Floating Village at Con Son

More comments later ... took photo though window from copilot's seat while our C-130 was in a 30 degree right turn getting in position to land at Con Son, South Vietnam - 1973. Con Son was a small island off the southern tip of Vietnam, and was noted for interment camps where NVA and Viet Cong POWs were detained. This was toward the end of US involvement in the war ... I think we were at Con Son to pick up a load of freed POWs whom we flew north to a remote airstrip near the DMZ where they deplaned and quickly disappeared into the jungle in less than a minute. Floating village pictured here sustained itself through fishing ... note the narrow, rickety docks leading out to fleet of sampans.

Phantoms at Ubon

F-4 Phantom Fighters at Ubon Airbase, in extremely hot and sweaty Thailand - 1972. This is the 100th post on blog. Still have a pile of 40 year old 35mm slides to process. Probably have another 200 or more keepers.

Taiwan Mountain Basin

Time permitting during an occasional home stand back in Taiwan, we would take a ride into the rugged, but beautiful mountain chain running north-south along the length of the island. Here one of the crewmembers in our squadron takes a refreshing dip into a crystal clear pool. The water collected in a natural rock basin with clean circulating water coming in and out via waterfalls. An incredible spot off the lone meandering road that crossed the mountains ... total isolation as the terrain was not suitable for habitation.

Hue Pax and Guns

Parked on ramp at Hue Airbase in the central part of Vietnam about 50 miles north of Da Nang - 1972. Hue was the cultural center of Vietnam and was somewhat spared until Tet Offensive in 1968. It was taken over by the Viet Cong and then retaken by the US during fierce house to house street fighting known as The Battle of Hue. Pictured are South Vietnamese soldiers mixed in with civilians crossing a damaged ramp to board a Vietnamese C-123 transport parked in front of our C-130. In the background are about a dozen new 105mm howitzers and other supplies.

Double Amp

Double amputee somewhere in SEA - 1972.

Ban Me Thout Bunker

This would be me hanging out in a tin roofed and concrete block bunker at Ban Me Thout Airbase, Vietnam -  1972. Bunker surrounded by sandbags spewing forth the red clay soil of this high altitude region of the Vietnam Central Highlands. Holding a small, dirty, tattered South Vietnamese flag found on the ground. The base was like a ghost town, but had all the earmarks of recent fighting. We were there in the C-130 for a short cargo drop-off and pickup sortie. Photo by Joe the Navigator.

A-1E at NKP

This photo had a “1972 NKP” label on it. It’s a close up view of an A-1E[H] at Nakom Phnom Airbase in Thailand on border with Laos. This WWII vintage Naval aircraft was used also by the USAF for Tactical Air support in Vietnam. The single seat, single piston engine machine flew relatively slow, but could absorb a lot of punishment, and carry very heavy loads. I don’t know much about ordinance, but I believe the A-1 in the photo has a mixed load of napalm and conventional weapons based on larger annotated photos of the A-1 seen on other Vietnam War web sites. The A-1s were often used to provide escort protection for rescue helicopters … NKP was important with respect to air rescue because of its proximity to North Vietnam and had Jolly Green and Pedro Air Rescue units.

DC-3 Phnom Penh

A GoonyBird Douglas C-47A (aka DC-3) commercial airliner at Phnom Penh Airport, Cambodia – 1972. Part of the Khmer Akas - Khmer Airlines fleet. This was C-47 city – many of these old birds lined the ramp. No sign of jet engine commercial aircraft at all. This was becoming a dangerous place as the Khmer Rouge were advancing toward the city, and I suspect major airlines avoided this place. The ramp area was also pretty rugged with lots of FOD (foreign object debris) … not friendly to jet engine intakes. The facilities here were generally primitive. I know the old passenger terminal was nothing but a bombed out shell at one of our visits here although not certain of its state when this photo was taken.

Loadmaster at Phu Cat

Rebel hatted loadmaster taking a break in the shade at rear of C-130 … resting on a lightly loaded aluminum cargo pallet with compliment of tie-down chains and cargo webbing. I believe this was 1972 in Phu Cat, Vietnam because of the distinctive aluminum planking used on the parking ramp as opposed to the usual concrete … must have been well laid, strong stuff to support the weight of the heavy aircraft. A Vietnam Vet that was at Phu Cat during construction informed me that this aluminum planking is called AM2 … saw some recent photos of AM2 in 2 x 12 foot panels with hollow ribbed construction similar to corrugated cardboard.

NVA On Board

A North Vietnam Army (NVA) officer boarding our C-130 through crew entry door, and headed toward passenger configured cargo area. Many more followed in an extremely orchestrated, orderly manner, one by one, until aircraft was filled to capacity. This was in Saigon 1973 as part of peace negotiations. Destination was either Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi, or some airbase near the DMZ. This was quite a novel occasion given the many years of wartime separation of North and South Vietnam … albeit temporary per the continued invasion and takeover of the South from the North in years to follow. Photo taken from elevated deck of cockpit accessible by a short ladder.

