Spectre623

Good clips on u tube fer sure. I didn't find a rusty tank on google but there is a pic tag called Long beach that is at what I believe to be the lower corner of Herky Hill . Bill

Hey ken, don't remember Tennyson. There is a window that will open up when you click on the little photo tags and it asks do you want to up load your photos. You have to open an account it looks like before you can post the tag pics. Need somebody more computer savvy than me to get it started. I have tagged the Hill with pin markers but I think they only show up on my screen. As far as getting to the beach, it was a 5 minute feet scalding walk down the backside of the Hill to the beach. I remember a couple of old French concrete bunkers about 50 feet out in the water and bunches of jelly fish! Bill

It sure does Ken. I brought back 2 of those fans and and just 3-4 years ago tossed the last one in the trash. It was the quietest fan I ever owned. As far as taking a fan to CRB I just relied on the old metal fans in the barracks that sounded like a 130 running wnen I rotated in. Most of our inputs from Clark left early in the morn. Bill

It is kinda hard to figure it out Sam. The tag for the 22 Replacement Batt. shows about where the Hill is, as it was at the foot of Herky Hill where the sharp curve is/was. The new 4 lane passes right thru the curve. The tags when clicked on open up to show whatever pic is posted. Ken or some of the other guys with good pics from there would be great to tag the Hill and F/L with. UPDATE: Also just read a post attached to the 22 Replacement Batt and a guy who was over there a short time ago said the 22tag is too far to the north but should be where the rectangle bare field is. That jives with my memory of the 22nd being right at the 180 degree curve at the bottom of Herky Hill. Just look to the right and see the long curved road that leads to the hill. You can easily make out the outlines of the barracks as they are lined up 3 rows of 5 ea. then 2 on the very top. The chow hall is the square outline to the left of the row of barracks foundation outlines. Also if you look south west of CRB you will see Phan Rang airbase and they have tagged it with about a dozen great 70's pics. Bill

Sam you are our hero fer enduring all them dang old rocket and morter attacks while us maint. pukes sat safely back at CRB. (Thanks fer yer service Sam...I mean it!) Bill :)

That was a neat dis-cussin on the rocket attack on Herky Hill a couple of posts ago and I sure enjoyed it! I went to CRB on google earth and saw a lot of what I thought I remembered. There are all kinds of markers by the VN and ruskies but only one marker by a GI and it was the 22nd Replacement Batt. If someone with a still functioning brain could go there on google earth and mark the sites I know a lot of us would get a kick out of seeing it. Places such as the C-130 revetments, C-7 parking, Aerial port building, maint buildings and tire shop near the flightline, also the sharp curve at the 22nd Replacement Batt at the bottom of Herky Hill seems to have changed.(I was there when the open truck full of jungle boots flipped on that curve) Also would like to see the barracks marked and the chow hall...you know the one that was never hit and also the donut dolly shack behind it and of course the outdoor movie area and LUTHERS projection booth and the APC drive in movie parking area, along with any other sites around the base. With all of us on this board that visited that vacation spot, I think we could mark it up pretty good. Bill :)

Koen ,the 5th acft I have info on is 54-1628. You didn't ask about it so I did not include it. It was in UPHOLD DEMOCRACY but not ODS. It's name was "Exterminator" and retired with 4000 hrs. of combat and 15,100 total flying hours.

You didn't spend much time on Herky Hill did you Sam? Yes the chow hall was hit. I came in to the chow hall after the mess was cleaned up and as I was eating my powered green eggs and sandy toast and p-butter I was amused at all the holes in the light fixtures in the ceiling. They had replaced the tubes but the glare shields were riddled. You also were probably not there when the boot cook brought the 40 mm grenade up from the beach after the nightly firefight. He didn't know what it was. EOD took it outside and sand bagged it and blew it up with C4. Lot of funny little things happened to us maint. pukes on the "Hill" while you fly guys were out slipping the surly bonds. Bill

I have the history on 5 of the last AC-130A's to leave Duke field in the mid 90's. It says 129 participated in Uphold Democracy but not Desert Shield/ Storm.

623 participated in Uphold Democracy and Desert Storm. It don't say how many missions it flew, just total hours, 13,900 and 4,300 combat hours...the most of any AC-130A that I have data on. 630 was the last AC-130A to engage in combat and scored the final kills. It received small arms fire and AAA threats and the entire crew received the DFC. 0014 scored the highest number of kills for the 919th and the entire crew received the Air Medal for the mission. Bill

Well, might as well get this one posted too. Amarillo AFB, Tx, April 1963. Went to Sewart on A models. That's me about to fall off the leading edge next to the black dude.

You go Donwon. Keep those freaks from disin' our AF brother!!!

Well I see by the news where old Momar Gaddafi told Obama he wants his $70 million back or the planes that he paid for. I say give him the planes, ha ha. Our excellent state department is probably trying to figure out what he is talking about. I'm sure Lockwasher would love to get the storage money he will owe.

