The Cessna O-2 Skymaster - Vietnam War Forward Air Control Aircraft 

I forgot "The Duck" nickname! Based on how the landing gear retracts like duck feet! 🦆

Twin boom aircraft already tickle my autism, but once you add a push pull configuration, I'm in love.

I was literally doing research TODAY into buying one of these. My AMT school has one sitting outside and I absolutely love the look of these thing!

Nice video about an almost-forgotten plane! Trivia: the O1 "Birddog" was originally designated by the Army as the L-19. O1 came from the McNamara era when he had all services' planes designated into a common system. One trick from Vietnam was that the light observation pilot would fly along but often look backwards as it is human nature to raise your head and look at the departing aircraft. Then the face would show from the air.

Skymasters are still used by fire services today in Australia for aerial asset control and spotting during bushfires. Most if not all are military versions with door windows and are fully aerobaticly stressed.

Fan of all the O's , all iconic

love this aircraft

Skymasters also saw combat in the Rhodesian Bush War and the Salvadoran Civil War.

Commenting on the O-2 being overweight and underpowered, a favorite joke among its pilots was, “The Oscar Deuce is actually a single engine aircraft…with half the engine on front and half in the back.”

If anyone wants to read more about the Skymaster in combat I can recommend "Here There Are Tigers" great read, what FAC pilots did is truly incredible and often overlooked

I never heard the “engine sandwich” nickname before, but it’s just so perfect. I love it! Thanks, Johnny!

Love me some Skymaster. My fave small plane for sure. Anyone ever noticed that in Behind Enemy Lines that Gene Hackman is the man rescuing the downed pilot, the reverse of the role he played in Bat 21?

I've always liked the way the Skymaster looked. Seeing clips of "Project X" reminded me of China teaching Pandas to fly airplanes. Few people realize that Pandas are as good at flying the Skymaster as chimpanzees. The Pandas heavier weight is the main reason we don't see many Panda pilots these days. Thanks for another fun and interesting video Johnny.

Hensel Field, Camp Enari, Pleiku, S. Viet Nam. 68'-69'. While waiting for the courier plane from Nha Trang I watched one of those land. The passenger (looked like an AF lifer) got out. Waved goodbye to the pilot and started to walk on. That's when he remembered that there was also a front engine on that puppy. Well, I was instantly freaked out. Fortunately the lifer made a pirouette around that prop that would make a prima ballerina jump for joy. To this day that memory still kinda freaks me out. It would not have been a pretty sight. 😮

My pops who flew planes looking for wildfires for the canadian government said these were one of his favorite planes to fly. Very easy to fly, controllable at lower speeds, and reliable.

Another great vid Johnny! A flying Pinto?! Preflight checklist item - "Kick the tires, (definitely) start the fires"!! 😂

Da Nang diary by Tom Yarborough is long but great book about a pilot serving as a FAC in Thailand, laos, North and South Vietnam in an O-2 and ov-10

I used to work near an airfield were there was both an O-1 and an O-2. One day both of them took off together and started flying circuits around the airfield which I quickly realised was a race between them both. Interestingly whereas the O-2 was faster on the straight the O-1 could turn faster in the corners and would catch up. Once they realised neither could win they landed again. So the O-2 would get to the target quicker but the O-1 was more agile once there and searching for the enemy. I did read something about loses the O-1 in Viet Nam. The most common mistake made by the pilot was making a pass which included flying over the enemy. At that point any enemy who could see the O-1 would shoot at it as once it was eliminated they could attack without interference.

Rhodesia also used them against communist insurgents during the Rhodesian Bush War. They were civilian variants but have been modified to carry gun pods.

Excellent video Johnny, Anything on the A-37B Dragonfly?

This makes me think of the sky warden, a prop plane used today by the US as a sort of budget A10

I bought a 1972 CF-337 (French licensed production of the Skymaster) a few years back and this plane is incredible to fly, the windshield being a bit more forward of the wing improves visibility greatly and it's a peppy little piston at low altitude. I find it to be an absolute blast. The mechanics hate it, though.

They look like a hoot to fly, as long as no one is shooting at you.

I got a chance to see an abandoned Skymaster up close and walk around it. Such a cool and unique aircraft, so this vid was a must watch, amazing as always!

Another interesting thing about O2 and the civilian model its based on is the duck like landing gear . By that the 2 main gear legs retract backwards and into the body like a duck etc

That was a dramatic moment, nice one,sir...best wishes from across the pond...no stunning insights from Clabby Towers...for now...E...😅😅😅..

