A Cessna O-1 Bird Dog narrowly misses a Strela rocket and a quick trip to the forest floor during a surveillance flight in SEA, c. 1968. The Cessna O-1 Bird Dog was an early recon and Forward Air Control aircraft that first made its appearance in the Korean War in 1950. Filling the need for a liason and recon aircraft during the South East Asian conflict, the O-1 took on those duties and that of Forward Air Controller to scout out, spot, and mark enemy targets for ground attack actions. To that end, the Bird Dog carried smoke rockets to mark the target,but could also carry rockets if the need arose. Low and slow was a recipe for vulnerability from hostile ground fire and surface to air missiles from hand held launchers. It took not a little courage to set out on a mission. The O-1 had tandem seating for a crew of two. This isn't an exciting and glamorous portrayal of the aircraft which sported minimal markings and olive paint, in contrast to the colorful markings at the time of the high-flying fighter jock steeds. The object of the vulnerable craft was to blend in as much as possible and be home for dinner in one piece. The Bird Dog was replaced by the Cessna O-2 Skymaster and Ov-10 Bronco in the 1960s and continuing in various civilian and service roles. The Bird Dog model is from fs-freeware. Spiffed up in the lab and re-texture from the civilian version to military livery. The landscape is a combination of image and foreground forest tree models. As per usual workflow: Blender, DazStudio, and PsE for touch-ups and corrections. No ayEye!