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Sonny

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Posts posted by Sonny

    Anyone recognize these young troops?

    in C-130 General

    Posted

    Hyattsville, MD???? You are on the other end of the state from me. ain't nobody any lamer on a computer than me ,but Bob and Casey made this a very friendly site. Just clikc at the lower right corner of the message panel on Go advanced, and just follow the path. easy to do. If i can, anybody can

    giz

    Thanks, I'll give it a try.

    Sonny

    RGB Failure

    in C-130 General

    Posted

    I hope somebody has the story, and can also explain why they installed the intake plug!?!

    Don't know the story but the intake plug was obviously installed to protect the engine from FOD. Sorry, just couldn't resist!

    Acft Tail Codes

    in C-130 Historical

    Posted

    I can't recall when the tail codes were started either, but it must have been late '67 or early '68. I've seen a photo of an A model from the 21st, with tail code YD, making a drop at Khe Sanh in 1968. Our aircaft at Nha Trang didn't have anything ('67-'70). By the time I left Nha Trang and went to CCK in 1970 the acft there already had them.

    When I got to Naha in May 1967 all of the 21st birds (except "E" Flight) had the YD tail code on them. Sonny

    Help Wanted: Tail Identifications

    in C-130 General

    Posted

    Unsure where you got your information for the first four listings. I was a LM in the 21st TAS at Naha AB, Dec 1968 – Apr 1971, and our C–130A tail codes were YD – 21st TAS, YJ – 35th TAS, YP – 41st TAS, and YU – 817th TAS.

    John H Moore, SMSgt Ret

    John,

    You are correct. I also was in the 21st from May'67 til Oct'68 (Asst. Crew Chief on 56-0489 and Crew Chief on 56-0533).

    Sonny

    AIRCRAFT 56-0477

    in C-130 Historical

    Posted

    jrkaegi wrote:

    Those are the ranks they were promoted to as MIAs. The SMS was actually an E-5 loadmaster at the time but he had crosstrained from another field. The Air Force was not good about putting correct AFSCs on casualty reports as they were drawn up by Admin clerks using personnel records and this has caused a lot of confusion. There is a question as to why the FMS troop was on the airplane since maintenance personnel normally did not fly on combat missions. It is believe he may have been onboard to take care of problems with the NOD device since he had an instrument AFSC. However, both he and the AC were from Arkansas so he might have been allowed to go along on a joy ride. The 23rd TASS officer was a recently arrived navigator who went along as an observer before he started his own missions in O-2s. The normal flare mission crew at that time was seven - two pilots, a nav, a flight engineer and three loadmasters. A fourth loadmaster had been part of the crew until the flare chute was modifed with levers to hold the flares and a crewmember was no longer reguired to set on the door.

    Another possibility for the FMS troop is that he was one of a handful of maintenance personnel who were given temporary assignments as loadmasters during a loadmaster shortage in late 1968-early 1969. Bill Barrett obtained a copy of the 374th TAW history and the flare mission section describes how that loadmasters from other C-130 units were sent TDY to Ubon to augment the Naha crews. Some of the guys who were there at the time have told me that the wing placed some maintenance personnel on temporary flying status with a loadmaster AFSC to fly flare missions, then they went back to maintenance at the end of the tour. The ninth person could have been a loadmaster flying with an experienced crew before he went out with his own crew. All new flare mission personnel flew at least one mission with another crew as an observer before their crew started flying together.

    This was the first flareship lost over The Trail. A second was lost in November 1969.

    The second one lost was 56-0533. I was the C/C until I rotated stateside in October 1968.

    planes on Eglin

    in C-130 General

    Posted

    Yep, the E-model is 63-7872. I too watched the Chuck slowly get torn down. I think the Chuck was involved in the ill-fated "Stinger" gunship proposal, and I think the Herk is involved in gun tests as well, as it's parked next to A-22, which is the main gun test site, and the fact that the LH external is removed, making it easier to do "stuff" on the left side of the airplane.

    7872 was a great plane in '66. I was the acc on her when she was at McGuire.

    Chow Halls

    in C-130 General

    Posted

    While "racked and stacked" at the Kohbar Towers we always made it a point to swipe the crew truck and head over to "Lucky Base". For some reason the buncha' trailer doobers they pushed together at the towers was bargain basement stuff, sometimes safer to just live with the MRE's (those days what I wouldn't give for a C-Rat!). Last few years in the "war" I spent some time at Hurlburt - man was that really Grade A grub.

    Fleagle

    Oh yeah! Who's still got their P-38!?

    I still have my P-38 on my key ring. As I recall I had some pretty good chow aboard a Swift Boat out of CRB.

    Sonny

    Ever seen a "Blind Bat"?

    in C-130 Historical

    Posted

    Thanks Ray. Great picture. I know some changes took place after I left in '68. They must have painted the tail codes differently because all the tail codes were white when I was there and each squadron only had two Blindbat birds. I understand they consolidated all the Blindbat birds into the 21st after I left.

    Ever seen a "Blind Bat"?

    in C-130 Historical

    Posted · Edited by Sonny
    correct spelling

    I found this post this morning while trying to find info on 56-0512.

    The link is as follows: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/lofiversion/index.php?t122246.html

    Not sure how reliable the information is, but there appears to be a list of various tail numbers of "Blind Bat" aircraft.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Some photos for people who want to make a black bottom one that's not a gunship.

    Blind Bat was the project name for 347 TAw C-130As that carried out flare missions over Viet Nam and the Ho Chi Mihn Trail. They were involved in restricting movement of supplies to SVN.

    For a good view of the program. Look at Sam's C-130 page. It is difficult to read but very illuminating. Hats off to all of those brave men.

    Some were modified with similar electronics as the early AC-130As, with RHAW antennas on the nose, rear fuselage and tail. There was also a belly radome and a large blade antenna in front of and to the right of that radome. There was also what appears to be an channel strips to smooth the air flow under the open cargo ramp. It was attached to the bump on the lower ramp door. Tail codes and acft sns were red.

    Some Blind Bats had whte tail codes and early aircraft had just the undersurface white replaced with black. Later aircraft had the black extend further up the fuselage.

    These are some tail numbers that I have collected. The list is not definitive, nor do I have photos of all of them. I would write down the tail number of Blind Bats that I saw, whether in some one's photo collection or in a magazine article. Unfortunately, I neglected to list where I saw them. Sorry. So errors most certainly have creeped in.

    YD 21 TAS Tail code and sn color

    55-0005 red

    55-0007 red

    55-0023 white

    55-0046 red

    56-0483 red

    55-0005 red

    56-0508 red

    56-0517 white

    56-0533 no code?

    YJ 35 TAS

    55-0044 white

    55-0048 red

    56-0471?

    57-0469 white

    YU 41 TAS

    56-0471 red

    56-0495 white

    56-0500 white

    56-0512 red

    YP 817 TAS

    55-0006? ?

    56-0533 had white tail numbers and had ECM installed in January 1968. I was the C/C from late '67 until October '68.

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