BIRD DOGS - CESSNA 01 Airborne, TACTICAL AIR CONTROL VIETNAM WAR PATCH 440

Description

UP FOR SALE AN ORIGINAL MADE IN COUNTRY VIETNAM WAR PATCH. REFER TO PHOTOS. HAS SOME AGE WEAR. GREAT PATCH FOR YOUR COLLECTION. APPROX 3 1/2 X 3 1/4 INCHES. FULLY EMBROIDERED - CHEESECLOTH BACKING. 100% ORIGINAL. FOUND AT A SALE OF A MILITARY COLLECTOR. I SHIP USPS 1ST CLASS MAIL. MORE INFO BELOW. THANKS.
Birdogs - Cessna 0-1 Recon - Tactical Air Control
United States Air Force - USAF
Tactical Air Control - Air Borne - 0-1 Detachment - Reconnaissiance
Cessna 0-1 Bird Dog – Observation Aircraft
The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft. It was the first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army following the Army Air Forces' separation from it in 1947. The Bird Dog had a lengthy career in the U.S. military, as well as in other countries.
In 1962, the Army L-19 and Marine Corps OE-1 were redesignated as the O-1 Bird Dog and entered the Vietnam War.
During the early 1960s, the Bird Dog was flown by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF), U.S. Army, and U.S. Marines in South Vietnam and later by clandestine forward air controllers (e.g. Ravens) in Laos and Cambodia.
Because of its short takeoff and landing (STOL) and low altitude/low airspeed capabilities, the O-1 also later found its way into U.S. Air Force service as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) aircraft for vectoring faster fighter and attack aircraft and supporting combat search-and-rescue operations recovering downed aircrews.
During the Vietnam War the Bird Dog was used primarily for reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery adjustment, radio relay, convoy escort and the forward air control of tactical aircraft, to include bombers operating in a tactical role.
Supplementing the O-1, then gradually replacing it, the USAF switched to the Cessna O-2 Skymaster and North American OV-10 Bronco, while the U.S. Marine Corps took delivery of the OV-10 to replace their aging O-1s.
Both were faster twin-engine aircraft, with the OV-10 being a turboprop aircraft, but the U.S. Army retained the Bird Dog throughout the war with up to 11 Reconnaissance Airplane Companies (RACs) deployed to cover all of South Vietnam, the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the southern edge of North Vietnam.
Its quieter noise footprint, lower speed, tighter maneuverability, short runway ability and better visibility (even to the rear) kept it highly valued by the ground units it supported and highly feared by enemy units it flew over. The last U.S. Army O-1 Bird Dog was officially retired in 1974.
During the course of the Vietnam War, 469 O-1 Bird Dogs were lost to all causes.
The USAF lost 178, the USMC lost 7, and 284 were lost from the U.S. Army, RVNAF, and clandestine operators.
Three Bird Dogs were lost to enemy hand-held surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).
Two O-1 Bird Dogs were loaned to the Australian Army's 161 Reconnaissance Flight operating out of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province.
One was lost to ground fire in May 1968, killing 161's commanding officer.
Another Bird Dog was built by this unit's maintenance crew, using aircraft sections salvaged from dumps around Vietnam. It was test-flown and later smuggled back to Australia in pieces, contained in crates marked as "aircraft spares". This aircraft now resides in the Museum of Army Flying at the Army Aviation Center at Oakey, Queensland.
As the USAF phased out the O-1 in favor of the O-2 and OV-10, many O-1s in the United States were sold as surplus.