OV-10 Bronco in Action

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OV-10 Bronco in Action (Aircraft 154)

By Jim Mesko

Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc. 1995 52 Pages

ISBN: 089747340X

PDF 16 MB

During the Second World War the U.S. Marine Corps developed the most effective air-ground support team then in existence based upon the pioneer work the aviators had done in the Central American region during the 1920s and 1930s. This leant refined close air-ground support 10 such an extent that Marines on the ground were able to call in air sirikes within incredibly short distances to their most forward troops, helping to reduce casualties against the fanatically dug-in Japanese defenders on numerous islands on the road to Tokyo. Similar tac­tics were also developed by the Army Air Force in Europe and while differences existed between the two services, a common thread which each shared was the use of light single engined aircraft to locate targcts and direct strike aircraft attacks against ihese targets. These lighi aircraft were a vital link in effectively using air power to facilitate the advance of ground forces, and without them the effectiveness of air power in this role would have been severely handicapped.

Following the end of the war, the Marines continued to work on these tactics, the only ser­vice to do so and this work proved invaluable in the Summer of 1950 when the Korean War broke out. In the early days of the war. air support was the key weapon in holding back the North Korean Army from overwhelming U.S. and South Korean ground forces. The new Air Force, while providing vital support, had not worked on close air-ground support lo ihe extent Ihe Marines had done since the end of the Second World War. and needed to hone its skills in this role. It eventually developed an effective structure to provide support to ihe ground forces.