OV-10A

If its a 1/48 kit there is only one kit- Hawk orginally molded it and it was later re issued by Testors. Regarding CBUs on the OV-10, not likely. I have seen photos of them mainly carrying rockets, 2.75" by the USAF and 5" Zuni and 2.75" by the USN.

"and 5" Zuni and 2.75" by the USN"

USMC

Thanks for your help again stikpusher but no it's 1/72.

Youre Welcome attila. I do recall that Hasegawa made a 1/72 OV-10, and I want to say that Airfix did as well.

Oh yes, Academy makes one, and Revell did one many years back as well in 1/72...

I'm betting they are the REVELL, cause they are at least 40 years old and have

wing Sidewinders. Thanks for all your help!

Jeff

Jeff, as far as I recall, all of the 1/72 kits have Sidewinders. Don't know about the Revell kit, but the Airfix kit has lots of rivets (IIRC, this kit includes a centreline fuel tank), the Hasegawa has raised panel lines (Sidewinders are undersized) and I believe the Academy kit has recessed panel lines.

"and 5" Zuni and 2.75" by the USN"

USMC

http://www.blackpony.org/intro.htm

I can only address carrier ops in the gulf in the '70-'71 timeframe, but we only loaded CBUs on our Phantoms twice the whole deployment.  The A-6s and A-7s might have flown them more than that, but, IIRC, it wasn't a lot more than that, if more at all.  As specialized weapons,  I doubt they were in the OV-10's bag of tricks, but I know nothing of what the other branches were doing in other places, or the Marines either, for that matter.  (My guess is they were too heavy for the Bronco.)

The Air Force used the OV-10 as a FAC over the South. In that role it carried 2.75mm FFARs with Willie Pete warheads for marking targets for the fast movers in 7 shot pods, and a centerline fuel tank to extend time on station. Some were also equipped with a laser designator in the cockpit to mark targets for LGBs. No need for CBUs by the Air Force Broncos.

Hang on guys--it would seem that at least one OV-10 unit did in fact carry CBU-55's.....

www.volanteaircraft.com/ov-10-8.htm

VAL-4 used them--

"After a costly accident on the carrier "Constellation," the entire Navy inventory of 5 inch Zuni rockets were transferred to the VAL-4 OV-10 squadron and these were used to good effect. The waiver, however, denied all free fall ordnance such that bombs and adapted weapons of all types were forbidden. However, also by default, the Black Ponies were assigned CBU-55 fuel-air cluster bombs. Since the CBU-55 was worthless for close air support when dropped from any usual jet aircraft speed and altitude, only the OV-10As could deliver them low and slow enough to have any value."

Now, I dont know how often they used em or anything, but they did apparently carry them.  VAL-4 had practically nothing else to use besides FFAR's and guns.

I also want to mention that the Philippine air force has some OV-10A and -C models, and they have added two weapons to the Bronco.  First, they have refitted the 20mm M39 cannons from their old F-5s into gun pods for the Bronco.  Second, they have developed a home-grown cluster bomb unit made up of 81mm mortar rounds.  The PAF got their Broncos from Thailand....and many of those planes had the M60's removed already, having been replaced in Thailand service by either 2 or 4 .50 machine guns.  Most of the planes had their original 7.62mm armament restored before being sent to the PAF though.  Just food for thought for anyone who would want to model those versions.....

I am curious as to the accuracy of the article you reference F-8fanatic. It lists the root cause of VAL-4 getting the Zuni's as a fire on the Connie. But I don't belive the Connie had such a fire, while Forrestal and Enterprise did.

F-8fanatic

... also by default, the Black Ponies were assigned CBU-55 fuel-air cluster bombs. Since the CBU-55 was worthless for close air support when dropped from any usual jet aircraft speed and altitude, only the OV-10As could deliver them low and slow enough to have any value." ...

When I think of CBUs, generally, I'm thinking Mk-20s, etc., packed with bomblets, either anti-personnel or armor piercing.  They weigh about 500 pounds, give or take, and are quite effective when put on target by a jet.  When somebody says "CBU", I think Rockeye.