I flew as a observer in the obsolete O1 Bird Dog I was always scared of ground fire, this aircraft was the modern replacement for the O-1 . The Air Force 0-2 were called Elliot and were at Kontum, I was at Dakto

Hey there Johnny. Not sure where I saw it, but it was definitely in an old aircraft magazine and may be why I love this plane so much. But when I was younger their was some picture of this Skymaster that was jury rigged and add hoc I think by the pilot who flew it in Vietnam. He had the rocket positions of course and the thing as I recall could also mount a 7.62 mini-gun pod on each wing with an ammo feed can inboard of the pods. But this mad lad didn't settle for that. He had put two old 1919 browning on his roof firing over the prop like some WW1 biplane. I can't remember if they were the fast firing AN variant for aircraft or not.

Always thought this was a beautiful Cessna

I think the Skymaster could still work as spotter aircraft for Forest Fires and the likes.... Nice video as always👌

COIN craft like this sure are quite underrated nowadays. Say, with that Battle of the Bulge bit in mind, any plans to make a video about the FH-1, which anachronistically showed up in the 1976 Midway film as a crashing SBD Dauntless stand-in?

Watching these old clips from Vietnam I always hope to see my plane. My O-2A was in Vietnam from 67-71. I have yet to find any photos or videos of my plane while in country. I know she was there, she has the patched bullet holes to prove her service.

The O-1/L-19 was a modified Cessna 170, with the 4-place fuselage narrowed to a two-holer. Mixmasters were also used as ground-attack aircraft -- made under license by French manufacturer Reims, they were inexpensive, easy to fly and (being civilian planes) not subject to End User Certificate regulations. Rhodesia mounted two Maxim guns above the cockpit, with bins to feed ammunition and collect empty brass. Easy on fuel (thus plenty of loiter time) and able to carry a LOT of ammunition, they were a key part of the "Fire Force" anti-terrorist response.

The 337 was perfect for counter insurgency, its roll rate is phenomenal, when the US army were evaluating twins for this role, the Cessna won hands down

Great video. Push pull configurations are too cool!

Reminds me of the Marine Corps OV-10A Bronco we used in Vietnam...

Nice little overview JJ

Great video!

Amazing video as always, never fail to surprise with interesting new content!

I remember this in Arma 3 where PhlyDaily and Devildoggamer was flying in this thing.

There’s only about 40 flying o-2 super sky masters left in the USA and fortunately I’m part owner of 1 that flys and one that we just started re building

After all these years I found the plane that supported my ARVN BATTALION THAT I WAS ADVISOR TO,MAN I TELL YOU THAT PILOT WAS A SURE ENOUGH HOT SHOT,IVE SERCHED FOR THAT AIRCRAFT MANY TIMES NEVER WAS ABLE TO PIN IT DOWN UNTIL NOW,WE WERE IN CHOU DOC SEVEN MOUNTAINS AREA, THE PLANE WAS NAVY.1970-71

Crazy... I just recently read Stephen King's "The Night Flier" and watched the movie based on it and they both feature the Skymaster as the antagonist's plane.

Have a few hours as a spotter in 3 of them we had in Vietnam putting in air strikes for the 21st TASS..One of them is in Ft Walton FL at the Eglin Armament Museum..#864

In case you can talk about the FN Browning model 1900 pistol, there are movies that appeared on this weapon

Those nicknames are amazing

Had a friend that flew as a spotter in Nam, which nearly killed him when ground fire set light to the flares in the cabin!

when it comes to FAC aircraft of VN Era, this thing was one of my favorites because as a Boy early 70s i buyed a Airfix model of the Bird Dog. A vid about the Armys armed OV-1A version the JOV-1A Mohawk would be fine.

I want you to make history of Lee-Enfield

Really nice aircraft

Bat*21 were filmed in Malaysia, with cooperation from the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Could you please make a video on the Short C-23 Sherpa?

Johnny I’m a 26 year vet with two wars under my belt. You teach me something every video. Great job.

Great Episode Johnny Dont know if it was ever featured in any films but the Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star would make a cool subject

I presume the Battle of the Bulge thing was meant to be a Fiesler Storch? I don't think there were too many Lysanders in North Africa though that would be another possibility I suppose.

