Cessna O-1 Bird Dog
The Bird Dog
“The slowest plane on the battlefield — and the bravest.”
Cessna (Textron) · military
The Bird Dog was a military spotter built from Cessna taildragger bones. Its pilots flew low and slow over hostile ground in Korea and Vietnam, marking targets with smoke rockets and trusting altitude, luck, and a fabric-thin airframe. Survivors now fly as beloved warbirds.
Over 3,400 were built, and the type earned a reputation as one of the most dangerous flying jobs of its era — forward air controllers flew it unarmored and mostly unarmed.
Looks like a stretched, militarized taildragger Cessna: high wing with big transparent panels above, angular tail, usually in Army green or vintage markings.
One might be overhead right now.
Bogey turns the The Bird Dog from a dot in the sky into a card in your logbook. Coming to iOS and Android.
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