OV-10A Bronco USAF Vietnam

Possible Options:
OV-10A Bronco 67-14658, 19th TASS, USAF (Vietnam)
OV-10A Bronco BuNo. 155405, VMO-6, US Marine Corps (Vietnam)
OV-10A Bronco BuNo. 155471, VAL-4 "Black Ponies", US Navy (Vietnam)

The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. It can carry up to three tons of external munitions, internal loads such as paratroopers or stretchers, and can loiter for three or more hours.

The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. A total of 81 OV-10 Broncos were ultimately lost to all causes during the course of the Vietnam War, with the Air Force losing 64, the Navy 7 and the Marines 10.

The first combat USAF OV-10As arrived in Vietnam on 31 July 1968 for operational testing and evaluation and were afterwards deployed in larger numbers to the 19th TASS (Bien Hoa), 20th TASS (Da Nang Air Base), and for out-of-country missions to the 23d TASS (Nakhom Phanom in Thailand). The full range of missions then assigned to FAC aircraft, included day and night strike direction, gunship direction, bomb damage assessment, visual reconnaissance, aerial artillery direction, and as escorts.