End of day Saigon

One of my favorite photos that for me conveys the end-of-day melancholy mood at Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon after a long day of flying - 1972. This was the ramp area where the South Vietnamese owned aircraft were parked in series of protective revetments … mostly C-123 and C-130 transports. A lone C-130-A model taxis home as it passes a cargo truck. Can tell it is an old A model 130 with 3 bladed props (verses 4 blades that USAF E models had), and absence of large external fuel tanks below the wings. The A models and the older C-123 aircraft were typically what the US donated to the South Vietnamese Airforce. Note the plane has both outboard engines shut down to conserve fuel during taxi. A setting sun and puddles from a late afternoon thunderstorm foster refreshingly cooler temperatures from the midday heat.