Curtiss O-52
| Curtiss O-52 Owl | |
|---|---|
 Curtiss O-52 "Owl" |
|
| Type: | Reconnaissance plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1940 |
| Commissioning: |
1941 |
| Number of pieces: |
203 |
The Curtiss O-52 Owl (owl, manufacturer's designation Model 85) was a reconnaissance aircraft developed in 1938 that was used by the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II .
history
In 1939 the Air Corps ordered 203 Curtiss O-52s, which were delivered in early 1940. Before the Second World War, the reconnaissance aircraft was mainly used to observe maneuvers . When entering the war, however, it turned out that the machine was unusable for combat use due to its low performance. The aircraft was therefore used for courier flights within the USA and for fighting submarines in the coastal area of the Gulf of Mexico , in the Atlantic and in the Pacific .
In October 1941, 30 O-52s were shipped to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act . Due to the loss of the convoy by German submarines, only 19 of these aircraft reached the port of destination Arkhangelsk. They also did not prove themselves on the German-Soviet front and were quickly replaced by Po-2 .
Military users
-
Brazil
- Força Aérea Brasileira
-
Soviet Union
- Soviet Union Air Force
-
United States
- United States Army Air Corps
.svg){kind=small}
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| length | 8.03 m |
| span | 12.4 m |
| Wing area | 19.5 m² |
| height | 2.83 m |
| Empty mass | 1919 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 2433 kg |
| drive | a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 -51 with 600 HP (447 kW) |
| Top speed | 346 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 7100 m |
| Range | 732 km |
| Armament | a 7.7mm machine gun |
Museum plane
In 1962 an O-52 was restored. It is on display today at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Joachim Mau, Hans Heiri Stapfer: Under the Red Star - Lend Lease Aircraft for the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Transpress, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70710-8 . Pp 127-129