One of the best-known Air Corps observation planes of the 1930s was the O-38. Between 1931-1934, Douglas built 156 O-38s for the Air Corps, eight of which were O-38Fs. Some were still in service at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The O-38F pictured above was one of the first military aircraft assigned to Alaska. In October 1940 it became the first airplane to land at Ladd Field near Fairbanks, Alaska, the Air Corps’ new cold-weather test station. This airplane flew various missions in that area until it made a crash landing in the wilderness 70 miles southeast of Fairbanks in June 1941 due to engine failure. The pilot, Lt. Milton H. Ashkins, and mechanic, Sgt. R.A. Roberts, were uninjured and hiked to safety after supplies were dropped to them.

The aircraft remained abandoned until the National Museum of the United States Air Force learned of its existence and arranged for its recovery. It was lifted from the crash site by helicopter in June 1968, and despite exposure to the weather for 27 years, it was remarkably well-preserved. Museum personnel completed its restoration in 1974.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Span: 40 ft.

Length: 32 ft.

Height: 13 ft. 6 in.

Weight: 5,401 lbs. maximum

Armament: None on O-38Fs (other O-38s carried two .30-cal. machine guns, one fixed forward-firing and one flexible)

Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1690 of 625 hp

Cost: $12,000

PERFORMANCE:

Maximum speed: 152 mph

Cruising speed: 128 mph

Range: 700 miles

Service ceiling: 19,750 ft.