The OV-10 is the result of a programme launched in 1963 by the US Marine Corps, who wanted to acquire a light armed reconnaissance aircraft.
Soon joined by the USAF and the US Navy, the programme drifted towards a more offensive aircraft, capable of carrying out counter-guerrilla missions under the COIN (COunter INsurgency) programme.
There is no other aircraft like the Bronco, with its two crew members with all-round visibility, a very short fuselage capable of accommodating a five-person commando or two stretchers, a short high wing, and a double-beam configuration.
Pontoons on either side of the fuselage hold four 7.62mm machine guns and four carry points for conventional weaponry.
Of all the aircraft delivered to the US Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps, many will be used in Vietnam in forward air control and ground attack missions.
Obtained through arrangements between Ravensburg and Montélimar, OV 10-B (Z) 99+24 arrived in flight in December 1991 and spent three years away from home. Thanks to the precious help of the CEV d’lstres mechanics, it was put back in the air in February 1996. Registered as a collector’s aircraft F-AZKM, it was repainted in 2008 in its original colours and then in its current Desert Storm livery.