OV-1 Mohawk NASA versions
S/N 62-5880 N512NA one of four believed asigned to NASA at Langly Field circa 1979 |
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Photo taken at old English Field, Amarillo, Texas circa 1990's. |
Role |
Flight Test and Observation |
|
Manufacturer |
Grumman |
|
First
flight |
April 14
1959. |
|
Introduced |
October
1959 |
|
Primary user |
United
States Army |
OV-1 Mohawk Army versions
The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk is an armed military observation and attack aircraft,
designed for battlefield surveillance and light strike capabilities. It is of
twin turboprop configuration, and carried two crewmembers with side by side
seating. The Mohawk was intended to operate from unimproved runways in support of Army
maneuvers.
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Development
The prototype (YAO-1AF) first
flew on April 14, 1959. The OV-1 entered production in October 1959 and served
the U.S. Army in Europe, Korea, Vietnam, Central and South America, Alaska, and
during Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. The Mohawk was removed from
U.S. Army service in September 1996. Over the years, the mission and the
aircraft underwent many changes. About 380 of the aircraft were built, and
deployed in Vietnam, Germany, Desert Storm and Korea. Mohawk variants included
the JOV-1 [armed reconnaissance], OV-1A, [visual and photographic], OV-1B
[visual, photographic, and side-looking radar (SLAR) pod], the OV-1C [visual,
photographic, and infrared], and the OV-1D (SLAR pod and bigger wings), OV-1E
[enlarged fuselage for more sensor operators or cargo], EV-1E [Special
electronic intelligence installation] and RV-1E [advanced ELINT
Reconnaissance]. A four-engined Model 134E with tiltwings and tail ducted fan
for control for VTOL was proposed to the Army but not built. Model 134R was a
tandem cockpit version offered to meet the LARA requirement, but the NA300 was
chosen instead becoming the OV-10. The Mohawk began as a joint Army-Marine
program, through the Navy aeronautical bureau, for an observation/attack plane
that would outperform the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog. In June 1956, the Army issued Type
Specificationn TS145, which called for the development and procurement of a
two-seat, twin turboprop aircraft designed to operate from small, unimproved
fields under all weather conditions. It would be faster, with greater
firepower, and heavier armour than the Bird Dog, which had proved vulnerable
during the Korean War. The Mohawk's mission would include observation,
artillery spotting, air control, emergency resupply, naval target spotting,
liaison, and radiological monitoring. The Navy specified that the aircraft must
be capable of operating from small "jeep" escort class carriers
(CVEs). The DoD selected Grumman Aircraft Corporation's G-134 design as the
winner of the competition in 1957. The Air Force did not like the armament
capability of the Mohawk and tried to get it removed. The Marines did not want
the sophisticated sensors the Army wanted, so when their Navy sponsors opted to
buy a fleet oil tanker, they dropped from the program. The Army continued with
armed Mohawks and developed cargo pods that could be dropped from underwing
hard points to resupply troops in emergencies.
Operational
History
Pilots and enlisted observers
in Mohawks in Vietnam would detect the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese enemy by
virtue of their excellent downward visibility (afforded by the bubble canopy)
as well as sensors, and immediately attack them with 2.75 inch rockets and
.50-caliber heavy machine gun pod fire. The twin T53 turbine engines mounted
horizontally, turning 3-bladed propellers, were very quiet so the VC/NVA did
not hear them coming. In contrast, a single T53 turbine mounted so as to spin a
large rotor blade as in Huey or Huey-Cobra helicopters, gives off a loud "wop-wop-wop"
sound detectable from miles away. The VC/NVA referred to the Mohawks as the
"Whispering Death. One Mohawk, piloted by Captain Ken Lee, even shot down
a NVAF MIG-17 in 1968 while operating in Laos along the border with North
Vietnam. Army field commanders needed their own fixed-wing aircraft capable of
providing fast reactive air support from forward operating bases since they
could be on the scene much faster than USAF aircraft requiring longer, paved
runways on bases farther back from the battlefield. Pressures from the USAF
caused the Army to downplay the armed nature of their Mohawks who were shifted
from division-level control to higher echelon control resulting in their
under-utilization as mere observation platforms; a practice that continued all
the way to 1996. Outside the U.S. Army, the military operators of the Mohawk
have been the South Korean Air Force, Israeli Air Force and the Argentine Army
where it is still in service.
Variants
YAO-1
(YOV-1A)
Initial prototypes (9 built).
OV-1A (AO-1AF)
Daylight observation variant (64 built).
OV-1B (AO-1BF)
SLAR variant (101 built).
OV-1C (AO-1CF)
IR reconnaissance variant (169 built).
OV-1D
Consolidated sensor variant (37 new, 82 conversions).
JOV-1A
OV-1As & OV-1Cs fitted with armament (59 conversions).
RV-1C
Quick Look ELINT machines (2 conversions).
RV-1D
Quick Look II ELINT machine (31 conversions).
OV-1E
Prototype for unproduced modernized variant (one built).
Specifications
(OV-1D)
General
characteristics
- Crew: Two, pilot & observer
- Length: 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m)
- Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
- Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)
- Wing area: 360 ft² (33.4 m²)
- Empty weight: 11,760 lb (5,330 kg)
- Loaded weight: lb (kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 18,110 lb (8,215 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Lycoming T53-L-701
turboprops, 1,400 shp (1044 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 305 mph (490 km/h)
- Range: 945 mi (1,520 km)
- Service ceiling 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
- Rate of climb: 3,450ft/min (17.5m/s)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
- Power/mass: hp/lb (kW/kg)