[fpoamaster]

Now with Korea being introduced into the sim I think its a proper time to ask for a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog. This was an aircraft which was first a Cessna (like todays 172 Skyhawks) but was also made into a military transport. They carried food, water, guns, ammo, and injured men. When a helo was not in the area these "Bird Dogs" were able to find a small field and land on it with only a few bumps (due to better suspension) and turn around a take off in the same distance. I think I would be pretty cool to fly one of these under faked fire, land on the ground, pick up something (or someone) and then take off.

[spitfire13]

i agree that would be awesome right now i fly the 172 so this will be kind of simaler

[fpoamaster]

cool, you flyin a 172 right now, after I get into 11th grade my high school offers a pilots training program so ill be doing that and next weekend Im taking a plane ride over my town in a modified P-51H.

[spitfire13]

Im in 6th grade!

[fpoamaster]

Right now im in 8th grade

[.041 Safety Wire]

actually L as in L-19 marks this as a Liaison aircraft as opposed to a transport. I believe some could carry litters but not much more than that. There is very little room in the Bird dog. There are a lot of commonalities between the L-19 and the Cessna 170. I believe there forte was artillery spotting and FAC type missions. Also flown as the O1E. This aircraft should not be confused with an STOL type as it does not incorporate any type high lift devices if my memory serves me well and the spring steel type landing gear has been used on Cessnas for quite some time.

The Defense Department ordered 3,200 L-19s that were built between 1950 and 1959. The aircraft were used in various utility roles such as artillery spotting, front line communications, medevac and training. In 1962 the Army L-19 was redesignated the O-1 (Observation) Bird Dog and entered its second war in Vietnam. During the early 1960s the Bird Dog was flown by South Vietnamese airmen (ARVN-Army Republic Vietnam/SVAF South Vietnamese Air Force), US Army aviators, and clandestine (Ravens) aircrews. In 1964 the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a memorandum directing that the U.S. Army turn over its "Fixed Wing" O-1 Bird Dogs to the US Air Force, while the army began its transition to a "rotor-wing" force (helicopters).


The L-19 received the name Bird Dog as a result of a contest held with Cessna employees to name the aircraft. The winning entry, submitted by Jack A. Swayze, an industrial photographer, was selected by a U.S. Army board.[citation needed] The name was chosen because the role of the army's new aircraft was to find the enemy and orbit overhead until artillery (or attack aircraft) could be brought to bear on the enemy. While flying low and close to the battlefield, the pilot would observe the exploding shells and adjust the fire via his radios, in the manner of a bird dog (Gun dog) used by game hunters.

[P/O W. 'Moggy' Cattermole]

i think some people are thinking about doing this if that helps at all..

[HH Enforcer]

My late Dad was a civilian contract instructor at Ft. Rucker in Ala during the early sixties. He had many hundreds of hrs in that machine teaching Army pilots to fly and make short field landings and take offs etc before he transitioned to helicopters during the Vietnam build up. This is a neat airplane, but it has nothing in common with the 172 other than the location of the wing. One stood in for an L-4 in the movie "battle of the bulge". At the time my Dad was flying them, the Army called them L-19s. but later all of them became O-1s after the USAF became the primary user in Vietnam. They were used mainly for forward air controllers (FAC), calling in air strikes.

I used a storch recently with a proper skin as an L-19 in my current cmpn project.

These planes were used extensively in Korea as well. Here's a shot of my Dad (on right) with two other instructors in the early sixties. He had some great stories about flying in those things, including a midair with a large hawk that spun the plane around and bent the strut pretty badly. Note the plane is in the middle of a grass field.

[fpoamaster]

Cool, sorry to hear about your dad.

[Guest]

This would be a great plane to have. I remember reading that sometimes, they would make runways by flattening the tops of trees in the jugle. That would be fun to fly from!

[spitfire13]

i might be able to make the bird dog if any one wants