We used the small practice bombs to mark targets on ranges when the Air Force said we were getting short on Willy Pete. Having said that, I did shoot a lot of 2.75-inch marking rockets (usually with a white phosphorus warhead, dubbed ‘Willy Pete’) and dropped a lot of 25-pound practice bombs (BDU-33s they had a small smoke charge) from the Bronco. In the meantime, I’ll just temporarily call this forum the ‘Cold War Zone.’ There are several good Vietnam-era books that tell stories of brave Forward Air Controllers in OV-10s (as well as O-1 and O-2 aircraft) during that war. President Ronald Reagan managed to get us into a few small conflicts (Beirut, Grenada, and Panama) but I didn’t participate. I got my wings in 1974 and retired in December 1989, and there were no major wars in that period. I had previous-enlisted time prior to 1971 (not in Vietnam) and that counted towards my 20-years of active duty. My whole time flying OV-10s (and my earlier F-4 Phantom II assignments) was peacetime simulated combat. One man who can help set that record straight is ‘Danno,’ who spent his last two Air Force assignments strapped in the cockpit of the Bronco. Air Force? Unlike its more glamorous fast-jet brethren, the OV-10’s Air Force career is little known and rarely publicized. Today, its unique flying qualities and capabilities mean it’s in demand for training Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs), more widely known as Forward Air Controllers.īut what was it actually like to fly the Bronco as a frontline combat aircraft during its tenure with the U.S. In the meantime, it’s also seen combat in some lesser-known conflicts, from confronting guerrillas in the Philippines to taking part in a coup d’état in Venezuela. Not only does nothing much else look quite like it, but this counterinsurgency specialist has enjoyed a truly unusual career trajectory, which has taken it from the jungles of Vietnam, via Operation Desert Storm, to hunting ISIS insurgents in Iraq. The twin-turboprop, twin-boom OV-10 Bronco is one of those rare aircraft that seems to never cease being of interest.
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