Modeler needs help on ordinance loadout in pictures

[Bob Peetz]

Got a request today from a model maker wanting pictures and info about our loadouts when the GPU-2 gunpod was being used. Anybody have any pictures or info they can use?

When did we get the GPU-2? I don't remember ever seeing one before I left in Feb of 71 - did they get there when we were still flying the green paint scheme?

Thanks in advance. Winds - Bob

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	Modeler needs help on ordinance loadout in pictures
Date:	Fri, 10 Jan 2025 21:16:39 -0800
From:	minau...@nwi.net
To:

Hi Bob,

Want to thank you for the wealth of info on Val-4 on your website. Bless and thanks to all these men in the squadron. I am a big fan of the OV-10 and think it was retired decades before it should have, in fact its still a great plane in the Coin role with no real replacement. They should make new ones or resurrect the OV-10X project!

I am modeling a Val-4 OV-10A model in Vietnam in both 1/48 and 1/72 in both the green and gray schemes. I am trying to get more info and pictures on the very rare gun pod, the GPU-2 /XN-1 20MM which to my knowledge was only used on Navy Broncos in Vietnam. I do have the gunpods thanks to a guy on ebay who 3d prints them but I was wondering if you have any photos or any of the squadron pilots have photos of this on the plane. I looked in your pics and saw none. I have only seen 2 pictures on the internet of this gunpod on the Val-4 OV-10 but the pics are very bad quality and only a portion of the gunpod and airframe is in view. I want to model these planes in scale as accurately as possible.

The loadout I am going to do are the LAU-10 2 shot zunis on the wings, 2 or 4 LAU-33 pods on the belly and the GPU-2 /XN-1 20MM on the centerline. Please let me know if thats accurate when the pod was installed. I have also seen a picture of a Val-4 bronco with the gunpod off on a outboard pylon and not the center so I am very confused to how these were usually carried. There is also a period picture of one on a Bronco with the LAU-33 and some weird "can" looking pod on the centerline adjacent to it which I have no idea what it is. Maybe a flare launcher? I have attached that picture to. I wish more photos that were clear existed but I can find any which is why I though maybe some crew from the squadron or pilots had them. I would not share anything sent.

I have a pic of the gunpod scaled down for the model attached. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,


Mina Roughton