Estrella WarBirds Museum

US Air Force
s/n 60-11041

The O-2 Skymaster (also known as the "Oscar Deuce" or "The Duck") is a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster. The United States Air Force commissioned Cessna to build a military variant to replace the O-1 Bird-Dog in 1966.

As with the civilian version, the Skymaster was a low cost twin-engine piston powered aircraft, with one engine in the nose of the aircraft and a second engine in the rear of the fuselage. The push-pull configuration meant a simpler one-engine operating procedure compared to the common low-wing mounting of most twin engine light planes, and also allowed for a high wing, that was judged to be useful for clear observation below and behind the aircraft. The Skymaster would eventually be replaced in the forward air control (FAC) mission by the OV-10 Bronco and the A-37 Dragonfly, and those aircraft would be replaced, in turn, by the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The first O-2 flew in January 1967 and the plane went into production shortly thereafter, with the USAF taking delivery in March 1967. A total of 532 O-2s were built in two variants for the USAF by 1970. The O-2A served as a FAC aircraft, while the O-2B was equipped with loudspeakers and a leaflet dispenser for use in the psychological operations (PSYOPS) role. Several USAF O-2 aircraft were later transferred to and operated by the former VNAF South Vietnamese Air Force.

The 0-2 had fixed hard points to deliver rockets, flares, and other ordnance for self defense and to designate targets for air strikes. The 0-2 was made from the civilian Cessna model 336. It was rather inexpensive (about $40K) and had fixed landing gear.

Following the Vietnam War, the O-2 continued to operate with both U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard units well into the late 1980s. Six former USAF O-2A airframes were also transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1983 for use as "range controllers" with Attack Squadron 122 (VA-122), the Pacific Fleet Replacement Squadron for the A-7 Corsair II at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. These same aircraft were later transferred to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125), the F/A-18 Hornet FRS at NAS Lemoore in 1986 for use in the same range control role.

The six Navy O-2A's remained in this role until September 1990, when they were replaced by T-34C Turbo Mentor aircraft transferred from the Naval Air Training Command. Four of the Navy O-2A aircraft were retired and two of these became civil registered in October 1991. These two aircraft were flown in U.S. airshows performing a "Viet Nam Warbird COIN/FAC" routine during the 1990's. The routine debuted at the "Wings Over Houston" (Texas) airshow in October 1991.
Of the six USN aircraft mentioned above, two had been transferred to the U.S. Army in late 1990. O-2A's had originally entered the U.S. Army's inventory in 1967 and were augmented by the 1990 aircraft transfer from the U.S. Navy. Today, two O-2A's are all that remain, flying from Laguna Army Airfield, Arizona as part of testing programs carried out by the Yuma Proving Ground. They are the only O-2A aircraft still in active U.S. military service.

During its production run, 544 O-2's and 2,134 Model 337's were built. Some continue to serve with forestry departments across the United States.

Manufactured by Cessna Aircraft Company