3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Douglas O-2H at NACA Langley Research Center 1934: NACA Langley Research Center; The original uploader was Colputt at English Wikipedia ., 27 April 2007 (original upload date)· Public domain
- 2. Cliff Henderson and Donald Douglas in front of Douglas O-2A: SDASM Archives· No restrictions
- 3. Keystone LB-5 in flight with Douglas O-2 060417-F-1234P-002: USAF· Public domain
what is it?
The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, powered by the Liberty engine of WW1 fame, with some later variants using other engines. It was developed into several versions, with 879 being produced in total. It was used in combat by the Chinese Air Force in the 1930s and also was the basis for a successful mailplane version.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · biplane · 12.5 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
- Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 12.5 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
- —
- number built
- 879
- role
- observation plane
- makers
- Douglas
- engines
- 1× Liberty V-1650-1
- crew
- 2
- length
- 9.1 m
- wingspan
- 12.5 m
- height
- 3.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,064 kg
- top speed
- 216 km/h
- cruise speed
- 177 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 5,151 m
- wings
- biplane
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3714640, Wikipedia: Douglas O-2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.