North American OV-10A Bronco by ICM
1/48 scale
Kit No. 48300
Retail: $51.00
Decals: Five options – Three U.S. Marines, one U.S. Air Force, one U.S. Navy
Comments: Engraved panel lines, detailed cockpit, multiple weapons options, optional position canopy
History
The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was a twin turboprop short takeoff and landing attack and observation aircraft specifically developed for counter-insurgency operations in Vietnam. It was conceived by the U.S. Marine Corps and developed under a U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps tri-service program. It took its first flight on July 16, 1965. One of its primary functions was as a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. It could carry up to three tons of external munitions, and was able to loiter for three or more hours. In addition to the crew of two, it had room to carry up to five troops, or two patients on stretchers and a medical attendant in the rear fuselage. The Bronco began with a specification approved by the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army, a “tri-service” specification called “LARA” (the Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft), issued at the end of 1963.
Retired Marine Corps aviators K.P. Rice and William H. Beckett originated the LARA concept as an aircraft with a very small wingspan of around 20 feet that could land in nearly any small clearing and use the same ammunition and fuel as ground troops used. The LARA concept also would have the aircraft ground-mobile so it could be co-located with ground units and not require runways and air bases. The LARA specification was based on a perceived need for a new type of “jungle fighting” versatile light attack and observation aircraft. Existing aircraft (the O-1 Bird Dog and O-2 Skymaster) were perceived as obsolescent, with too small a cargo capacity for this flexible role (Editor’s Note: Ironically, the O-1 was employed throughout the war in Southeast Asia, particularly in Laos, where the U.S. had engaged in covert warfare since 1961 in an effort to stem North Vietnamese incursion).
The specification called for a twin-engined, two-man aircraft that could carry at least 2,400 lb. (1,100 kg) of cargo, six paratroops or stretchers, and be stressed for +8 and -3 Gs (basic aerobatic ability). It also had to be launchable from an aircraft carrier, fly at least 350 mph (560 km/h), take off in 800 feet (240 meters) and convert to an amphibian. Once complete, the OV-10 prototype failed to live up to Rice’s LARA concept because the Department of Defense had insisted on a 40 ft. long wing, which made it dependent on airbases with paved, lengthy runways.
Various armament had to be carried, including four 7.62 mm machine guns with 2,000 rounds, and external weapons including a 20 mm gun pod and Sidewinder missiles. The OV-10 could also carry rocket pods containing up to 19 2.75-inch folding find aerial rockets. The OV-10A began to arrive in South Vietnam in the Fall of 1967, equipping Air Force, Marine, and even Navy units. Many saw action starting in 1968 when they were used for forward air control and counterinsurgency activities, particularly in the Mekong Delta.
It was not deployed directly with infantry units, and never operated from roads as envisioned under the LARA specification, but it did have four 7.62mm machine guns as its main armament, the same ammunition used by ground troops. The Bronco performed observation, forward air control, helicopter escort, armed reconnaissance, gunfire spotting, utility light air transport and limited ground attack. The OV-10A also performed aerial radiological reconnaissance, tactical air observation, artillery and naval gunfire spotting and airborne control of tactical air support operations, and front line, low-level aerial photography. A prototype in Vietnam designed to lay smoke was extremely successful, kept in service by evaluators for several months, and only reluctantly released, but was not purchased due to a perceived lack of mission.
Considered underpowered by the pilots who flew it, the OV-10A Bronco was a slow mover with a maximum speed of 281 mph, ideal for counter-insurgency and FAC work, but making it potentially easy prey for anti-aircraft fire or more rarely, MiG fighters. Trolling for enemy ground units was dangerous work, as its very purpose was to attract ground fire. The OV-10A had a range of 576 miles and a service ceiling of 24,000 feet. It was retired in 1990.
During 1979-80, an upgraded version, the OV-10D became available to the U.S. Marine Corps, due to a Navy-sponsored NOGS program (Night Observation/Gunship System) giving the Bronco an all-weather capability. It featured more powerful engines, additional under wing hard points, and a turret beneath the nose containing FLIR (a forward looking, infra-red radar), laser designator and video tracker. The OV-10D saw service during the 1991 Gulf War and was retired shortly afterwards.
Marine Broncos
The OV-10 operated as a forward air controller and was finally phased out of the Marine Corps in 1995 following its employment during Operation Desert Storm, which also saw the final combat losses of OV-10s by U.S. forces. Among these losses were two USMC OV-10s shot down due to a lack of effective infrared countermeasures. It was also thought that the slow speed made it more vulnerable to anti-aircraft weapons, a notion many Bronco pilots would likely agree with. Forward air control passed mostly to ground units with laser designators and digital radios (GFACs) and the twin-seat F/A-18D Hornet.
