Douglas O-2: Difference between revisions
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'''XO-14:''' One reduced-scale version of an 0-2H and the first Douglas aircraft with wheel brakes. |
'''XO-14:''' One reduced-scale version of an 0-2H and the first Douglas aircraft with wheel brakes. |
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'''XA-2:''' The 46th aircraft of the original 0-2 contract was completed as an attack machine with the powerplant of one 420-hp (313-kW) [[V-1410 Liberty]] inverted-Vee engine, and with a total of eight machine-guns (two in the engine cowling, two each in the upper and lower wings, and two on a ring-mounting operated by the observer). It was remarkably well armed for its day, and competed against the [[Curtiss Falcon|Curtiss A-3]] in 1926 but was not selected for production. |
'''[[Douglas XA-2|XA-2]]:''' The 46th aircraft of the original 0-2 contract was completed as an attack machine with the powerplant of one 420-hp (313-kW) [[V-1410 Liberty]] inverted-Vee engine, and with a total of eight machine-guns (two in the engine cowling, two each in the upper and lower wings, and two on a ring-mounting operated by the observer). It was remarkably well armed for its day, and competed against the [[Curtiss Falcon|Curtiss A-3]] in 1926 but was not selected for production. |
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OD-1: Two O-2Cs for service with the [[US Marine Corps]] from 1929. |
OD-1: Two O-2Cs for service with the [[US Marine Corps]] from 1929. |
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Revision as of 20:43, 29 April 2007
The Douglas O-2 is a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company.
Development
The important family of Douglas observation aircraft sprang from two XO-2 prototypes, the first of which was powered by the 420-hp (313-kW) Liberty V-1650-1 Vee engine and test-flown in the autumn of 1924. The second XO-2 was powered by the 510-hp (380-kW) Packard 1A-1500 Vee engine, which proved unreliable. The US Army ordered 45 0-2 production aircraft in 1925, these retaining the XO-2's welded steel tube fuselage, wooden wings and overall fabric covering but at the same time introducing aluminium panels on the forward fuselage. The XO-2 had been flown with short and long-span wings, the latter giving improved handling and therefore being specified for the production aircraft. The fixed tailskid landing gear included a main unit of the divided type, the horizontal tail surface was strut braced, and the engine was cooled by a tunnel radiator.
The 0-2 proved to be a conventional but very reliable biplane which soon attracted orders for 25 more aircraft: 18 0-2A machines equipped for night flying and six 0-2B dual-control command aircraft for the US Army, plus one civil 0-2BS modified specially for James McKee, who made a remarkable solo transCanada flight in September 1926. In 1927 the O-2BS was adapted as a threeseater with a radial engine.
Variants
O-2 - Initial production model - 45 built.
O-2A - O-2 with night flying equipment - 18 built.
O-2B - Dual control version of O-2 - six built.
0-2C: These differed from the 0-2 in having frontal radiators for their Liberty engines and modified oleo-strut landing gear. The USAAC took delivery of 19 aircraft, while the remaining 27 went to reserve National Guard units - 32 built and one conversion from O-9.
0-2D: Unarmed staff transport versions of the 0-2C - two built
0-2E: A one-off aircraft which replaced the wire link between upper and lower wing ailerons of production aircraft by rigid struts.
0-2H: The fuselage was redesigned and a new tailplane was fitted, with staggered wings of unequal span. The O-2H incorporated the rigid-strut aileron interconnections of the 0-2E. An improved split-axle landing gear was standard. The USAAC received 90 O-2Hs between 1928 and 1930, and the National Guard a further 50 - 141 built.
0-2J: Unarmed dual control version of the 0-2H for service as USAAC staff transports - three built.
0-2K: A slightly modified version of the O2J for US Army staff transport and liaison duties. Total production was 37 for the USAAC and 20 for the National Guard - 59 built.
XO-6: Five all-metal O-2s, built in the mid-1920s by [Thomas-Morse].
XO-6B: Radically altered (smaller and lighter) version of the XO-6 - one built.
0-7: Three 0-2s with the 510-hp (380-kW) Packard 2A-1500 direct-drive engine. Two were later converted to 0-2 standards, and one to the O-2C standard.
0-8: One aircraft with the 400-hp (298-kW) Curtiss R-1454 radial engine instead of the intended Packard inverted-Vee engine. It later became an 0-2A.
0-9: One aircraft with the 500-hp (373-kW) Packard 3A-1500 geared engine. It resembled the 0-7 but had a four rather than two bladed propeller. It later became an O-2A.
XO-14: One reduced-scale version of an 0-2H and the first Douglas aircraft with wheel brakes.
XA-2: The 46th aircraft of the original 0-2 contract was completed as an attack machine with the powerplant of one 420-hp (313-kW) V-1410 Liberty inverted-Vee engine, and with a total of eight machine-guns (two in the engine cowling, two each in the upper and lower wings, and two on a ring-mounting operated by the observer). It was remarkably well armed for its day, and competed against the Curtiss A-3 in 1926 but was not selected for production.
OD-1: Two O-2Cs for service with the US Marine Corps from 1929.
Specifications (0-2)
General characteristics
- Crew: two
Performance
Armament
- Two .30-cal (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns, one fixed forward-firing and one flexible
- 400 lbs (181 kg) of disposable stores carried under the lower wing
Reference
- The complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft cover Editors: Paul Eden & Soph Moeng, Amber Books Ltd. Bradley's Close, 74-77 White Lion Street, London, NI 9PF, 2002, 1152 pp.