The CBU-55 is a 750 pound incendiary, basically a cylinder full of compressed propane, and a nasty customer.  I found a picture of a Marine OV-10 with three of them mounted-up - one on the centerline and one on each gun sponson. 

http://www.popasmoke.com/visionsarchive/image.php?source=3667

So, there you have it - they can, they did.  If someone had told me earlier today that the Bronco could carry 2,250 pounds of external stores on top of normal fuel and gun ammo, I would have doubted it.  Edit - In fact, I did doubt it - end Edit.  Anybody know what the max load was for an OV-10?

CBU-55s were, I'm sure, UA on carriers by 1970, along with both 2.75" and 5" rockets and napalm.  The Zuni and Mighty Mouse were made UA on carriers shortly after, and because of, the Enterprise disaster in '69.  Anyway, in '70-'71, none of those items were aboard the Kitty Hawk.

No CBUs here, but a nasty loadout for those on the receiving end on the ground...

And here is another nice loadout... I can't tell if those are Mk 81 or Mk.82s...

OK, I'll admit it... I like the OV-10

stikpusher

And here is another nice loadout... I can't tell if those are Mk 81 or Mk.82s...

That's a good 'un.  Ordie like.  Edit - All three basic food groups, LOL - end Edit.  If I could see just a little more of the plane, I could probably scale the bombs - but my guess, and that's all it is, is that they're Mk-82s, the everyday, garden variety, ubiquitous LDHE of SEA (by popular choice ... ).  If they are, that's probably over-two thousand pounds of load, right there.

Ordie, there was another class of CBU dispensers in the Vietnam era, used in theatre,,,,,it was mostly USAF,,, all the weapons were based on the SUU-30 dispenser, with different bomblets, and various fin configurations

I wouldn't have called the -55 a CBU myself,,,,,,since as you say, it is one large container, not a shell full of smaller weapons (which is what a Cluster Bomb Unit is/was,,,,,,a Cluster of little Bombs, loaded into one Unit)

okay, then, if a person wants to build a Pony with a CBU-55, the place to get one would seem to be the Academy A-37B models

the fires that resulted in the removal of Zuni and Napalm from the decks were the Enterprise, Oriskany and Forrestal,,,,,I have no idea why that page would say Constellation (to be fair, it does say "accident" not fire,,,maybe there was some Oops that was almost a fire?)

a Pony with a -55 would be sort of cool in one aspect, it is usually "wrong" to put weapons labeled USAF on the stenciling on a NavAir aircraft,,in this case you would WANT people to notice it, haha

Rex

and I just remembered,,,

I hope Paul Boyer sees this thread,,,,,,,,,you could get about all the help and info you would need as to "what kit is what",,,,,not only is 1/72 "his scale",,,,,the Bronco is "his plane"

Rex

Here is some great stuff from OV-10 Bronco.net (Ya gotta love the Internet for sites like this!) After action reports from VAL-4 for much of their time in country. Lots of politics from the Air Force is mentioned. Of particular notice regarding the OV-10 and the Air Force is the fact that 7th Air Force, the air command HQ in country, would not permit free fall ordinance from the VAL-4 OV-10s. Only rockets and guns. A great read of operational reports though.

www.ov-10bronco.net/techreports.cfm

TarnShip

Ordie, there was another class of CBU dispensers in the Vietnam era, used in theatre,,,,,it was mostly USAF,,, all the weapons were based on the SUU-30 dispenser, with different bomblets, and various fin configurations ...

Yes, I've heard of them, I've just never been in the same room with one.  I would still think of the AF jobs as containers full of submunitions, like MK-20s.

TarnShip

I wouldn't have called the -55 a CBU myself,,,,,, ...

Me, neither.

TarnShip

... the fires that resulted in the removal of Zuni and Napalm from the decks were the Enterprise, Oriskany and Forrestal,,,,,I have no idea why that page would say Constellation (to be fair, it does say "accident" not fire,,,maybe there was some Oops that was almost a fire?) ...

