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Extremely packed ramp area at Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon, Vietnam – 1973. This was the last time our C-130 crew was in Vietnam as the US was withdrawing all its military forces as part of the Vietnamization of the war. In preparation for the pullout, massive amounts of US military assets were being sent to South Vietnam … goal was to help South Vietnam go it alone in the war effort after US departure. Here in photo a fleet of eight C-130-A cargo planes had been delivered then parked on secondary taxiways because of the overcrowded ramp. Also in photo is a A-1E Skyraider revving it’s single engine prop, and loaded with yellow-tipped, underwing weapons. To the right is tail (#925) of a C-47 Gooney Bird, along with familiar blue, extended-cab Ford ramp vehicles, and a yellow Shell Oil aviation fuel truck.
Airborne at sunrise in C-130 … Vietnam – 1972. Captain Ed silhouette against eastern sky on what was probably our first sortie out of home base at Tan Son Nhut, Saigon. Daily flight routine was to arrive early at C-130 Ops to pick up flight itinerary which usually consisted of a half dozen or more cargo upload/offloads at many different bases throughout Vietnam, Thailand, and sometimes Cambodia or Laos. Base Ops would also provide weather briefings, and intelligence reports mainly to warn of hot spots to avoid overflight. Schedule was fairly flexible in terms of time … general rule was to return to home base before nightfall. Photo shows the many C-130 windows, including car-like windshield wipers, dangling map light, headset cords, and green translucent window visor.
A 4x4 amphibious commando vehicle cruising the streets of Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon, Vietnam – 1972. Often called the Duck there were many variants and model types that saw continued service even in the Gulf War. Manufactured by Cadillac Gage Company, it was powered by Chrysler 360 V8 with 5-speed manual transmission. Vehicle weighed in at 7 tons with 60 mph max road speed … 3 mph in the water. Max crew of 12.
Close up photo of underside of C-47 Gooney Bird transport on the ramp in Pleiku, Vietnam -1972. That day as part of our itinerary our C-130 had an out-and-back mission from/to Pleiku. We had been parked next to this C-47, uploaded cargo. The C-47 took an indirect hit from some kind of rocket or mortar. Underside of C-47 wing ripped up pretty good with shrapnel and lots of leaking aircraft fluids. Fortunate there was no secondary explosion. Timing is everything.
Parked on the ramp at Tan Son Nhut Airfield in Saigon, Vietnam is an New Zealand transport – 1972. After a very long search on the web I finally identified this strange looking bird as a Bristol 170 Freighter that was produced between 1945 and 1950. I read that only 214 were produced ... so a rare bird indeed. The twin engine radial prop driven, tail dragger plane had unusual elevated cockpit beneath which there were clam-like opening doors for loading cargo from the front … giving aircraft awkward snub-nosed appearance. It could hold up to three vehicles, assorted cargo, or passengers. Numerous protective arched revetments can be seen on the Saigon flight line. To the right of the Bristol transport is a small single engine prop Cessna 0-1 Bird-dog used for Forward Air Control (FAC) observation missions.
Orderly procession of NVA soldiers on ramp at Tan Son Nhut Airbase in Saigon, Vietnam – 1973. These soldiers were involved in cease fire discussions, and were approaching our C-130 for boarding. Destination was the DMZ or Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi … can’t remember which as we made several such trips.
Photo from ramp area at DaNang Airbase located on the coast of central Vietnam – 1972. At the time DaNang was used by US and South Vietnam Air Forces, and was previously the busiest airport in the world with over 2,500 air operations daily. US combat operations at the base ceased in August of 1972. Looking to the west there are what I believe to collectively be the Ba Na Hills in the background. Photo also shows what was probably recent damage from an incoming rocket in one of the buildings adjacent to the flight line.
