O-2 Ditches on delivery
 

I recently read somewhere of a report that one O-2 ditched on the delivery flight to Vietnam. They flew in a group of 5 (Ducklings) with a C-130 (Mother Duck). Fitted with long range tanks and extra oil tanks in the cabin. One had a problem with the rear engine and had to ditch, pilot was picked up by a Japanese freighter ship and taken through to Japan. (Later returned). Reports suggest oil tank over filled during routine airborne transfer and foaming occurred. Can anybody provide more info about this or any delivery flights of O-2's to Vietnam?

The story is very interesting. Oil was pumped during the long trip to make-up for oil loss/consumption. One aircraft apparently had zero oil loss/consumption, so the excess oil eventually foiled the plugs, leaving the hugely overweight aircraft with only the lower-efficiency front engine, which was unable to stay aloft.

For the whole story, go to my Skymaster website at www.SkymasterUS.com and click on the link "History of the Skymaster". The incident is described at the bottom of page 7 and top of page 8.

Ernie

There are two books that have some good info. One is "Cessna Warbirds", and the other is "Hit My Smoke". "Cessna Warbirds" talks about the ferry flights, and how long it took to get off the ground with the fuel load they were carrying.