Curtiss O-52 Owl

Light Observation / Reconnaissance Aircraft

United States | 1941

"Just over 200 examples of the O-52 Owl were built by the Curtiss-Wright company during the World War 2 period."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/23/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Curtiss O-52 Owl Light Observation / Reconnaissance Aircraft.

1 x Pratt & Whitney R-1340-51 "Wasp" 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine developing 600 horsepower and driving a three-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion

221 mph
355 kph | 192 kts
Max Speed

18,045 ft
5,500 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

249 miles
400 km | 216 nm
Operational Range

1,700 ft/min
518 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Curtiss O-52 Owl Light Observation / Reconnaissance Aircraft.

2
(MANNED)
Crew

26.2 ft
8.00 m
O/A Length

40.8 ft
(12.45 m)
O/A Width

9.8 ft
(3.00 m)
O/A Height

4,409 lb
(2,000 kg)
Empty Weight

5,368 lb
(2,435 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Curtiss O-52 Owl Light Observation / Reconnaissance Aircraft .

1 x 0.30 caliber Browning machine gun in fixed, forward-firing mounting.
1 x 0.30 caliber Browning machine gun on trainable mounting as rear cockpit.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Curtiss O-52 Owl family line.

O-52 "Owl" - Base Series Designation.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Curtiss O-52 Owl. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 203 Units
Contractor(s): Curtiss-Wright - USA

[ Brazil; Soviet Union; United States ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 300mph

Lo: 150mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (221mph).

Graph Average of 225 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

203

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

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