and steering with our knees . . . It was reassuring to the Marines to know an FAC was up there." - Richard Clements, quoted by Jan Churchill in "Hit My Smoke!: Forward Air Controllers in Southeast Asia", 1997.

Most planes have unofficial nicknames. The O-2A was called the "Duck".

Why does this plane have a double tail?

The O-2 has "push-pull" engines: a propeller in the front that pulls the aircraft forward and a rear propeller that pushes it. In order to center the two props in the middle of the plane, the tail is supported by "booms" to either side of the propeller.


See info. at:

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_O-2_Skymaster" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_O-2_Skymaster</a>
Date
Source United States Air Force - O-2A Skymaster (observation plane) 5
Author James St. John

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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/48112093508. It was reviewed on 12 August 2019 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

12 August 2019

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current22:47, 12 August 2019Thumbnail for version as of 22:47, 12 August 20194,000 × 2,286 (5.43 MB)Tm (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

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