Navy Broncos
While the Bronco is known primarily as a Marine aircraft, its history in the hands of naval aviators is less well known. The U.S. Navy formed Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4), the “Black Ponies”, on January 3, 1969, and operated in Vietnam from April 1969 to April 1972. The Navy used the OV-10A Bronco as a light ground attack aircraft, for interdiction of enemy logistics, and fire-support of Marines, SEALs and naval riverine force vessels. It succeeded in this role, although the U.S. Navy lost seven OV-10s during the Vietnam War to various causes. Other than OV-10 Fleet replacement training done in cooperation with Air Antisubmarine Squadron Forty-One (VS-41) at NAS North Island, California, VAL-4 was the only squadron in the U.S. Navy to ever employ the OV-10 and it was decommissioned shortly following the end of the Vietnam War. VAL-4’s surviving OV-10s were subsequently transferred to the Marine Corps.
The Kit
ICM’s OV-10A Bronco is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of a whopping 364 parts, including 9 clear parts for the canopy, gunsight, and exterior lights. The airframe itself is replete with recessed panel lines and raised rivet detail, the latter in a nod to the construction of the actual aircraft. The cockpit is highly detailed (the seats alone account for seven parts apiece) and includes side instrument panels with ample raised relief as well as a main instrument panel featuring both raised and engraved detail. Given the detailed molding of the instrument panels, decals for instrumentation are not strictly necessary, but ICM provides them.
Cockpit controls include individually mounted rudder pedals and a control yoke, along with a three-part instrument panel hood for the pilot. The fuselage halves both feature internal sidewall detail, and the fuselage assembly includes a large ventral panel for the underside. The sponsons containing the machine guns consist of three parts each, and the machine gun barrels are individually mounted. The wing assembly is painstakingly detailed, consisting of 24 parts, and includes separately mounted trailing edge slats and ailerons.
The cockpit windscreen is a single piece, but the canopy is comprised of three rectangular clear parts, allowing for the possibility of displaying the canopy in the open position. The main landing gear are extremely detailed, with the assembly for each gear including the wheel wells coming to 14 parts, and cemented inside each of the two booms.
This Bronco has no shortage of weapons. Armament, aside from the four 7.62mm machine guns in the sponsons, consists of two twin packs of LAU-33 Zuni rockets, two LAU-68 rocket pods containing six rockets each, two larger LAU-69 rocket pods containing 19 2.75 inch rockets apiece, and two Mk. 77 incendiary bombs (also called fire bombs). Because they are incendiaries, many observers assume they are napalm bombs, but they use a kerosene-based fuel rather than the gasoline/polystyrene/benzene mixture used in napalm, with a lower concentration of benzene. There is an option for two LAU-10 rocket launchers carrying four 5.0 inch rockets each. There are also a choice of two different pairs of Mk 81 and Mk 82 bombs, either the free fall type, or fitted with the Snake Eye retarding fins for low-level operations. Finally, there is a single 150-gallon drop tank for the center line pylon located on the Bronco’s belly. Since the OV-10 was somewhat underpowered and could not begin to carry all this ordnance at once, ICM has thoughtfully provided a detailed weapons load chart on page 23 (yes 23!) of the instructions. A mask template is provided in the instructions, along with an overhead schematic to assist in placement, and allowing modelers so inclined to make their own paint masks for the canopy using the template.
Markings
ICM provides markings for five options, divided among the U.S. Marines, Navy and Air Force. The Navy version is painted in a scheme of overall Sky Grey, with Black spinners on the air screws, red propeller blades bearing white stripes. This is an OV-10A, serial no. 155471, of Light Attack Squadron 4 (VAL-4), the “Black Ponies,” based at Binh Thuy, Vietnam in 1971. This was the only Navy unit to operate the Bronco in a combat theatre.
Second is a Marine OV-10A, serial no. 155456, of Marine Observation Squadron 6 (VMO-6) based at Quang Tri, Vietnam in 1969. This is painted in a color the instructions identify as Camouflage Green — although Marine Green or Dark Olive Green is more like it – on the upper surfaces, with a large off-white panel on the upper wing and the horizontal stabilizer between the two tail booms. Under surfaces are recorded as Blue Grey.
Third is an Air Force version, serial no. 7-14649, in overall White Grey, a machine of the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron based at Da Nang, Vietnam in 1972.
The fourth and fifth versions are for the same aircraft, serial no. 155416, of Marine Observation 2 (VMO-2) based at Da Nang, Vietnam. One is a 1969 version and the other is a 1970 version, the key difference between them being that the upper surface of the wing is Off-White on the 1969 version, and Marine Green on the 1970 version. For each marking option, there is a suggested weapons load for that version of the Bronco.
Conclusion
This is a superbly detailed 1/48 scale version of the Bronco, a quantum leap above the old Testors/Hawk kit of the 1960’s, highly recommended both for its detail and weapons options.
References
- Combat Aircraft Since 1945 by Stewart Wilson; Copyright 2000 Stewart Wilson and Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., Fyshwick, Australia.
- https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
- https://wikipedia.org