NC97, those numbers of the embargoed Herks of Libya are Lockheed serial numbers: 4515, 4518, 4523, 4525, 4536, 4538, 4540, 4541. They were set for delivery from Nov 1973 to Oct 1974...but never made it.

Junk is correct. Back about 1990 a crew came up from Robbins AFB Ga and pulled one outta the weeds at the end of the old runway. They attemped to put power on it and crank the GTC. No go. They came over to the 94th engine shop at Dobbins and borrowed some stuff in an attempt to get the GTC going. Still no go. After 2-3 days they pushed it back into the weeds and went home. Said they weren't worth fixin'. I have been in them many times and to look at the forms on the nav table it looks like time stopped for these HERKS in the late 70's when Lockheed stopped doing the inspections. They were never prepped for long term storage as the intakes were taped up with duct tape. The intake and AC plugs are still stowed inside the acft. All the main tires are flat and the main gear doors are crushed into the chocks. And yes they are chucked full of new old parts. The wooden floor at the crew door are all rotted out. I first went inside when I worked at Lockheed in 1983 when they looked real good till 2003 when they looked like junk. The birds were paid for, built, test flown and were ready for delivery when they were impounded by the state dept. Each acft had it's own name painted on the side near the horz. stab. These were painted over when Prez. Regan bombed Libya's nuke plant in the 80'S. Sad to see new Herks slowly rot away in front of your eyes.

If I'm not mistaken the mod to 4 bladed props for "A's" happened in 1977. Bill

Bob is that CMSgt Jerry Haines from maint. you are speaking of in your first post ? Bill

On a rote from Sewart to Clark in 1964 a crew took my bird into Vietnam and they brought out a cardboard box with five 45 auto pistols with a few extra clips. They were only in-country for one day. The next morning I started my BPO and found the box-o-guns. Well I moved them to a more secure place on the acft...behind the insulation in the ramp area. Well out came the copilot butter bar lookin' fer his guns. He had a heck of a time finding them....I never did tell him how they ended up there. Never saw a second louie sweat so much. Bill

Well Louis Wysocki you old war dog. I have wondered for years where you were . I was in the 18thTCS "Delta" flight on A models . Was at Sewart from 1963-66. You were the flight chief (msgt) and I was a fresh outta school third wiper. I always thought you had a weird walk, kinda like a John Wayne swagger. For some reason I remember you always dipped a rag in an ash tray to wipe off the old daily flying schedule on the plexiglass board... funny how small things stick in your mind so long. We had Pappy Hayes, Red Hutchinson, Masennia, Msgt Knuckles, Msgt Hollinsworth and a bunch of other great guys. Do you remember when AB Red Hutchinson painted the flt deck red on Pappy Hayes airplane while he was off on leave? It sure was funny from my point of view but you and MSgt Hayes didn't think so. Saw you bios and you look great Louis. Bill

Bob, I heard Dobbins is sending 81-0631 to the reserve unit standing up at the Rock.

Gee RZ, you mean you never bonded with your 130 ? What a shame, now you will never know the feeling nor get to know it's personality. Heh Heh

It will make it a bit more difficult to install the leading edges with fuel in the wing, more so outboard of 1 and 4 eng but it can be done. Why dont you refuel the bird do your leak checks and defuel the tanks and THEN put the L/E back on. Bill

Sorry about your brother pwylie. Was a brave man to be a Huey pilot in Nam. The last leaflet is similar to a CHIEU HOI pass used to get the VC to come over to our side, but is most probably a warning to mothers with children to be aware of the agent orange that is going to be sprayed in their area and if the kids are sprayed to bring this free pass and get help. The first leaflet would appear to tell the VC we are going to spray your jungle with agent orange and when the leaves fall we can see you and will send much death from above to make you die VC. That's just my take on it. Bill . P.S. How's Summerville these days. Lived there in the mid 70's as FE on 141's in the 20th MAS at Charlietown.

Fine job Alan. I zipped over to Ban Me Thuot and looked it over. Hadn't seen it since we flew in about dusk with a load of Mogas in 55 gal drums on pallets. Called for the spec. forces guy with the forklift to unload and they called back and said no can do GI, to close to dark. Everyone except the pilot helped unload that whole load by hand. We chained a pallet to the ramp and as we rolled the drums off, the pilot would taxi forward. About 10 billion grasshoppers were all over the drums and after about 20 drums we couldn't hardly stand up it was so slick. We were outta Clark and it was 1970. Anyone on this board on that flight. I don't remember any names but I sho remember the hard work! Bill

Thanks Hedgehopper, tell Len his scanner from 65-66 said hello. Good to hear he is still kicking. Bill

Was at the Dobbins air show this past weekend and saw the NAVY's Fat Albert pull a full 90 degree bank...they must not be aware of the limits. Very impressive. I flew as a scanner at Sewart back in the 60's so am pretty familer with HIGH bank angles... especially near Bush Field, GA, thanks to a great pilot named Maj. Lennart Bjerken. You still out there Len? Bill