Curtiss O-52 Owl – fotografije in video

V Curtiss O-52 "Sova" was an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II. Developed in 1939, the Curtiss O-52 was the last “heavy” observation aircraft developed for the US Army Air Corps. The concept of the two-seat observation aircraft, classed as the “O” series aircraft, dated to World War I, and in 1940, the Army Air Corps ordered 203 Curtiss O-52s for observation duties. By 1941, the O-52 was no match for modern combat conditions.

V Curtiss O-52 Sova was a two-seat observation aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II. It was designed by Curtiss-Wright Corporation in 1939 as the last “heavy” observation aircraft for the US Army Air Corps. The O-52 had a metal fuselage and fabric-covered wings, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340-51 radial engine of 600 hp. It was armed with one forward and one rearward firing .30-caliber machine gun.
O-52 je prvič poletel leta 1940 in začel obratovati leta 1941. Uporabljali so ga za vojaške manevre in usposabljanje v ZDA, vendar je kmalu zastarel za bojne operacije v tujini zaradi nizke hitrosti in omejenega dosega. O-52 so zamenjala lažja in hitrejša letala za zvezo, kot sta Piper L-4 Grasshopper in Stinson L-5 Sentinel. O-52 je bil po napadu na Pearl Harbour označen tudi kot serija "L" za letala tipa za zvezo. Nekateri O-52 so bili poslani v Sovjetsko zvezo v okviru programa Lend-Lease, kjer so jih uporabljali za topniško opazovanje in izvidniške misije na vzhodni fronti.
V O-52 was the last observation aircraft procured in quantity by the US Army Air Corps, and marked the end of an era of aerial observation that dated back to World War I. Only a few O-52s survive today, and some are on display at museums such as the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, and the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.