Cessna Aircraft Company
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly,
or Super Tweet
Manufactured 1963–1975
First flight October 1964

Operational history

Vietnam War

In August 1967, 25 A-37As were deployed to Vietnam under the "Combat Dragon" evaluation program, and flew from Bien Hoa Air Base on USAF "air commando" missions, including close air support, helicopter escort, FAC, and night interdiction.Combat loads included high-explosive bombs, cluster munition dispensers, unguided rocket packs, napalm tanks, and the SUU-11/A Minigun pod. For the majority of missions, the aircraft also carried two additional external fuel tanks on the inner stores pylons.

During this period, the A-37As flew thousands of sorties; none were lost to enemy fire, although two were wrecked in landing accidents. While the aircraft was formally named the "Dragonfly", many pilots called it the "Super Tweet". The Combat Dragon program was successful, but unsurprisingly the combat evaluation revealed some of the deficiencies of the A-37A. The most noticeable problem was that the aircraft lacked range and endurance. Other concerns were heavy control response during attack runs (the flight controls were not power-boosted) and the vulnerability of the aircraft's non-redundant flight control system. Some pilots also criticised the machine gun as ineffective and negatively impacting the pilot's view.

The USAF signed a contract with Cessna in early 1967 for an improved Super Tweet, designated the "A-37B". The initial order was for 57 aircraft, but this was quickly increased to 127; the unit cost of these aircraft were roughly one quarter of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II all-weather fighter aircraft. The A-37Bs were primarily intended to be supplied to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) as replacements for their A-1 Skyraiders. The A-37B prototype was rolled out in September 1967, with deliveries to the South Vietnamese beginning in 1968.