This is number 140 in the now very familiar Warpaint series from Guideline and covers the NA OV-10 Bronco. This volume has 104 pages with over 20 pages of color profiles and 250 B&W and color images.

The OV-10 has a long and distinguished history be it as a warplane or firefighter. The book is broken down into six sections. Section one discusses the beginnings of Counter Insurgence aircraft (COIN) and Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (LARA) of which the Bronco would be the victor of the design competition and fly off. One of the best parts of this section to me at least is the coverage of all the various designs that vied for the contract. I was aware of the Convair Charger from another publisher’s book but had no idea that nine different companies offered designs up for the competition. Those in addition to North American and Convair, are, Beech, Douglas, Goodyear, Helio, Hiller, Lockheed, and Martin. Some like Beech and Douglas were very conventional, while Martin’s had an inverted vee Ruddervator design seen today in use on various drones.

Section two covers the Bronco’s service in Vietnam (USAF<USMC and USN). Section three covers the Bronco in the service in foreign air forces. The OV-10 served Germany, Thailand, Venezuela, Indonesia, Morocco, Colombia, and The Philippines. Lebanon was offered ten aircraft but turned them down. Section four covers the Bronco’s Cold War service in Europe through the various desert wars. Section five covers the many post-military uses of the Bronco. Broncos have served NASA and other research organizations, bug spraying, fire spotting, drug cartel interdiction, and warbird just to name a few. Boeing who now owns North American even proposed a new, upgraded model, the OV-10X for use in modern wars and police actions such as Afghanistan to save wear and tear on much more expensive jets. The concluding section covers the pilots’ notes, detailed photos, colors, and additional information. The last nine pages are scaled drawings and numerous color profiles.

This volume, like all the warpaint series, is a nice in-depth look into the subject aircraft. If you have an interest in the Bronco, you need this book in your library. I can recommend it to modelers, aircraft enthusiasts, and historians alike. With the new OV-10 kits from ICM, this can help you build a detailed model as well as provide a few unusual paint schemes! My thanks to Guideline Publications for the book and to IPMS/USA for the review opportunity! Highly recommended!