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O-38 #
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Photo: Robert Deering 10/18/2012 National Museum of the USAF Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO) Dayton, Ohio |
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The Douglas O-38F
concluded a series of biplane observation
aircraft begun in the early 1920s. Between
1931-1934, Douglas built 156 O-38s for the
Air Corps, eight of which were O-38Fs.
Despite being one of the Army Air Corps'
best known and most versatile airplanes
during the 1930s, the O-38 has been
overshadowed by the more sensational
exploits of fighters and bombers. With a
cruising speed of only 128 mph, it was
obsolete by the end of the 1930s, but some
O-38s remained in service at the time of
Pearl Harbor in 1941.
One of the first military aircraft assigned to Alaska, the O-38F on display at the (Air Force) museum was the first airplane to land at Ladd Field near Fairbanks, Alaska, in October 1940. Originally a cold-weather test station, Ladd Field became famous during World War II as the place from where American-built aircraft flew to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program. This aircraft flew various missions until it crashed on June 16, 1941, due to engine failure about 70 miles southeast of Fairbanks. Uninjured, the pilot, Lt. Milton H. Ashkins, and his mechanic, Sgt. R.A. Roberts, hiked to safety after supplies were dropped to them. The abandoned aircraft remained in the Alaskan wilderness until the museum arranged for its recovery by helicopter in June 1968. Despite being exposed to the Alaskan weather for 27 years, the aircraft remained in remarkable condition. Only the wings required extensive restoration. |
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