Douglas O-46

{{short description|US military observation aircraft in service 1936-1942}} {{Use American English|date=March 2019}}  {{Infobox aircraft |name = O-46 |image = File:Douglas O-46.jpg |caption = Douglas O-46A at National Museum of the United States Air Force |type = Observation |manufacturer = Douglas Aircraft Company |designer = |first_flight = 1935 |introduction = 1936 |retired = |status = |primary_user = United States Army Air Corps |more_users = |produced = 1936-1937 |number_built = 90 |developed_from = Douglas O-43 |variants = }} thumb|Three O-46 in formation in 1938 The '''Douglas O-46''' is an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps and the Philippine Army Air Corps.<ref name="uscfc">[http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/Douglas-1930s/Aero28.htm "Douglas Aircraft Builds the DC-1 and DC-2."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020919230716/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/Douglas-1930s/Aero28.htm |date=September 19, 2002 }} ''U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission,'' 2003. Retrieved: 27 September 2007.</ref> It entered service in the late 1930s, and saw action in WW2. It became obsolescent later in the war as an observation craft, but was used for liaison, training, and ASW patrols. One airframe has survived as a museum piece into the present day.

==Design and development== The '''O-46A''', the last of a long line of Douglas observation aircraft, was a victim of progress. It was designed to operate from established airfields behind fairly static battle lines as in World War I. However, in 1939, a report was issued on the O-46A which stated that it was too slow and heavy to outrun and outmaneuver enemy fighter aircraft, too heavy to operate from small, wet, unprepared fields, and too large to conceal beneath trees. This report was a forecast of the future, for World War II with its rapidly changing battle lines proved the need for light, maneuverable observation aircraft which could operate from unimproved airstrips. Consequently, in 1942, the "O" (observation) designation was changed to "L" (liaison).

The O-46 was a development of the earlier Douglas O-43. The 24th airframe of the O-43A contract was completed as the '''XO-46''' prototype, with a revised wing and an engine switch, from the O-43's inline engine to a radial engine, the Pratt & Whitney R-1535-7. The Air Corps ordered 90 O-46As in 1935. They were built between May 1936 and April 1937.

==Operational history== thumb|left|Douglas O-46 At least 11 O-46s saw overseas duty; two were destroyed in the Japanese raid on Clark Field in the Philippines on 8 December 1941. The Maryland Air National Guard operated O-46As off the coast of New Jersey for anti-submarine duty.<ref>Armstrong 2005, p. 50.</ref> The remainder were declared obsolete in late 1942 and after that were used primarily in training and utility roles.

A proposed variant with a Wright R-1670-3 engine received the designation '''O-48''' but was not built.<ref>Gaillard July 1993, p. 27</ref>

==Surviving aircraft== The only surviving O-46A (s/n 35-179) is currently in storage in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Douglas O-46A |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/198119/douglas-o-46a/ |website=National Museum of the United States Air Force |access-date=28 August 2020 |date=5 June 2015}}</ref> On 27 November 1942, the aircraft was part of the 81st Air Base Squadron,<ref>Fuller, Craig. [http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Nov1942S.htm "November 1942 USAAF Stateside Accident Reports."] ''Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research,'' 2008. Retrieved: 21 April 2012.</ref> when it landed downwind at Brooks Field, Harlingen, Texas, ran out of runway and overturned. Written off, it was abandoned in place. More than 20 years later it was discovered by the Antique Airplane Association with trees growing through its wings, and in 1967, it was rescued and hauled to Ottumwa, Iowa. Restoration turned out to be beyond the organization's capability, and in September 1970, it was traded to the National Museum of the United States Air Force for a flyable Douglas C-47 Skytrain. The (then) Air Force Museum had it restored at Purdue University, and placed it on display in 1974, the sole survivor of the 91 O-46s built.<ref>Westburg, Peter W. and Peter M. Bowers. "The Parasols of Santa Monica". ''Wings'', Volume 4, Number 2, April 1974, pp. 68–69.</ref>

==Specifications (O-46A)== 300px|right|3-view silhouette of the Douglas O-46A

{{Aircraft specs |ref=McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920 <ref name="McDonnell p134">Francillon 1979, p. 134.</ref> |prime units?=imp  |crew=2 |length ft=34 |length in=6.75 |length note= |span ft=45 |span in=9 |span note= |height ft=10 |height in=8.5 |height note= |wing area sqft=332 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight lb=4776 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=6639 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney R-1535-7 Twin Wasp Junior |eng1 type=14-cylinder two-row air-cooled radial piston engine |eng1 hp=725

|prop blade number=3 |prop name=metal propeller |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note=  |max speed mph=200 |max speed note=at {{cvt|4000|ft}} |cruise speed mph=171 |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |range miles=435 |range note= |combat range miles= |combat range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft=24150 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ftmin=1765 |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |wing loading lb/sqft=20 |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass={{cvt|1.087|hp/lb|kW/kg}} |more performance=  |guns= * 2 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns (one wing mounted and one flexible) |bombs= |avionics= }}

==See also== {{Portal|Aviation}} {{aircontent| |related= *Douglas O-43 |similar aircraft= *Henschel Hs 126 |lists= *List of military aircraft of the United States |see also= }}

==References== ===Notes=== {{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===

* Armstrong, William M. ''Baltimore in World War II.'' Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-7385-4189-1}}. * Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920.'' London: Putnam, 1979. {{ISBN|0-370-00050-1}}. * {{cite magazine |last=Gaillard |first=Pierre |title=Histoires D'O- :Partie onzième. Les début des petits L announce la fin des grands O. |magazine=Le Fana de l'Avaiation |date=July 1993 |issue=284 |pages=26–27 |language=fr}}

==External links== {{commons category|Douglas O-46}} * [http://www.airwar.ru/enc/spyww2/o46.html Douglas O-46 at Ugolok Neba] (in Russian, with drawings and photos)

O-46 Douglas O-46 Category:Parasol-wing aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Single-engined piston aircraft Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Category:Aircraft first flown in 1935

Douglas O-46

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