The Most Dangerous Plane to Fly in Vietnam – S8, Episode 76

The Big Picture:

At first glance, the Cessna O-2 Skymaster does not look like an airplane that belongs at the center of a battlefield. It has an unusual tandem “push-pull” engine configuration, two engines and twin booms extending toward the tail. Developed from a civilian aircraft, it appears modest beside the fast fighters and heavy bombers of the Vietnam War.

Art’s Aviation Background:

Elser’s fascination with aviation began during World War II on Long Island. Grumman test pilots flew F6F Hellcats and TBF/TBM Avengers overhead, while Republic Aviation tested P-47 Thunderbolts nearby. As a child, Elser climbed his favorite tree to watch the airplanes and imagine himself among them. 

His path eventually led to the United States Air Force Academy. Elser belonged to its first graduating class, spending three years at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, now the home of Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, before moving to the Academy’s permanent campus near Colorado Springs. 

He trained in the T-34, T-37, and T-33 before flying the KC-135 Stratotanker. While the training aircraft were a breeze, his first orientation flight in the tanker ended in a fiery landing accident. After escaping the smoke-filled airplane, he got back to the squadron where someone asked whether the experience made him afraid to fly again. With characteristic humor, Art responded, “he got the bad one out of the way first.” 

That ability to acknowledge fear without surrendering to it would become essential in Vietnam. 

The Forward Air Controller Role:

Forward air controllers, commonly known as FACs, flew low over the battlefield to locate friendly forces, identify enemy positions, mark targets, and direct attacking aircraft. Elser often operated around 1,500 feet above the ground, about the altitude at which someone near an airport might watch a small airplane practicing landings. 

“You had some fighters, but they were above you, faster than you, and then they were gone when they were finished, and you were still there,” Elser recalls. 

The O-2 carried white-phosphorus marking rockets known as “Willie Petes.” When a rocket struck, it produced a cloud of smoke that gave incoming pilots a reference point. He could then direct them to place their ordnance to a precise point. 

Inside the cockpit, he managed three radios: one for troops on the ground, another for requesting support, and a third for communicating with fighters. At the same time, he had to watch the battlefield, avoid other aircraft, evade ground fire, and keep himself airborne. 

FACs served as the link between troops on the ground and aircraft overhead. In thick jungle, finding friendly forces could be extraordinarily difficult. Harkening back to tactics learned during WWII, teams sometimes flashed survival mirrors through the canopy or released colored smoke. Enemy troops could monitor American radio traffic and deploy their own smoke to create confusion, forcing controllers to use American games like Simon Says to identify the correct position.

Flying Combat in Vietnam:

Elser volunteered for Vietnam and arrived with what he describes as a warrior mindset. Fear found him before his first combat flight. 

While riding a bus from Tan Son Nhut to Bien Hoa, he noticed a heavy mesh covering the windows, intended to prevent someone from throwing a grenade inside. From that point forward, the goal was not to stop feeling afraid, but to continue working despite the challenges. 

“You can do everything right, and still get shot down, or do everything wrong and fly back home,” recalls Art. 

When no fighters or helicopters were available, Elser sometimes used the O-2’s marking rockets against enemy forces. By varying his passes, sometimes firing or holding back, he could create uncertainty and buy time for troops to escape. 

“They were your guys,” he explains. That sense of responsibility shaped every decision. 

The Ho Chi Minh Trail :

During missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Elser searched for trucks, hidden supply areas, and signs of recent movement beneath the jungle canopy. 

The trail defenders were highly skilled, with vehicles disappearing under trees while anti-aircraft guns protected important choke points. Art learned to approach targets from unexpected angles, fire his marking rockets during a turning maneuver, and move away before the gunners could respond. 

“Trying to get the flares in the right spot on the target and then get the fighter pilot to find the target, and then put the bombs on the target. It just got incredibly difficult,” says Art. 

Khe Sanh and Operation Niagara:

On one mission, Elser landed at Khe Sanh to deliver spark plugs and a replacement nose-wheel tire to a pilot stranded by a rough engine and damaged nose wheel. NVA gunners already had sections of the closed runway zeroed in, yet Art descended through fog and a low ceiling, landed, looped into the crew chief’s revetment, opened the door, and pitched out the supplies without stopping. He then rolled directly back onto the runway and departed. 

Other memories carried a heavier weight. Elser could hear reconnaissance teams whispering beneath the jungle canopy or running while gunfire and grenades sounded behind them. He also remembers waking a fellow pilot, Major Dave Brenner, for a mission he could not fly because his radio lacked the required frequency. Hours later, he learned Brenner had been shot down and killed. Those losses still sit heavy on Art. 

The Power of Courage:

Elser received the Silver Star for turning on his aircraft’s lights to draw enemy fire away from a B-57, and the Distinguished Service Cross for dropping ammunition to troops who were running out. The people below were taking risks, too, and whatever he could do to help was pivotal. 

For Art, courage is not the absence of fear, and it is not a performance of toughness. In his words, courage “isn’t macho. It’s character.” 

Returning Home:

Memories and occasional dreams followed him from Vietnam. Over time, nature offered a measure of peace. The waterfall that had once served as his quiet refuge near Quang Ngai was replaced by time volunteering at Colorado’s Plains Conservation Center, trips to watch cranes, and mornings listening to birds in his backyard. 

Art encourages our audience to spend some time with the O-2 housed at our museum and understand the importance of not only what it did for him, but for veterans around the country. An often-overlooked aircraft, it played an extremely important role and still stands proud today. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why did the O-2 have two engines?

The Skymaster used a centerline “push-pull” arrangement, with one engine and propeller at the front and another at the rear. Although two engines offered redundancy, Elser recalls that the military equipment and rocket pods made the aircraft difficult to fly if one failed. 

What were Willie Pete rockets? 

The ordnance contained white phosphorus, and FACs primarily used them to create a visible smoke marker that helped attacking pilots identify a target or reference point. 

What aircraft did forward air controllers fly in Vietnam?

FACs flew several aircraft during the Vietnam War, including the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, Cessna O-2 Skymaster, and North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco. You can view the O-2 Skymaster at the museum, along with many other fighter aircraft that assisted during that time!

Go Deeper:

• Art’s Book and Bio
• Cessna O-2 Skymaster Fact Sheet (National Museum of the USAF)
• O-1 Bird Dog Fact Sheet (National Museum of the USAF)
• Forward Air Control During the Vietnam War (Wikipedia)
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial (National Park Service)