Cessna O - 1 Bird Dog The Cessna L - 19 / O - 1 Bird Dog was a liaison and observation aircraft . It was the first all - metal fixed - wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army since the U . S . Army Air Forces separated from the Army in 1947 , becoming its own branch of service , the U . S . Air Force . The Bird Dog had a lengthy career in the U . S . military , as well as in other countries . Design and development . The U . S . Army was searching for an aircraft that could adjust artillery fire , as well as perform liaison duties , and preferably be constructed of all metal , as the fabric - covered liaison aircraft used during World War II ( primarily Stinson and Piper products ) had short service lives . The U . S . Army issued the specification for a two - seat liaison and observation monoplane , and the Cessna Aircraft Company submitted the Cessna Model 305A , a development of the Cessna 170 . The Cessna 305A was a single - engined , lightweight , strut - braced , high - wing monoplane with a tailwheel landing gear . The greatest difference from the Cessna 170 was that the 305A had only two seats , in tandem configuration ( the largest tandem - seat aircraft Cessna ever produced ) , with angled side windows to improve ground observation . Other differences included a redesigned rear fuselage , providing a view directly to the rear ( a feature later dubbed " Omni - View , " carried over to Cessna single - engined aircraft after 1964 ) , and transparent panels in the wings ' center - section over the cockpit ( similar to those found on the Cessna 140 and the later Cessna 150 " Aerobat " model ) , which allowed the pilot to look directly overhead . A wider door was fitted to allow a stretcher to be loaded . The U . S . Army awarded a contract to Cessna for 418 of the aircraft , which was designated the L - 19A Bird Dog . The prototype Cessna 305 ( registration N41694 ) first flew on 14 December 1949 . Deliveries began in December 1950 , and the aircraft were soon in use fighting their first war in Korea from 1950 through 1953 . An instrument trainer variant was developed in 1953 , later versions had constant speed propeller s , and the final version , the L - 19E , had a larger gross weight . Cessna produced 3 , 431 aircraft ; it was also built under license by Fuji in Japan . The L - 19 received the name Bird Dog as a result of a contest held with Cessna employees to name the aircraft . The winning entry , submitted by Jack A . Swayze , an industrial photographer , was selected by a U . S . Army board . The name was chosen because the role of the army ' s new aircraft was to find the enemy and orbit overhead until artillery ( or attack aircraft ) could be brought to bear on the enemy . While flying low and close to the battlefield , the pilot would observe the exploding shells and adjust the fire via his radios , in the manner of a bird dog ( gun dog ) used by game hunters . Operational history . The United States Department of Defense ( DOD ) ordered 3 , 200 L - 19s that were built between 1950 and 1959 . The aircraft were used in various utility roles such as artillery spotting , front - line communications , medevac and training . In 1962 , the Army L - 19 was redesignated the O - 1 ( Observation ) Bird Dog and entered its second war in Vietnam . During the early 1960s , the Bird Dog was flown by South Vietnamese ( ARVN - Army Republic Vietnam / SVAF South Vietnamese Air Force ) , U . S . Army , U . S . Marines and later by clandestine ( Ravens ) in Laos and Cambodia . During the Vietnam War the Bird Dog was used primarily for reconnaissance , target acquisition , artillery adjustment , radio relay , convoy escort and the forward air control of tactical aircraft ( bombers ) . Supplementing the O - 1 , then gradually replacing it , the USAF switch to the Cessna O - 2 Skymaster , while the Marines took delivery of the OV - 10 Bronco to replace the aging O - 1 . Both were faster , twin - engined aircraft but the Army kept with the Birddog throughout the war with up to eleven R . A . C . ( Reconnaissance Airplane Companies ) deployed to cover all of South Vietnam and even the DMZ and the southern edge of North Vietnam . Its more quiet , lower speed , tighter maneuverability , short runway ability and better visibility ( even to the rear ) kept it highly valued by ground units it supported and highly feared by enemy units it flew over . The last U . S . Army O - 1 Bird Dog was officially retired in 1974 . During the course of the Vietnam War , 469 O - 1 Bird Dogs were lost to all causes . The USAF lost 178 , the USMC lost seven , and 284 were lost from the U . S . Army , South Vietnamese Forces , and clandestine operators . Three Bird Dogs were lost to enemy surface - to - air missiles ( SAMs ) . Two Bird Dogs were loaned to the Australian Army ' s 161 Reconnaissance Flight operating out of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province . One was lost to ground fire in May 1968 , killing 161 ' s Officer Commanding . Another Bird Dog was built by this unit ' s maintenance crew , using aircraft sections salvaged from dumps around Vietnam . It was test - flown and later smuggled back to Australia in pieces , contained in crates marked as " aircraft spares " . This aircraft now resides in the Museum of Army Flying at the Army Aviation Center at Oakey Queensland . As the USAF phased out the O - 1 in favor of the O - 2 , many O - 1s in the United States were sold as surplus . During the 1970s and 1980s , Ector Aircraft remanufactured many as the Ector Mountaineer with their original powerplants , and as the Ector Super Mountaineer with the Lycoming O - 540 - A4B5 . In the 1970s , as the O - 2 Skymaster and North American OV - 10 Bronco replaced the O - 1 in front - line USAF service , several former USAF O - 1s were turned over to the service ' s civilian auxiliary , the Civil Air Patrol ( CAP ) , for such duties as aerial search . However , since very few CAP pilots had prior training and experience as professional military aviators and / or significant experience with tailwheel aircraft , many of the CAP O - 1 aircraft were damaged in groundloops and other mishaps . In an effort to reduce both risk and repair costs , both USAF and CAP directed that all O - 1 aircraft in CAP service be eventually replaced for safety reasons by single - engined tricycle - gear civilian Cessnas common to general aviation , primarily Cessna 172 and Cessna 182 aircraft . The only O - 1 remaining in the CAP inventory is a permanent static display aircraft on a pylon in front of CAP Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama . Many of former USAF and former USAF - " cum " - CAP O - 1 and L - 19 aircraft were eventually sold to private owners as recreational aircraft , while others went to museums where they are usually displayed in their military combat markings . Still others found their way to glider clubs in the U . S . as a reliable and powerful vehicle to tow gliders into the air . As with most aircraft used for glider towing , the aircraft has also been outfitted with mirrors mounted to the struts . In Canada , the Royal Canadian Air Cadets use former CAF L - 19 aircraft equipped with a towing rig to tow their Schweizer 2 - 33A gliders for the Air Cadet gliding program . These particular L - 19 variants are used in the Atlantic , Eastern , and Pacific regions . They have been modified for noise reduction by the use of a smaller - diameter , four - blade Hoffman composite propeller in all regions except the Pacific Region , and exhaust modification . The fuel delivery system has also been modified from the original design , placing the fuel selector valve closer to the pilot . The L - 19 / O - 1 is a popular ex - military " warbird " with private pilots . In the United States , the aircraft remains a popular " glider tow . " The Franconia Soaring Association in Franconia , N . H . uses an old O - 1 , tail number N4796G , to tow its gliders , including Schweizer SGS 1 - 26 gliders and Grob G103 Twin Astir and Pilatus B4 - PC11 sailplanes , as of July 2012 . As of June 2009 , more than 330 were registered with the Federal Aviation Administration . Others are owned and operated outside the United States by individuals and flying organizations . Notable flights . On 29 April 1975 , the day before the fall of Saigon , South Vietnamese Air Force Major Buang - Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two - seat Cessna O - 1 Bird Dog and took off from Con Son Island . After evading enemy ground fire , Major Buang - Ly headed out to sea and spotted the aircraft carrier USS " Midway " ( CV 41 ) . With only an hour of fuel remaining , he dropped a note asking that the deck be cleared so he could land . Knowing there was no room for this to happen , " Midway " ' s commanding officer , Captain ( later Rear Admiral ) Lawrence Chambers ordered US $ 10 million worth of Vietnamese UH - 1 Huey helicopters to be pushed overboard into the South China Sea . The Bird Dog that Major Buang - Ly landed aboard " Midway " is now on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida . American television personality / actor Ed McMahon was a Marine Corps aviator who piloted an OE - 1 in Korea , flying more than 80 combat missions during 1953 .