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The first model of the Skymaster was the 336. It had fixed landing gear and first flew in February 1961. It went into production in 1963 and 195 were produced to mid 1964.
In 1965 Cessna introduced the model 337 Super Skymaster. This aircraft was larger, had more powerful engines, retractable landing gear and a dorsal air scoop for the rear engine (the "Super" was subsequently dropped from the name). In 1967 the turbocharged T377 was introduced and in 1972 the pressurized T377G entered production. Cessna built 1,859 standard and turbocharged Skymasters and 332 T337Gs. In addition, they built 513 military O-2 versions.
Cessna production ended in 1980 but Skymaster production continued with Reims in France with the FTB337 STOL and the military FTMA Milirole. Reims produced a total of 94 Skymasters.
After a 20-year hiatus the centerline thrust, pod and twin-boom concept has been revived in the Adam A500The Adam A500 is a six-seat civil utility aircraft currently under development. The aircraft is of pod-and-boom configuration with its two TCM TSIO-550 piston engines mounted fore-and-aft. It is the production version of the Burt Rutan-designed Adam M-309.
The US Army used the O-2 variant as a Forward Air Controller platform during the Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos See Secret War) and in bombing runs ( Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. See also the timeline of the Vietnam War. Fighting on.
The California Division of Forestry uses the O-2 variant as spotter planes during firefighting operations.
In 1994This is a list of aviation-related events from 1994: Events April April 14 USAF F-15 Eagles shoot down two US Army UH-60 Blackhawks over Iraq, mis-identifying them as Iraqi Mil Mi-25s April 16 a Royal Navy Sea Harrier is shot down over Serbia by a SA-7 Gr the CubaAlternate meanings: see Cuba (disambiguation The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago in the northern Caribbean, in between the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north are found the United States and the Bahamas, to the west Mn exile group Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue) used Skymasters to drop life-saving supplies to rafters attempting to cross the Florida Straits to defectA defector is generally a person who gives up allegiance to a certain country in exchange for allegiance in another. This act is usually in an illegal way (as opposed to changing citizenship). For example, during the Cold war, the many people escaping acr from Cuba. They chose Skymasters because they were eaiser to control at slow speeds than conventional twin-engine aircraft. One plane contacted the water (it is difficult to judge altitude over relatively calm water), damaging the landing gear doors and the nose propeller. Since the rear engine is mounted higher, it wasn't damaged and the aircraft was able to return to Florida to make a belly landing.