“The O-1 was used for reconnaissance, radio relay, target acquisition, convoy escort, forward air control and artillery adjustment.”
“Oh, the O-1Es go flyin’
Along the mountain track
Across the jungle, on the shore
And some just don’t come back.”
–“O1-E” by Irv Levine, Maj., USAF (ret.)
The first-person narrator of that song was an F-105 Thunderchief (aka the “Thud”) fighter pilot, as was Maj. Levine in real life. The plane he was singing about was the O-1 Bird Dog, a single-engine prop plane that didn’t get the glory that fighter pilots typically get on TV and in the movies but nonetheless provided a valuable service to the trigger-pullers in the Korean War and Vietnam War alike. Not entirely unlike the valuable service that flesh-and-blood mammalian bird dogs provide for trigger-pulling bird hunters.
O-1 Bird Dog Initial History and Specifications
Manufactured by Cessna, one of the most enduringly popular brands in general aviation aircraft production—now a Textron subsidiary and headquartered in Wichita, Kansas—the L-19 Bird Dog made its maiden flight on December 14, 1949, and officially entered into operational service the following year, just in time for the Korean War.
It was conceptualized by the U.S. Army after it was left without an air support wing—more specifically, an observation and liaison aircraft—after the U.S. Army Air Forces broke away from the Army on September 18, 1947, and became the independent branch of service we know as the United States Air Force (USAF).
Accordingly, the Army was the first to adopt it, and thus the Bird Dog was the first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the U.S. Army. The USAF wasn’t far behind, and the U.S. Marine Corps would also soon follow suit. Specifications and vital status, courtesy of the USMC Combat Helicopter and Tiltrotor Association (aka “Pop-A-Smoke”) in a post appropriately titled “‘Bird Dog’ was unsung hero of missions over Vietnam”:
- Fuselage Length: 26 feet
- Wingspan: 36 feet
- Height: 7 feet 4 inches
- Empty Weight: 1,600 pounds
- Max Airspeed: 130 mph
- Service Ceiling: 5,600 meters (18,372 feet)
- Rate of Climb: 1,150 feet per minute
- Range: 530 miles
- Powerplant: 210 horsepower Continental O-470-11 piston engine (later upgraded to 265 hp).
- Armament: Four wing pylons typically loaded with 2.75-inch white-phosphorus (“Willie Pete”) marking rockets
According to the “Charlie Company Vietnam 1966-1972” website, 3,398 airframes were built between 1950 and 1960. The warbird was also adopted by nineteen foreign countries, including the Philippines and Australia. That same website also explains that the plane’s moniker, stemming from a contest held with Cessna employees, “was chosen because the role of the army’s new aircraft was to find the enemy and orbit overhead until artillery (or attack aircraft) could be brought to bear. 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.”
O-1E Bird Dog Operational Performance
During its wartime debut in Korea, the O-1 was known as the L-19 in the Army and the OE in the USMC; the O-1 designation didn’t come along until 1962, thanks to the United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system. One of the most famous USMC OE pilots of the Korean conflict was no less than Ed McMahon—yes, Johnny Carson’s longtime “second banana” on NBC-TV’s The Tonight Show—who flew eighty-five combat missions and received six Air Medals for his service.
Clare Fitzgerald of War History Online sums up the combat performances of the Bird Dog thusly:
“In general, the O-1 was used for reconnaissance, radio relay, target acquisition, convoy escort, forward air control and artillery adjustment. Its maneuverability, visibility capabilities and quiet nature made it valuable to ground units, and the addition of eight unguided white-phosphorus air-to-surface rockets under the wings allowed it to engage in offensive action, when needed … Despite its success, the O-1 had its fair share of issues. Its slow speed made it vulnerable to enemy fire and, compared to newer aircraft, it had a smaller range and payload. While these problems led the Air Force to eventually switch to the twin engine North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco and Cessna O-2 Skymaster, the Army retained its fleet throughout the Vietnam War, with 11 Reconnaissance Airplane Companies (RACs) deployed.”
One of the most memorable and daring missions ever undertaken by a Bird Dog pilot was its last official flight as a participant in the Vietnam War. On the last day of the war, in order to flee the incoming Communist regime that was “reuniting” (so to speak) the two Vietnams under a new totalitarian rule, South Vietnamese Air Force Major Buang-Ly hot-wired a Bird Dog, loaded himself and his family into the cabin, took off, evaded enemy ground fire, and made a daring landing on the deck of the American aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41) with less than an hour’s fuel supply left in the tank.
There was also USAF Capt. Hilliard Almons Wilbanks, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life on February 24, 1967, in support of a South Vietnamese Ranger Battalion that was about to be ambushed by Viet Cong (VC) guerrillas. Capt. Hilliard launched his Willie Pete at the VC, and after expending that ordnance, staffed the enemy with his M16 rifle. The brave captain made a total of three firing passes before sustaining fatal wounds from the VC ground fire.
The Army finally retired the O-1 in 1974. Many of these were turned over to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), but in turn, CAP ended up replacing the Bird Dogs with two other Cessna products, the 172 and 182.
Where Are The Bird Dogs Now?
To this day, the Air Cadet League of Canada still uses L-19s equipped with a towing rig to tow their Schweizer 2-33A gliders for the Air Cadet gliding program. The plane also remains highly popular with individual private pilots and private flying clubs alike; as of June 2009, more than 330 were registered with the Federal Aviation Administration.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