0:54 at this point, if you were to talk about the U-2 Spy Plane I would expect to see a clip of it magically appearing in The Battle of the Bulge. 😂

Now I Gotta watch that proyect x movie, also that navy variant look awesome, thanks for the sandwich lmao

0:52 To be fair, it DOES look an awful lot like the Piper J-3 Cub, which is not exactly anachronistic. It's like putting a PM Makarov in place of the Walther PPK - Sure, there are differences, but they are similar enough to be a good replacement.

Danny Glover flying one in Bat 21 with Gene Hackman

Nice! I just saw one fly into our local airport the other day😀 Bird Dogs were used to tow us up to altitude when flying gliders in Air Cadets oh so many years ago.

On the topic of US military Cessnas, I’d love a video on the A-37 Dragonfly.

Would love to see a video on the welrod pistol. Mainly know it from the medal of honor games.

I've seen one of these, thought it looked like a c-172 p-38 hybrid

What a cute plane, I know I've seen it before, no doubt, but god damn I clearly forgot about it.

"Go out in a slow bird come home in a Jolly Green". In Vietnam the 20TASS had pilots from Australia and New Zealand, and they would paint kills on the nose of their aircraft. US Pilots couldn't do that. One poor pilot wasn't having any luck because his assignment was a quiet free fire zone. He thought he got lucky once but the next day he had three elephants and a dog painted on the nose. Everyone else had stick figures with bamboo hats for 10 kills and trucks. O2As were out of balance due to all the radios and equipment in the cockpit. The elevator wasn't centered and acted like a plow. A civilian Cessna 337 will leave one in the dust.

Reminds me of the Conwing L-16 "Sea Duck" from TaleSpin!

I remember back in the day, Cuban Americans bought a few of these planes and helped guide Cubans in rafts to the U.S. The Cuban government shot these planes down with Mig-29s over international waters.

Johnny thanks for the video. One minor correction...if the rear engine quits you will definately know it. It's akin to throwing out a very heavy anchor. Don't ask me how I know. 8oo hours in the "Deuce"circa 1968.

The OV-10 Bronco looks very similar to the FW 189 "Owl" from WW2. 👍🏽

This reminds me of that Swedish cold war fighter that has similar tail design

I love the weird stuff 😊

A distant relative of mine flew these types of planes in Vietnam and only spoke it's semi length about it once however he did like to keep going back to the anecdote of how they would use bows and arrows to try to shoot them out of the sky. Do you think that was just an experience unique to him or did other pilots in Internet land experience that as well? I'm serious he never joked about his service or the war.

The March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California has three O-2's, including a psy ops bird.

Your channel is my favorite no 🐂💩 please keep up the great content

"Engine Sandwich" 😅 You forgot to mention "Sky Bastard" 🤣

What about "the night flyer" movie? Pretty much the whole revolves around a Skymaster

Bat 21!

Be cool to put twin turbo props in

Id like to see bat21 again, but cant find it

Please do dark age war wagons

Typically, the rockets were just smoke, or, Willie Pete, for marking targets.

Pretty sure that single engine you showed at the end was a coast guard and not navy. Since coast guard planes come in orange colors.

It's like Bayraktar drone with pilot

Agent Orange was hitting the ground!

MK 2 grenade on Film, please ❤

Johnny I've been watching your videos for a while, interesting, entertaining & quite good; that being said, I'm a old guy, please you need to use miles vs. kilometers, mph vs. Kph feel me? In the Corps we would say, "Outfuckingstanding." Carry on.

awwwwwriiiiiite

This is the sky master..... It is the maste.... I'll stop now.. cant help my self

You don't know, we sent a whole squadron of beagles in flying dog houses in the second world war.....maybe we did send a squadron of chimps somewhere.....

A flying pinto! What could go wRong

I only imagine the bush war wirh that plane

Engine sandwich 😂

This show one in episode of jag

I am going to start a peaceful request for the GAZ 69 day 1

😲😲😲😲👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍👍🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

The Pintos biggest problem? you give it a Fender Bender, it goes up in flames. The Solution? Just stick a plane to it and fly away

P. O. S. aircraft, they should have just armoured up a D.H. Beaver! 450hp and could carry 10 times the amount!

Johnny what are ‘propeller spinners’? No obvious answer on Google.

"The Battle of the Bulge" (1965) has so many mistakes it's funny. I think the Cessna in that movie crashes. And by the way, South Vietnam had acquired at least 35 of these Cessna o-2 Skymasters from the Americans.🦆🌭

A pinto? why? why not?