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1936 Douglas O-46A Observation Plane Factory Photo
U.S. Army Air Corps 35-161
Pre-delivery print dated Jan 29, 1936, Douglas #8722DESCRIPTIONOriginal vintage factory photograph of a U.S. Army Air Corps Douglas O-46A observation monoplane, dated January 29, 1936. The fuselage stencil reads "U.S. ARMY O-46A, A.C. 35-161," and the Douglas negative number 8722 and model code 046-A are printed into the lower edge of the image. This is an original period print, not a later reprint. The view shows the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Junior radial engine and its three-blade metal propeller, the cowling, the strut-braced parasol wing, the fixed landing gear and the stenciled Air Corps serial on the fuselage.The O-46A was the radial-engine refinement of the Douglas O-43 observation monoplane. Its prototype, the XO-46, was delivered in October 1934 and was the first Douglas observation monoplane powered by a radial, the 725 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1535-7, with streamlined parallel struts replacing the O-43's wire-braced cabane. The Air Corps ordered 71 production aircraft on April 29, 1935, then added 19 more by March 1936 for a total of 90. Serial 35-161, the number on this aircraft, is the first serial in that production block. This photograph was taken months before deliveries began in May 1936, and the last of the 90 was delivered in April 1937.The O-46A was designed for the kind of war the Army expected, with observation squadrons working from established airfields behind fairly static lines. By 1939 an Army assessment found it too slow and heavy to escape enemy fighters, too heavy for small or wet fields, and too large to hide under trees. When war came, at least 11 O-46As served overseas, and two were destroyed in the Japanese attack on Clark Field in the Philippines on December 8, 1941. The survivors were declared obsolete in late 1942 and used for training and utility flying. Today only one O-46A is known to survive, serial 35-179, in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.The visible detail in the engine installation, propeller hub, cowling and fuselage stencils also makes this a useful reference image for scale modelers and aviation researchers. Images in this listing were scanned at 600 dpi.Every effort is made for fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you are unsatisfied with the item, please contact me and I will make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT ship the same day via USPS Ground Advantage with tracking, so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns are accepted on all items over $25. Every shipment is packed in rigid, professional packaging, sealed and protected with acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONOriginal period black and white photographic print in good vintage condition, with the stenciling, negative number and date legible in the scans. Light surface dust and a few small specks show. The image area darkens slightly toward the right edge, and the white border shows light age toning along the sheet edge. The reverse carries tan album page paper and adhesive residue with gray paper fiber along the edges, plus one area near the lower right where that album layer has lifted away and exposed the original print paper beneath. The reverse is otherwise unmarked. Offered as found, with no restoration or retouching.
