Designed in the early 1960's before the helicopter had fully proved it's self in combat, it was deemed desirable to have a light attack and observation aircraft suitable for counter insurgency operations, with this in mind the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco came into being. The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco first flew in mid 1965 and entered service with US forces in late 1969. The Bronco could remain on station for over three hours and carry up to three tons of ordinance, it served with the United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, United States Navy and to a lesser extent numerous military forces of other countries. The USMC, USAF and USN all operated the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco throughout the Vietnam War, the USN retired it's Broncos once the Vietnam war had ended in favour of new options such as the now proven helicopter, the USAF retires it's last Bronco squadron in September 1991 but the USMC did not retire the OV-10 Bronco until they had seen action again in Operation Desert Storm, finally retiring it's last North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco squadron in 1995. North American Rockwell OV-10D Bronco Specifications: - Crew: 2
- Length: 44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
- Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
- Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
- Empty weight: 6,893 lb (3,127 kg)
- Loaded weight: 9,908 lb (4,494 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 14,444 lb (6,552 kg)
- Engines: Twin 1,040 hp (775.5 kW) Garrett T76-G-420/421 turboprop
- Maximum speed: 288 mph (463 km/h)
- Range: 1,382 mi (2,224 km)
- Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,159 m)
Armament: - Guns: Single 20 mm (.79 in) M197 cannon or four 7.62 M60C machine guns
- Total stores stations: 5 fuselage (OV-10D/D+ only) and 2 under-wing
- Bombs: Bombs up to 500 lb (227 kg)
- Rockets: 7 to 19 2.75" FFARs/WAFARs or 2 or four 5" FFARs/WAFARs
- Missiles: AIM-9 Sidewinders carried on under-wing pylons
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