Episode 1461
Grumman OV-1 Mohawk: Battlefield Surveillance and Strike History
pplpod · pplpod
January 5, 202629m 27s
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (content.rss.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Join us as we dive into the history of the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk, a twin-turboprop observation and attack aircraft designed to operate from short, unimproved runways in support of Army maneuver forces,. We explore the aircraft's development, originally intended as a joint Army-Marine program, and the inter-service friction it caused when the Air Force tried to strip the Mohawk of its armament capabilities.
Key topics include:
- Advanced Surveillance: How the Mohawk’s Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) revolutionized battlefield intelligence by mapping terrain through foliage.
- The Secret Shootdown: The incredible story of Captain Ken Lee, who became the only Army aviator to shoot down a MiG-17 fighter jet during the Vietnam War—a feat initially kept secret to prevent political fallout with the Air Force.
- Operational History: From patrolling the Korean Demilitarized Zone to service in Desert Storm, we track the Mohawk's career until its U.S. retirement in 1996,,.