FP_2015_05_

Y

ou had to be better than good

as a US Army aviator to be

selected to fly Mohawks in

Vietnam. Contending with the

enemy on the ground was bad

enough, but the ever-changing

weather, mountainous terrain

and political in-fighting between

military branches on how the

Mohawk should be utilised was a

never-ending battle for the crews.

At first glance, Grumman’s OV-1

Mohawk seemed to be a ‘bug-eyed’

monster sporting two turbine

engines and a triple tail. But the

men who flew her in combat,

including the three army aviators

you are about to meet, will all

proclaim she was a lady in the air,

one that brought her boys home

safely.

CHANGE OF ROLE

Major William Page had been

flying Cessna L-19 Bird Dogs

under instruction at Fort Rucker,

Alabama, in 1960 when he first

saw an OV-1. He remembers:

“I thought that it was one of the

ugliest, funniest looking aircraft

I had ever seen. Yet it had an

indescribable charm about it; one

that I would grow to love and

appreciate firsthand. I will be the

first to tell anyone that I fell in love

with the Mohawk the very first day

I ever flew it and it will always be

the best and most trusted airplane I

have ever flown.

“Although the Mohawk was initially

a joint venture between the army

and Marine Corps as an enhanced

Above left

A pair of US Army

Mohawks – OV-1B

59-2621 (top) is carrying

an externally mounted

SLAR pod. Below is OV-1A

59-2503. GRUMMAN

May 2015 FLYPAST 123

122-128_Mohawk_fpSBB.indd 123 13/03/2015 11:59