Curtiss
O-52
Owl
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Photo: Robert Deering 10/18/2012
National Museum of the USAF
Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO)
Dayton, Ohio
In 1940 the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered 203 Curtiss O-52s for observation duties -- signified by the designation "O" -- and used them for military maneuvers within the continental United States. Upon America's entry into World War II, however, the U.S. Army Air Forces realized that the airplane lacked the performance necessary for combat operations overseas. As a result, the Army relegated the O-52 to stateside courier duties and short-range submarine patrols off the coasts of the United States.

The O-52 was the last "O" type airplane procured in quantity for the Army. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Army Air Forces cancelled the "O" designation and adopted "L" for the liaison type airplanes that replaced it.
SPECIFICATIONS: PERFORMANCE:
Span:  40 ft. 9 1/2 in. Maximum speed:  215 mph
Length:  26 ft. 4 3/4 in. Cruising speed:  169 mph
Height:  9 ft. 11 1/2 in. Range:  455 miles
Empty Weight:  Service ceiling:  23,200 ft.
Gross Weight:  5,364 lbs. loaded  
Crew: 
Engines:   Pratt & Whitney R-1340-51 of 600 hp
Armament:  One forward and one rearward firing .30-cal. machine gun
   
SOURCE:  National Museum of the United States Air Force