Martial Law Philippines

This photo was taken in Angeles City, Philippines next to where Clark Airbase was located. Our C-130 crew made several visits to Clark and it was always a fun trip as we were always housed at some off-base hotel. Wine, women, food, shopping, and gambling were available … enough said. This was in 1973 right after martial law was imposed by President Ferdinand Marcos … martial law lasted until 1981. Pictured is one of the ever present government security police that patrolled the streets imposing curfews, etc. Seemed to be a friendly sort and surprisingly was eager to pose at attention for the photo holding his pump action shotgun and revolver on hip.

Tiger Balm Gardens Singapore

One of many colorful Chinese Mythological characters at Tiger Balm Gardens in Singapore -1973. A fun side trip while on R&R. This is one of three Tiger Balm locations ... the other two are in Hong Kong and Fujian China. This one in Singapore was first called Tiger Balm Gardens when opened in 1937, but was then renamed to Haw Par Villa for many years before reverting back to original name recently.

Cam Rahn Bay Ghost Town

Aerial view of Cam Rahn Bay Airbase, Vietnam – late 1972. As can be seen in photo the base is abandoned with only a lone C-130 on the parallel taxiway below. Cam Rahn was a major airfield constructed by the US in 1966 and was host to USAF F4 fighter wings, C141 and C5 strategic airlift, and C-130 and C-7 tactical airlift wings. It was a primary point of entry/exit to Vietnam to/from the USA. By May, 1972 all the US wings at Cam Rahn had been deactivated or relocated as part of the Vietnamization of the war. The abandoned base was then totally looted including tin roofs, doors, and windows leaving a only a skeleton of a ghost town. In 1975 the base was captured by the North Vietnamese. After that it served as a Soviet Airbase from 1979 to 2002.

Takhli Water Fight

I don’t recall the occasion, but one evening there was an open barbecue and beer fest in the barracks area at Takhli Airbase in Thailand - 1973. Lots of burgers and dogs … the beer was flowing as much as the water from the garden hose as these two lads engaged in a spirited water fight.

C-130 Allison Maintenance

C-130 technician up on maintenance stand working on one of the four Allison T56 turboprop engines ... Nha Trang, South Vietnam 1972. Engine cowlings are wide open … notice the holes for the many fasteners along the edge of the openings. These guys did fantastic work … I never recall having a significant problem with an engine on the C-130. Each Allison could provide 4,350 shaft horse-power. Interestingly similar engines were used to generate power on destroyer class ships in the US Navy. Rolls-Royce took over Allison production in the late 1990’s.

Saigon Vietnamese Security

Stylized photo a two Vietnamese Military Police with a jeep providing security at flight line entrance … Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon, South Vietnam – 1972.

C-130-E External Fuel

A pair of beautiful C-130’s loading up in the hot midday sun of Saigon TSN Airbase, Vietnam – 1972. Here is a good view of the external fuel tank suspended below the wing between the two engines. The C-130-E had 4 main and 2 auxiliary fuel tanks in the wings along with the 2 external tanks. Total fuel capacity was 9,530 gallons or about 42,000 pounds. It’s interesting to note that the second aircraft in the background does not have external tanks. I suspect this was an older model C-130 belonging to the Vietnamese AF … they often flew “A” models although this one does not have the associated 3-bladded prop and stubby nose that would be expected ... therefore I think it is a "B' model.

F-111-A Takhli

A taxiing F-111-A fighter jet at Takhli Airbase in Thailand - 1973. A small number of F-111’s were deployed to SEA from Nellis AFB in Nevada toward the end of the war in Vietnam … flying to targets in North Vietnam. Unfortunately at first they were plagued with above average design related failures that were eventually corrected. After the war, fighter bomber versions of this aircraft (FB-111’s) were used by Strategic Air Command (SAC) as part of the cold war nuclear deterrent.

Phnom Penh C-47s

A fleet of Douglas C-47-A Cambodian Air Commercial airliners at airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia – 1972. We often flew into Phnom Penh with supplies as the city slowly became isolated, and eventually evolved into a hot spot under siege by advancing Khmer Rouge forces. Shortly after this photo was taken I discovered the foremost C-47 in photo (tail number XW-TDA) was struck by enemy mortar shells fired at the Kampot Airport south of Phnom Penh. The plane was on the ground and passengers were embarking … the 1944 built aircraft was destroyed along with 9 fatalities.

Thai Gold Baht Chains

A group of crewmembers checking out the goods at a small jewelry shop - 1973. I think this is in the city of Sattahip, Thailand, a few miles west of Utapao Airbase on the Gulf of Siam coast. Popular items were gold Four Seasons Bracelets, and pure gold Thai baht chains … baht was a unit of weight (also a form of currency) … thus there were one, two, three, etc. baht chains describing the size (weight) of the chain in gold.

A-1 Skyraiders at Pleiku

A pair of armed Vietnamese A-1 Skyraiders preparing for takeoff at Plieku Airbase in the central part of South Vietnam – 1972. The piston driven, single-seat Douglas aircraft originated during the early 1940s in WW2. It later saw service in Korea and then Vietnam where it was absorbed from the US Navy for use in Air Forces of both the US and South Vietnam. The A-1 had ability to carry large bomb loads, absorb heavy ground fire, and fly for long periods at low altitude; the A-1 was particularly suited for close air support missions. Vietnam call sign was Sandy, and it was often used as an escort for helicopters on rescue missions. Appear to be carrying 3 conventional weapons under each wing. These are probably A-1H models?