Grumman OV-1 Mohawk

Battlefield Surveillance Aircraft [ 1959 ]

The Grumman OV-1 Mohawk series saw extensive action in the Vietnam War.

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Development of the OV-1 Mohawk platform stemmed from a joint requirement fielded by both the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps for a "battlefield surveillance aircraft" displaying rugged and versatile qualities on an ever-changing front. Grumman's the twin engine G-134 model proved heartily enough with both branches of service proceeding on the elected design. Though the United States Marine Corps would eventually pull out of the program, the US Army continued on and would field the system to good effect from the Vietnam War all the way through to Operation Desert Storm. The strengths of the system lay in its STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) performance and ability to carry an array of sophisticated sensors and camera equipment.

The Mohawk fielded two Lycoming turboprop engines, each developing 1,005 horsepower and mounted on a midset-wing monoplane assembly. A highly-identifiable feature of the series was the three-fin tail structure. A crew of two sat side-by-side in an armored cockpit complete with bullet-proof glass. The cockpit offered up outstanding visibility forward, side, up and even downwards to some extent thanks in part to the bulging side windows. Armament was not standard in traditional models though the system was prepared to mount rocket and gun pods as needed on the two underwing hardpoints (one per wing).

The G-134 evolved into nine evaluation models known as the YAO-1 and, later, the YOV-1 series. Initial production models were ordered for the US Army as the OV-1A and centered around day and night visual reconnaissance centering on conventional camera systems. The OV-1B followed soon after, offering up a different suite of radar in the SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar) which were mounted in an notieceable large under-fuselage pod, though this platform was fielded without the optical cameras of the preceding model. The similar OV-1C was next up, fitted with an AAS-24 infrared surveillance system while the definitive OV-1 proved to be the OV-1D featuring improved engine specifications, a side-loading bay door for minimal cargo and additional sensors found in other previous individual models. Previous "B" and "C" models were later brought up to this ultimate standard. Deliveries of some 375 Mohawks continued from 1961 through 1970.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1959

Origin

United States

Crew

2

Production

375
UNITS

Grumman - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Argentina; Germany; Israel; South Korea; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Length

41.0 ft
(12.50 m)

Width/Span

48.0 ft
(14.63 m)

Height

12.7 ft
(3.86 m)

Empty Wgt

11,067 lb
(5,020 kg)

MTOW

19,229 lb
(8,722 kg)

Wgt Diff

+8,162 lb
(+3,702 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Grumman OV-1D Mohawk production variant)

Installed: 2 x Lycoming T35-L-701 turboprop engines developing 1,400 horsepower each.

Max Speed

297 mph
(478 kph | 258 kts)

Ceiling

35,007 ft
(10,670 m | 7 mi)

Range

1,678 mi
(2,700 km | 5,000 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

2,350 ft/min
(716 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Grumman OV-1D Mohawk production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None as standard. Provision for rocket pods and gunpods on two underwing hardpoints.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft machine gun pod

Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets

Graphical image of an aircraft rocket pod

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 2

G-134 - Grumman Program Model Design Designation; 9 evaluation examples produced.

YAO-1 (YOV-1A) - Initial Evaluation Aircraft Designation; later redesignated to YOV-1.

OV-1A (AO-1AF) - Initial Production Model Designation for US Army usage; day/night visual reconnaissance; conventional camera systems.

JOV-1A - Armed OV-1A and OV-1C models; 169 examples produced.

OV-1B (AO-1BF) - Production Model Designation for US Army usage; SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar) suite carried in large under-underfuselage pod; sans optical cameras.

OV-1C (AO-1CF) - Based on the OV-1B but fitted with an AAS-24 infrared surveillance system.

OV-1D - Definitive Mohawk; improved engine performance; side-loading cargo door; IR, SLAR and optical sensors; B and C models converted to this standard; 37 new-build units with 82 conversions.

RV-1C "Quick Look" ELINT - Dedicated Electronic Surveillance Platform; 2 conversions.

RV-1D "Quick Look II" ELINT - Dedicated Electronic Surveillance Platform; 31 converions.

EV-1D "Quick Look III" ELINT

OV-1E - Proposed Modernized Mohawk Prototype; never produced; single example.

OF-1 - Reserved USMC Designation (USMC pulled out of the OV-1 program).

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