35th Anniv. of Army Avn. Branch: Product of American Invention, Innovation & Specialization of Tasks
Looking Back, February 2018 / By Mark Albertson: Army Aviation is the product of American invention and innovation; and, is the beneficiary of that inexorable march towards specialization which has come to mark the evolution of the American armed forces following the Spanish-American war. Left: Thaddeus Lowe’s balloon An early attempt at innovation and specialization of tasks appears in 1848 during the Mexican-American War with John Wise, one of the celebrated names in American aeronautics. Wise hatched a scheme to break the siege at Vera Cruz. He proposed the use of a monstrous lighter-than-air-craft capable of hoisting a payload of 20,000 pounds. ...
Learn More0-1 BIRD DOG
Two-place liaison, observation aircraft. Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas. O-1 Bird Dog, originally the L-19 ENGINESOne Continental 0-470-11 piston eng ine rated at 213 hp, PROPELLERSMcCauley fixed-pitch two-bladed metal propeller. SPECIFICATIONSSpan: 36 ft. Length: 25 ft. 10 in. Height: 7 ft. 4 in. Empty weight: 1,614 lb. Gross weight: 2,430 lb. PERFORMANCEMax. speed ISL) : 115 mph. Cruise speed ISL): 100 mph. Cruise speed, 10,000′: 106 mph. Service ceiling: 1,850 ft. Max. range: 592 st. mi. Endurance:4.67 hours. Rate of climb: 1,040 fpm. REMARKSThe TO-1 D is the instrument trainer version of this aircraft and is st ructuallystrong er. It...
Learn More1962 Redesignation of Aircraft
Looking Back / Edited by Mark Albertson: Pages 694 & 695, December 1962 issue, ARMY AVIATION Magazine. We now have a new AR which should be of interest to all Army Aviators. This new AR 700-26, dated 18 Sept. 1962, titled, “Designation, Redesignation, and Naming Military Aircraft, upersedes AR 705-42. The AR also implements DOD Directive 4506.6, dated 6 July 1962. Here is what the AR does: It prescribes a standard designation for all aircraft and applies to all services, Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. It further reidentifies all aircraft which are in the nventory. Hold it! Don’t get panicky! This reidentification is...
Learn MoreThe Real Goal of Army Aviation
Historical Perspective / By Brig. Gen. Clifton F. von Kann, Director of Army Aviation, ODCSOPS, D/A: One of the ghosts that haunts every discussion of Army aviation is “another Air Force.” To add to this scare factor, there are a lot of little minor ghosts who always accompany the first: “The Army wants to take over TAG.” “The real goal of Army aviation is its own branch.” “Army aviation is merely another example of divergence rather than unity within the services.” On Global Lecture Tour General -I.D. White (1.), Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Pacific, chats with Capt. Walter F. Jones...
Learn MorePlight of the Gunners
Looking Back / By Mark Albertson: The best army in the world is bound to be annihilated unless it is backed up by a strong, well-organized Home Front. Let every institution in the USSR treat the Army as a matter of priority. . . —Vladimir Lenin(1)* The L-4 was the backbone of Army Aviation in World War II. Flown by Aviators during first part of the Korean War Army Aviators opened the Korean conflict flying World War II holdovers; in a word, their mounts were long in the tooth. L-4s and L-5s shouldered the load for the first part of the...
Learn MoreWomen In Army Aviation Today
By MAJ Jennifer A. Phelps: The following article leads up to the Association’s 2009 National Convention in Nashville, Tenn. marking the 35th anniversary of women serving in the Aviation Branch. Straight out of flight school in early 2007, 1LT Erin Leach found herself being tested in combat as a UH-60 platoon leader in Afghanistan with the 2nd Bn., 82nd Avn. Regt. Female pilots like Leach are proving themselves as leaders and aviators, performing equally or better with their male counterparts. Leach is pictured here ready for an Oct. 1, 2007 mission and flying on another mission over an Afghan community./...
Learn MoreMaintaining our Sacred Trust with Teammates on the Ground, 2013 to the Future
By LTG Kevin W. Mangum, CW5 (Ret.) Michael L. Reese, and SGM James H. Thomson: Sustained armed conflict defines the American society’s perception of the United States military, specifically the Global War on Terrorism and the last decade and a half of operations underscored by Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers assigned to 173d Airborne Brigade conduct sling load operations with UH-60 helicopters from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division; part of an artillery raid during Exercise Allied Sport IV at the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command’s (JMTC) Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany, Jan. 26, 2016. /...
Learn MoreAdapting during a Decade of War, 2003-2012
By GEN (Ret.) Richard A. Cody, LTG (Ret.) J. Mark Curran, and LTG (Ret.) James J. Lovelace: From 2003 through 2012, the Army was at war. The Global War on Terrorism began in earnest following the attacks on 11 September 2001. After the Battle of Anaconda, Operation Enduring Freedom settled into combat and stability operations. As early as 2002, the U.S. military had begun to turn its attention to Saddam Hussein and the removal of his weapons of mass destruction. In early 2003, the Army deployed a large number of combat formations into Kuwait, poised just across the border from...
Learn MoreA Club Without Rules
By Mark Albertson: NO-NO List: No Dues, No Organization, No Officers, No Certificates, No Meetings, No Mergers, No Handshakes, No Decisions, No I.D. Cards, No Flag-Waving, No Emblem, No Executives, No Programs, No Honors, No Rituals, No Trespassing, No Morals, No Benefits, No Staff, No Pins, No Money, No Axes, No Committees, No Publicity, No Do-Gooding, No By-Laws, No Collaboration, No Conventions, No Charters, No Propaganda, No Records, No Soft Drinks, No Leadership, No Buageting, No Policies, No Women, No Chapters, No Shouting, No Insurance, No Assurance, No Initiation Fees, No Clock-Watchers, No Resolutions, No Boys, No Paperwork, No Volunteers, No Motto, No Awards, No...
Learn MoreArmy Airworthiness at 75
Challenges and Opportunities, Past and Present / By Mr. David B. Cripps: The last seventy-five years have seen monumental advances in Army Aviation in terms of its role in the Joint battlespace and its importance to the Soldier on the ground. U.S. ARMY FILE PHOTO At the same time the technology of aviation has grown at an ever-increasing pace, and leveraging the benefits of technological advance for tactical advantage has been the hallmark of Army Aviation. Whether it be speed, range, payload, lethality, survivability, connectivity, surveillance, timeliness of action, or any other measure of military effectiveness, Army Aviation has utilized...
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