North American OV-10 Bronco
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Warpaint Series No. 140
Author: Mike Verier
Publisher: Guideline Publications
ISBN: 978-1-916759-13-8
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 100
The North American OV-10 Bronco came about from the idea for a counter insurgency, or COIN aircraft. In the Cold War era, defense planners recognized the end of colonialism and the rise of guerilla warfare and insurrections overthrowing governments favorable to the United States led to the need for a rugged aircraft capable of close air support, but defining just what that plane was took some time. The development period of the OV-10 was protracted, with lots of concepts thrown forth before the twin engined high wing two seat design came forth. The Vietnam War became the proving ground for the type, and the OV-10 operated with both the US Air Force and Marines in the COIN and FAC roles to a high degree of success.
This title from Warpaint provides a solid overview of the entire history of the OV-10 Bronco, from its development to initial military operations to current civilian usages, a life span covering nearly sixty years. The book starts out with that fascinating origin story of the type, with photos of several of the competitors to the OV-10 being shown. It was clear that plane manufacturers saw the potential in the design, so competition was definitely high, but ultimately North American Rockwell won out and the Bronco was borne.
The Vietnam War followed quite closely to the start of production of the OV-10, so it was inevitable that it would quickly enter combat in Southeast Asia. The success of the Bronco in that conflict undoubtedly helped with export sales as well, and the OV-10 found its way into many air forces around the world. As one of the more interesting combat anecdotes, during an uprising in Venezuela an OV-10 engaged in air-to-air combat against an F-16. The book does a good job of covering these international operators, both in text and in photographs, as well as the high quality color profile illustrations.
Those illustrations also help show off the next chapter of the OV-10 Bronco, that in the civilian world. What made the plane great in its original role makes it great as a civilian spotter aircraft, and many Broncos have ended up in service as fire bomber spotters and other observation and surveillance roles for state and federal agencies. These roles are likely to continue to employ the Bronco, as it is so well suited for those roles and was designed for easy maintenance.
With the recent release of the ICM 1/72 OV-10 Bronco kit, this book release is timely and welcome. If you’re looking for a good single-title reference on the Bronco, this one definitely fits the bill.