OV-1A/JOV-1A Mohawk by Clear Prop

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72016
Retail: $48.00
Decals: Five versions – all U.S. Army
Comments: Detailed cockpit, engraved panel lines, photo-etch details, ordnance includes rocket pods and Mk.. 79 napalm canisters

History

The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk began as a joint Army-Marine program, through the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics, for an observation/attack plane that would outperform the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog in battlefield surveillance and light strike missions. In June 1956, the Army issued Type Specification TS145, calling for the development of a side-by-side two-seat, twin turboprop aircraft designed to operate from small, short, unimproved fields under all weather conditions.

The new aircraft would be faster, with greater firepower, and heavier armor than the Bird Dog, which had proved vulnerable during the Korean War, but was nonetheless again pressed into service once the U.S. military became involved in Southeast Asia. Its 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 Defense Department selected Grumman Aircraft Corporation’s G-134 design as the winner of the competition in 1957. 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. In Vietnam, due to its FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) and SLAR (Side Looking Airborne Radar) capability, the Mohawk was used for electronic surveillance of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to detect the level of enemy activity at various points along this strategic supply route for both the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. It was also used extensively over the battlefields of South Vietnam and Laos.

One variant was fitted with side-looking radar (SLAR) which meant the crew was able to look through foliage and map terrain, providing a film image of the earth. These were used in the 1960s to patrol the demilitarized zone in Korea. In US Army service cargo pods were developed which could be fitted to underwing hard points to assist in the re-supply of troops.

Mohawks were effective in this role, in no small measure due to their twin T53 turbine engines, which were so quiet that NVA/VC did not hear them coming. For this reason, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong referred to the Mohawk as “Whispering Death.”

Over the years, the mission and the aircraft underwent many changes. About 380 were built and deployed in Vietnam, Germany, Korea, and Desert Storm. Mohawk variants included the JOV-1 (armed reconnaissance), OV-1A (visual and photographic), OV-1B (visual, photographic, and side-looking airborne 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).

As often happens, inter-service rivalry played a role in how the Mohawk was deployed. The Air Force did not like the armament capability of the Mohawk and sought to get it removed — this led to a controversial 1966 Pentagon directive (the Johnson-McConnell Agreement) that prohibited the Army from operating armed fixed-wing aircraft, a prime example of inter-service rivalry compromising the capability and effectiveness of equipment deployed in the field.

It did not end there. 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 out of the program, ultimately opting for the North American OV-1oA Bronco. The Army continued with armed Mohawks and developed cargo pods that could be dropped from underwing hard points to resupply troops in emergencies. The Mohawk was removed from U.S. Army service in September 1996.

Other than the U.S. Army, the OV-1 has been operated by South Korea, Israel, and Argentina, where it remains in service today. For many years, due to the capabilities of its airborne radar system, the Mohawk patrolled the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, functioning as an early warning asset in the event North Korea resumed hostilities.

The Kit

Clear Prop’s OV-1A/JOV-1A is injection molded in grey plastic and consist of 194 parts, twelve of which are clear parts for the windscreen, canopy, and navigation lights. The kit is presented on seven sprues in three resealable plastic bags, with the clear parts having their own designated bag. There are also two photo etch frets providing details for the cockpit seats, instrument panel, landing gear, wheel wells, and exterior details such as panels and antennae. The sheer number of parts speaks to the kit’s level of detail. A paint guide is provided, calling out colors in the Mr. Color and MIG lines.

The airframe is replete with engraved panel lines and recessed rivet detail, all of it very crisply molded. The cockpit alone boasts sixteen PE parts for the seats, ten of them dedicated to the seat straps, as well as the instrument panel hood, and the parts for the panel’s four structural supports, which double as rudder pedals.
There is four-part center console and dual control yokes, as well as a small amount of interior sidewall detail.

One interesting feature is that all wheel wells must be constructed by the modeler, with the nose gear well consisting of six parts, one of them PE. The main gear wells likewise each consist of four narrow parts for the well walls, and five PE parts. Engine nacelles must also be individually constructed and cemented to each wing. The wings have separately mounted flaps and ailerons, the triple tails both feature a separate rudder, and there are separate dive brakes. Here it is worth noting that there is a head-on schematic providing the correct positioning of the stabilizers and vertical tail fins.

The airscrews feature individually mounted propeller blades, and the multiple parts for the kit’s bulbous canopy allow for the canopy to be positioned open or closed. Landing gear are highly detailed, and there are no fewer than 14 PE parts for blade antennae and other external airframe details, including windshield wipers. Ordnance consists of four rocket pods (two 7-shot pods and two 19-shot pods, both carrying 2.75 inch FFAR), and two Mk. 79 napalm canisters. (NOTE: Unfortunately the instructions do not provide details on the ordnance items or even name them; online research yielded this information.)

Markings

• The kit decals provide four marking options, all of which bear a paint scheme of overall Olive Drab. The first is for a JOV-1A Mohawk, (JOV was the night intruder designation) serial number 60-3736, serving with the 225th Aviation Company (the “Phantom Hawks”) and flown by Capt. Mike Langer in Vietnam, December 1964.
• The second is for an OV-1A Mohawk, serial number 59-2617, serving with the 23rd Special Warfare Aviation Detachment in Vietnam, 1963.
• The third is for an OV-1A Mohawk, serial number 63-13129, serving with the 73rd Aviation Company in Vietnam, 1966.
• The fourth is for an OV-1A Mohawk, the same aircraft as above, one year later, in Vietnam in 1967.
• The fifth is for an OV-1A Mohawk, serial number 63-13125, also serving with the 73rd Aviation Company in An Xugen Province, Vietnam and flown by Lt. Johnson, September 1964.
•  

Conclusion

This is an extremely well detailed kit of a critical light observation, reconnaissance and strike aircraft that saw action in Vietnam, and for years helped maintain the uneasy peace on the Korean peninsula. Highly recommended.

References

• • • • • https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22105/the-ov-1-mohawk-was-one-of-the-u-s-militarys-first-forgotten-light-attack-planes
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-last-of-the-mohawks-1649/