The OV-10 Bronco: Designed by Marines, Built for COIN Ops

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On a day patrol off Hill 55 in early 1971, our squad of Marines got caught out in an open area of sand and were pinned down on the opposite side of the Arizona Territory at the Song Vu Gia river by an NVA ambush. The arty on hill 55 almost hit us with Willie Peter. I called for air support and got an OV-10 out of Da Nang with the callsign "HOSTAGE FANG." After he understood what side of the river we were on, he said, "Put your heads down, gents. This stuff bounces." He then proceeded to blast that side of the river and after that we were able to walk away without another hostile shot being fired at us. Brother, if you are out there and see this, many thanks. I will never forget. L/Cpl. P. D. "Gov" Regan, Mco 3/1 1st MARDIV. 👍

Great video, but the comments from vets sharing their personal experiences is pure gold.

My brother Leon served two tours in Vietnam in the back seat of an 0V10. Unfortunately, he and his pilot were killed in South Korea, in 1978, while on deployment. Thank you for for remembering. Rest in peace Lt. Leon Gingras.

I promise you, no one has forgotten about the bronco!!!!

The Bronco is not forgotten... Only improperly utilized. Semper Fi 🇺🇸

I had the privilege of serving with VAL-4, the Black Ponies, in 1971-'72. The OV-10 still has a place in my affection. It was the most willing little aircraft.

I was a US Marine platoon commander in Vietnam 1968-1969 and the OV-19 occasionally supported us by controlling airstrikes on enemy positions that were difficult for us to observe from our ground positions. Loved when an OV-10 was overhead.

So.. am I the only one that thinks that utilitarian vehicles are aesthetically pleasant ?

I worked on and supervised the maintenance of the OV-10A for 6 years in the U.S.A.F after I transferred from C-130's. Love that plane! easy to work on and always enjoyed wathing the take off and landings. Msgt. USAF retired

While stationed at Ubon Thailand in 1971 I decided to spend my day off at NKP, just to check out the arrivals and departures. Besides the always impressive Caribou, one hotshot OV-10 pilot did a fast downwind, then with wings almost vertical turned base and final over the end of the runway, hit the deck and stopped on a dime. It was the best carrier landing I've ever seen.

I remember this plane very well. My father worked at North American Aviation in Columbus Ohio and was a wing fabricator for the OV-10 and many many other aircrafts. During the Vietnam War, I was in junior high in 1965 when my father first started mentioning him working on this plane. By the time I reached high school in 1968 as a 15 year old, with cousins, uncle and a brother all fighting in "Nam", I had a lot of interests in the machinery and equipment used to fight that war. I felt proud my Dad was helping to contribute to that effort. I joined the Air Force in 1972 and my father continued his efforts in building aircrafts that helped fight that war.

I'd love to own one of these for their simplicity. They are truly beautiful.

much thanks for making this video! my dad flew OV-10s for the Philippine Air Force before he honorably left the service to fly as a civilian, and I was able to watch them fly in and out of our home air base almost on a daily basis, and even get to enjoy seeing annual live fire demos 🤩🤩 the particular plane that bore his name when it first arrived in the PAF fleet (ex USAF 67-14636) is still flying to this day, and has been wired to employ GBU-49 laser JDAMs... one of the planes in the PAF fleet that he also flew, ex USAF 67-14639, was actually one of the planes that exchange pilots from the RAAF flew during the Vietnam War, and was one of the air assets employed during the infamous BAT21 CSAR mission... after 639 was prematurely retired due to extensive airframe corrosion, the PAF donated the airplane to the Australian War Memorial museum in Canberra, where it was fully restored for display, painted back into the original USAF scheme it wore during the conflict...

My father was a Mustang & served 26 yrs in the Corps (Enlisted at 17 & was a B.A.R. Gunner in Korea & Retired a Maj after two tours in Vietnam w/ 4th Bat/12th Mar/3rd Mar Div '66-'67 & 4th Bat/11th Mar/1st Mar Div '70-71') and I loved and remember in the late 60's & early 70's him taking us often to watch the Bronco's operating at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Orange County, CA. As we lived at US Navy/USMC Pacific Heights Housing Annex, San Pedro, CA., which now is USAF Housing Annex, Pacific Heights.

We have three Broncos at the museum where I work (including one of the original factory mock-ups), one of which is painted in memory of Captain Steven Bennett, the only Bronco pilot to be a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

I have seen the Cal Fire (California's Wild Fire Service) OV-10s acting as aerial spotters and guide planes for the larger water tanker planes which drop water and retardant on wildfires here! Love the OV-10... great second life in the fire-fighting role!

When I was a Camp Pendleton in the early 1990s, it was so cool to see an OV-10 pull up into a climb and see a bunch of Recon Bubba's parachute out the back. Very cool aircraft.

COIN is the least of our worries since we've found out that the age of full-scale war is back. That being said, the Bronco was an awesome piece of kit 😁

I just happen to be one of the Navy Aviation Ordnance men (AO) who worked on the OV -10 (I was assigned to VS-41) when the first 2 Broncos were delivered (air frame numbers 155470 and 155472) to the Navy. I don't think that there is an AO who worked on Bronco's that did not enjoy the experience. VAL- 4 went on to be the best known OV-10 squadron, I am proud to have been a small part in their history. The Navy still has an OV-10. 155472 now lives at the Navy Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida. I don't know if this is still true, but 155470 was at one time used for mosquito suppression in, I believe, the coastal area of South Carolina, as it was, minus the M-60's. Very nice video, ;-)