OV-10A An Iraqi SAM shot down Bronco BuNo 155424 on February 25, 1991. Major Joseph Small, the pilot, was captured, and Captain David Spellacy, the observer, was killed.
The intriguing picture in this post was taken on January 9, 1991, and it depicts a U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) North American OV-10A Bronco BuNo 155424 from Marine Observation Squadron 1 (VMO-1) taking off from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66).
VMO-1 rushed to the Persian Gulf in December 1990 and boarded the USS America and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) with their OV-10 aircraft. The Broncos took off from the carriers off the coast of Spain and made multiple fuel stops before reaching the combat area. During Operation Desert Storm, the squadron, based in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, performed more than 1,000 combat missions in support of the coalition forces that liberated Kuwait from Iraq.
155424 was shot down on Feb. 25, 1991, by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM). The pilot (Major Joseph Small) was captured and the observer (Captain David Spellacy) was killed. Major Small was released on Mar. 6. This was the last USMC combat loss of an OV-10.
In April 1991, VMO-1 returned to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River and took part in a number of drills up till deactivation. F/A-18D strike jets and AH-1W helicopter gunships have taken over its duties.
Photo by U.S. Navy