@ Oshkosh, WI
July 2010
My first airborne photo of this distinctive aircraft was taken during the 2010 Oshkosh AirVenture airshow. Sadly this aircraft was lost in a fatal crash prior to the 2019 Stuart Airshow. The OV-1 Mohawk is a twin-engine turboprop armed military observation and attack aircraft, designed for battlefield surveillance and light strike capabilities. Equipped with hydraulic flaps, leading-edge slats and hydraulic speed brakes, the Mohawk had STOL capability and was fully aerobatic, rated at +5/-1.5G. Following the Army tradition of naming aircraft after Indian tribes, the prototype was christened Montauk, which was later changed to Mohawk. Introduced in 1959, the U.S. Army flew the OV-1 operationally in the Vietnam War, with sixty-five lost to accidents, ground fire, and one shot down by a North Vietnamese fighter. The Army also used the Mohawk during Operation Desert Storm. Nikon D300 w/80-200mm.
