Douglas O-31 or O-43? And photos wanted!

[Tweener]

The photo here was said to have been taken at Chicago Municipal airport sometime during the war, and depicts either the Douglas O-31 or O-43, yet the canopy framing seems to be different than what was seen on either of those aircraft, and I at the very least can not tell whether or not the wing is attached to the fuselage as I believe the O-31 was or raised above it slightly on the O-43.

 

 

The "date" of the photo also seems off too - is that not an O-2 in the background? What would they be doing in service during the war?

 

 

Any help would be great - I am trying to put together a photo album of interwar observation types, excluding Curtiss Falcon Variants, the Thomas Morse O-19, and the Douglas O-2, as they had far too many variants for me to keep track of.  That said, any photos of the following would be greatly appreciated as well.

 

Douglas O-38, Douglas O-46

Curtiss O-40 Raven, O-52 Owl

North American O-47

Stinson O-49 / L-1, Stinson O-54 Voyager, Stinson O-62 Sentinel

Piper Cub (Military Versions used in WW2) 

Interstate O-63 

Army models of the Grumman Goose and Widgeon

 

Thanks, Tweener.

 

[Roger Holden]

11 hours ago, Tweener said:

The photo here was said to have been taken at Chicago Municipal airport sometime during the war, and depicts either the Douglas O-31 or O-43 

That photo is from 1935-37, as the planes have blue and O.D. fuselages.  They were long-gone by WW2. They are wearing the squadron insignia of the Illinois National Guard, so the Chicago location is probably correct. Plane in the foreground is the one-off YO-31B, originally built as a VIP transport for Militia Bureau commander Oscar Westover, with a plush seat in the rear position, hence the different canopy design. Like its brothers the 4 YO-31As and sole YO-31C it has the gull wing arrangement. Plane in the background is an O-38, not an O-2 (which was a Liberty-engined 1920s plane). 

 

Photos of all the types you mention are easily found. Google is your friend...... 

[JWM]

For example write in google:

douglas o2mc china 1937

and look at graphics

You will get even O-38E Haitanian (crashed in 1942)  among other photos.

 

Problem is that now there is company "Douglas" in field of cosmetics and therfore you have to make some efforts googling

Cheers

J-W