Those three fires stand out large in my memory of those times.  The Oriskany, I remember reading about in Time Magazine when I was a senior in HS, and being somewhat in a state of shock as I did so.  Pilots and aircrew were my heros (along with rock 'n roll stars), especially Navy fliers.  33 or so Navy aircrew died of asphixiation in their sleep as smoke filled their staterooms through the vents.  The Forrestal, I was in boot camp, an Airman Recruit.  My mom, knowing I was guaranteed an aviation school, thought I'd be especially interested, so she sent me newspaper clippings and magazine articles about it.  Not uplifting ...  IIRC, a stray-voltage firing of a rocket motor on a packed and loaded deck.  Later, I served with guys who lived through it.  The Big E, I lost a drinking buddy and several good aquaintances, all squadron ordies.  IIRC, that one, a Zuni warhead cooked-off after sitting an extended time loaded in a pod on an ac, in the direct exhaust of a huffer.  Once again, a packed and loaded deck.  Our daubers were down for quite awhile at Miramar - we had to read the casualty list from the San Diego Union.  Shortly after, though we continued to load them in Yuma and Fallon, so they could shoot up the desert, ballistic rockets were outlawed on carriers.

I've never heard of the Connie deal, either.  Maybe, when Zunis went UA, they off-loaded their magazines in-theater.  Just speculating.

I know this hasn't anything to do with OV-10s, but I digress a lot these days ...

Rounded out each of the external stations were around 500 lbs., take out the back seat and you

could get two stretchers, or 5 soldiers, or 3,600 lbs. of stores. So Rockeye's could be carried but

at 750lbs. the CBU-55 would be a stretch.

Take a look at the link I posted to the VAL-4 reports. No mention of any CBUs used by them, but several specific mention of all free fall ordinance being prohibited by 7th AF HQ. Lots of mention of 20mm, minigun, Zunis, and 2.75" rockets expended. The photo that was linked earlier in the thread was a Marine Bronco with the CBU-55s. Based on the VAL reports and the error about the Connie in the article which stated that VAL-4 did use the CBU-55 I believe is inaccurate. More than likely the author there got his wires crossed again and is referring to the Marines VMO-2 as using the CBU-55.

I know it's kind of wierd, USAF could carry anything but didn't. Marines would, Navy couldn't

"drop" anything that would explode. Navy had to get clearance to carry 2 single Zuni launchers

on the wing,yea, thanks I've been reading it since you sent the link.

Jeff

            http://www.blackpony.org/bpss.wmv

It answers the question about CBU's and some others. It turns out they are Hasegawa.

It's funny, a couple nights ago while researcing Hueys, I stumbled across some good OV-10 photos in a book of mine in an unexpected place, Squadron's "Riverine" book by Jim Mesko. Quite a few good photos in there. And it sure brought this thread to mind. Lots of cool mixed ordinance in a few photos: 5" Zunis in pods x 2 under the sponsons and twin tubes x2 on the wing pylons, plus 2.75" FFAR pod and a Minigun pod to boot under the sponsons. As well as the sponson's internal mounted 4 '60s. There is even a photo of a ground crewman appliying some artwork to some of the pods using what looks to be good old Testors square bottle enamel paints... too bad my scanner is useless or I would get those pics up on here...

Here's a photo of a VMO-6 bird carrying a CBU-56:

www.ov-10bronco.net/.../usmc_ov10a_vmo6_shoop_cubi1.jpg

This is also an interesting read--a declassified report from 1972.  Scroll to the second page, I believe it is, and you will see this:

webcache.googleusercontent.com/search

"Tvvo OV-10A Black Ponies made CBU strikes in Dinh

Tuong Province killing 2 VC/NVA, destroying 4 bunkers

and 9 booby traps"

Yes and on page 16 it mentions an interesting flight with a CBU-55. I must admit I can't

tell CBU's apart at all!

Jeff