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6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Curtiss O-52 Owl USAF: USAF· Public domain
- 2. Curtiss O-52 Owl: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 3. 40-2746 Curtiss O-52 Owl (8738170253): Aeroprints.com· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. Curtiss O-52 Owl (15953055270): SDASM Archives· Public domain
- 5. Curtiss O-52A Owl ‘02769’ (N61241) (25407632223): Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 6. Curtiss-Wright O-52-CU Owl ‘02769’ (N61241) (28740364946): 先従隗始· CC0
what is it?
The Curtiss O-52 Owl is an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II. They were used for anti-submarine searches in the Americas and by lend-lease also used on the Eastern Front in Europe by the Soviets.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · shoulder wing · retractable tailwheel (taildragger) · 12.4 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 86 years ago, in 1940.
- Top speed is 2.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 12.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1940
- introduced
- 1941
- number built
- 203
- role
- reconnaissance
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Curtiss-Wright
- engines
- 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1340-51 Wasp / R-1340 Wasp
- crew
- 2
- length
- 8 m
- wingspan
- 12.4 m
- height
- 3 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,433 kg
- top speed
- 354 km/h
- cruise speed
- 309 km/h
- range
- —
- wings
- shoulder wing
- landing gear
- retractable conventional landing gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1145753, Wikipedia: Curtiss O-52 Owl (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.