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Anunta-ma cand e disponibil
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Roden 409 L-19/0-1 Bird Dog 1:48 |
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| In the late 1940s the Commander of the U.S. Air Force announced a competition for an aircraft to conduct air correction of artillery fire, which would also be used as a communications airplane. The need to develop a new plane was connected to the fact that the previous aircraft types in this category dated back to World War II and had an archaic design, including the use of such materials as wood and canvas, with which the flying surfaces were covered. The new aircraft was required to be all-metal. Of the proposals tendered, the winner was the Cessna company, which according to the specifications required for the new type significantly modified their earlier Model 170. Primarily the changes concerned the fuselage, improving the view towards both the upper and the rear hemisphere. The plane could transport a pilot and one passenger, or one wounded on a stretcher; for this purpose the cabin doors were enlarged and special mounting brackets were fitted. Series production of the new type, officially named the L-19/O-1 Bird Dog, began at the end of 1950, and soon the initial order of 418 units was increased to 3,600 planes, in light of its great potential. The O-1 was delivered not only to army aircraft and training departments, but also to units of the U.S. Marine Corps, where it was named the OE-1. In training units they were used purely for instrument training of pilots in flight conditions, and this variant was called the TL-19D. The first experience of the O-1 in combat conditions during the Korean War proved that the plane could be used also as an operational trainer, using light munitions. Their main task was the marking of targets for other, more powerful strike planes using unguided rockets. | |||
