Jump to content

Ray

Members
  • Posts

    41
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

Posts posted by Ray

  1. Will,

    Below is some information from my book - "Circles in the Sky". 62-1815 was never fitted for a capsule - no capsules were ever lost.

    Ray

    In July of 1965, the commander of the Second Air Division (2AD) requested a C-130 airborne command post. In August of 1965, USAF submitted a Southeast Asia Operational Requirement (SEAOR), requesting three ABCCC aircraft. On 8 September 1965, one ABCCC aircraft deployed to the Republic of Viet Nam (RVN). The first C-130 ABCCC-I aircraft (S/N 62-1825) went to SEA minus the PARD system, which was a data communication link. The aircraft was assigned to 2AD for evaluation. The evaluation included the functions as a DASC, a fire-support coordination center and emergency air strike director. Additional tests included those of mission commander and Search and Rescue (SAR). One mission flew above the 17th Parallel. This marked the first time that an adequately equipped aircraft would serve as an airborne command center in SEA. In the closing months of 1965, the ABCCC flew 50 + sorties.

    LTV modified two more C-130Es for delivery during the second half of fiscal year 1966. The first “production†ABCCC-II aircraft delivered in July and August of 1966. The system no. 1 aircraft was 62-1820 and system no. 2 was 62-1832. In May of 1966, there was a requirement for four more ABCCC systems. In June, LTV received the contract for four additional systems. System no. 3 aircraft 62-1791 delivered on 5 January 1967. System no. 4 aircraft 62-1809 delivered on 15 February 1967. After the first two ABCCC-II systems became operational, a request was made for some modifications in the additional systems to follow. Some of these changes included a redesign of the display boards, installation of a galley cooling fan, and replacement of the DAS-10 system in the communications maintenance station to provide airborne alignment of teletype. There were about 25 additional improvements requested to improve operational reliability and maintainability. In January of 1967, LTV received a contract to recycle systems 1 and 2 and install the improvements when the aircraft returned to the U.S. for IRAN (Inspect Repair As Necessary – depot level maintenance). LTV Electrosystems received a contract on 31 March 1967 to construct a new van and to modify aircraft 62-1825 to bring it up to ABCCC-II standards. System no. 5 aircraft 62-1836 delivered on 21 April 1967 and system no. 6 aircraft 62-1857 delivered on 6 June 1967.

  2. I was already working for LSi in early 73. My crew was helping to close McCoy AFB at the time. We were there ostensibly to inspect and repair hundreds and hundreds of F-100 drop tanks. They were in such bad shape that all we did was condemn them and crate them up for storage. We left Orlando and went to the Guard unit in Montgomery and spent about three months re-potting all of the wiring bundles on F-4s, where they passed through the pressure bulkheads. We removed all of the radios, seats, plumbing, vari-ramp panels and made forms for the potting compound with styrofoam coffee cups. The hardest part of the job was cleaning the reverted potting compound out of the wires - it was nasty! In the fall of 73 I had the opportunity to go to Saigon with LSi, so I thought about it for 10 seconds and away I went. When I first got to Saigon I worked in the Nguyen Ming Chieu Villa, writing C-130 tech orders. The Vietnamese had no technical language. I was basically waiting for security clearance to work at Tan Son Nhut. When I was cleared, I working in training for the VNAF 5th AD. I taught C-130 maintenance in the classroom, bascially the crew chief course. The students were very bright and almost all them spoke excellent English. Each instructor had an interpreter because of the no technical language thing. It worked pretty well because we were flexible, which USAF was not. While I was there, I hung around Air America long enough to get my A & P through their training office. For 1973-74 the money was pretty darn good, around $14K. There were a few other contractors there during that time frame; Northrop, Dynacorp and Lockheed and maybe a couple of others (CRS). It was quite a shock to have been there as a GI when we had 540,000 Americans running around and when I left in 1974 (I could see where the country was headed) there were maybe 1,000 Americans in-country. I lived in the Ghia Dinh District on Cach Mang Street in a three-story house. Toward the end, I could sit on the roof of my house and watch the war. I could see part of the runways from the roof and at night I could watch the A-37s take off and climb to maybe 5,000 feet and then roll in on Ben Cat, drop ordnance, come back to Tan Son Nhut and repeat as necessary. All night long, an AC-119 orbited over the city. Stealing gasoline seemed to be the national sport. VNAF mechanics would pogo the sumps of A-1s or whatever recip was laying around, including President Thieu's aircraft, and believe it or not they usually put it in plastic bags! VNAF conducted an open locker inspection in the hangar that my classroom was in and there was enough avgas in the lockers to blow up the flight line. An AC-119 came in one morning and the engineer walked to the back and was filling a container with fuel from the APU with predictable results - naturally the aircraft burned to the ground in front of our hangar. Rounds cooked off for about two hours. The fire dept couldn't even fight the fire. I still have a 20-mm shell that came through the blackboard in my classroom. I never did hear what happened to the crew as far as punishment. When we had a discipline problem the VNAF student became ARVN and went to Quang Tri. After one or two problems the word got around - none of them wanted to be in the army. when I left in the summer of 74, the streets of Saigon were dangerous. The "Cowboys" (deserters) roamed the streets at night and had nothing to lose. Some of them had walked all the way from Da Nang. It was time to go - so I left.

×
×
  • Create New...