Grumman's OV-1 Mohawk was unquestionably the most versatile aircraft the US Army ever had, but so secret were its capabilities and missions that only now, three decades after leaving Army service, can the full story be revealed, the author drawing on first hand accounts, previously unpublished archives and newly de-classified material. Covered in detail are early concepts - which even included water-skis - and numerous design projects such as a VTOL and enlarged variants.
Conceived at a time of great global threat, with all four uniformed, services as well as other Government Agencies involved in the design it was far more than the simple armed reconnaissance aircraft than its 'Observation' designator suggested.
Before the arrival of Attack Helicopters, Mohawks flew armed missions in support of Army operations in Vietnam, acquitting themselves well against a heavily-armed foe. The guns and rockets however were ultimately for self-protection to enable their primary mission, surveillance and intelligence gathering.
The purely daytime-visual work of old, rapidly developed through the use of emerging electronic technologies - especially radar and Infra-red - that could be used day or night irrespective of weather or ground-cover. For the first time battlefield commanders would get intelligence and target information in near real-time.
Ruggedly-built at Grumman's legendary 'Iron Works' Mohawks took Arctic cold, desert heat or jungle humidity in their stride. They watched troubled borders in Europe and Korea and were pivotal in Operation Desert Storm - fully recounted here for the first time. Their unique abilities also led to use with NASA, environmental and survey work, civil assistance and counter-narcotics missions.
A detailed and revealing narrative, copiously illustrated throughout with fully captioned photographs - many previously unseen- is backed by personal accounts, Individual aircraft histories, airframe lists, scale plans and specially commissioned artwork with comprehensive colour scheme information.