VIETNAM AIRLIFT

(Sewart C-130E on takeoff roll at Dong Ha, November, 1965. Dong Ha was a VFR airport and this was an IFR day!)

Even before the first American advisory units arrived in South Vietnam in 1961, the skies over the emerald green country were a familiar place for the C-130 crews of the 315th Air Division. From their bases at Naha, Okinawa and Tachikawa AB, Japan, the C-130As of the 21st, 35th, 817th and 815th Troop Carrier Squadron frequently flew missions into Southeast Asia. Saigon was a regular stop, along with Bangkok and other airfields in Thailand. Pacific Air Forces C-130s flew supplies into Thailand for delivery to Laotian government forces during the Laotian Civil War in 1960, and when that war ended in a truce, the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron's E-Flight began supplying airplanes to the CIA for covert operations using civilian crews employed by Air America operating from Taklhi, Thailand.

After the arrival of the first American advisors in Vietnam in 1961, Saigon, Da Nang, Nha Trang and other bases in the country became regular stops for the 315th C-130s. The 6315th Operations Group at Naha flew scheduled missions into Nha Trang in support of Army Special Forces. Other missions brought in cargo for the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. As the US began escalating its role in Southeast Asia, 315th C-130s and C-124s airlifted elements of the Third Marines and the 173rd Airborne Brigade to South Vietnam. With the arrival of PACAF and TAC fighter squadrons, the division's role increased as the C-130s airfifted supplies into South Vietnam and Thailand for the new units.

In the summer of 1965, with the arrival of several American ground combat units, including the First Air Cavalry Division, 315th Air Division established an in-country C-130 operating location at Tan Son Nhut staffed by men and equipped with airplanes from Tactical Air Command C-130 squadrons who were on temporary assignement to the division from the United States. Within weeks, the four airplane detachment had grown to nine, as the value of the C-130 in in-country operations became apparent. Though the larger C-130 required somewhat longer runways then the C-123s which began airlift operations in support of the South Vietnamese in 1962, it carried more cargo at higher speeds over considerably longer distances. A single C-130 could do the work of three C-123s and a whole flight of the US Army's CV-2 "Caribous." The superiority of the C-130 became apparent during the battle of the Ia Drang Valley in October, 1965 as the Hercules airlifted fuel into Plieku and nearby Catecka Tea Plantation in support of the battle. From that time on, US operations in Vietnam depended on C-130 and C-123 airlift to bring in supplies, especially ammunition and fuel, for units in the field. The smaller Caribous, which transferred to the Air Force in 1966, supplied remote camps and operated into extremely short runways that were considered too short for the C-123s.

As MACV carried out it's "Search and Destroy" concept in 1966 and 1967, the in-country C-130 force airlifted units from one part of South Vietnam to another and delivered cargo and personnel into forward airfields. The increased role for the C-130s led to the assignment of eight Tactical Air Command squadrons to PACAF in late 1965, along with the 314th and 463rd wings. The two wings, one of which was equipped with C-130Es and the other the C-130B, complimented the 6315th Ops Group which became the C-130A equipped 374th Troop Carrier Wing in 1966. All were assigned to the 315th Air Division, though while they were in Vietnam, the C-130s were controlled by the 834th Air Division, which came into being in October, 1966.

The Marine Corps also operated C-130s in Vietnam, though they called their airplanes GV-1s. The Marine GV-1s deployed to Chu Lia and Da Nang from their base at Futema on Okinawa. Marine GV-1s operated both as tankers refueling Marine fighters and as transports. But even though the Marine transports provided some airlift for USMC units in I Corps, most of the Marine support was provided by the Air Force transports.

In late 1967 the tempo of the war increased, beginning in November when the North Vietnamese attacked Dak To. Though a few C-130s had been claimed by accident and occasionally by enemy action, after the first two years of C-130 operations experience and the more subdued role of the Communist guerrillas kept losses low. All of that changed at Dak To, when two C-130Es were destroyed and another damaged by rocket fire within seconds. Capt Joe Glenn and SSgt Joe Mack earned the Silver Star for taxiing their damaged airplane away from the burning wrecks. The Dak To attack was the beginning of a time that led to the C-130s becoming, in the eyes of the GIs in Vietnam, "mortar magnets."

In early 1968 the Communists surrounded the Marine Combat Base at Khe Sanh. When the base was completely cut-off, the Marines depended upon USAF and USMC C-130s, along with USAF C-123s and USMC CH-53s and CH-46s, as their sole means of supply. Though the weather at the camp was atrocious and enemy artillery rained down on the base, the airlift airplanes and helicopters kept the base supplied. When weather conditions prevented visual airdrops, Marine Ground Controlled Approach radar guided C-130s to the end of the runway, and the aircrew flew from there to the drop zone to deliver their supplies - sometimes without even seeing the ground! At the height of the seige Seventh Air Force restricted C-130 landings, but the larger transports turned to airdrop while the smaller C-123s landed when possible. The Air Force C-130s airdropped when the weather was too bad for the helicopters to fly. Other airdrop missions were flown to supply elements of the First Cavalry Divison as they moved into Camp Evans in preparation for Operation PEGASUS, the operation to relieve the Marines at Khe Sanh.

(C-130B from 29th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Khe Sanh)

Shortly after the relief of Khe Sanh the C-130s supported the First Cavalry Division in Operation DELAWARE, an invasion of the A Shau Valley, which had been in enemy hands since the fall of a Special Forces camp at A Shau in mid-1966. The C-130s had to drop in weather that was so bad that their fighter escorts, F-4 crews from Da Nang, refused to fly into the valley. Each drop required the C-130 crew to descend, without any form of outside guidance, through 5,000 feet of clouds into a narrow valley with mountains on each side that rose 2,000 feet above the floor. Visibilities beneath the clouds were not much more than a mile wth the bases at 3-500 feet. Just getting into the valley depended on every ounce of airmanship at the crew's disposal. To compound the problem, the enemy possessed heavy caliber antiaircraft guns as large as 37mm while every North Vietnamese soldier carried an automatic AK-47. On the first day of drops every airplane took hits, some of which resulted in serious battle damage, and one C-130 from the 29th TAS was destroyed when it crashed as the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing on the A Luoi airfield which served as a drop zone. For four days the drops continued in the bad weather and without the assigned fighter escort. Even though the fighters were there, they still refused to come down to suppress the enemy fire that greeted each C-130 crew, all of whom exhibited tremendous courage. One TAC crew, commanded by Captain Ross Kramer, was hit numerous time while on approach to the drop zone. It was not until they lost their second engine that the 316th TAW crew elected to salvo their load, which was later recovered.

The near loss of the C-130E allegedly led General William Momyer, the Seventh Air Force Commander, to pay a personal visit to the F-4 unit at Da Nang. Momyer, a fighter pilot himself, was well familiar with the C-130, which he considered to be an important national asset, of which he at one time said there was "not a mission in Vietnam worth the loss of a single C-130 and its crew." After the general's visit, so the C-130 crews who were there say, the fighter pilots were down in the valley and the enemy fire began to subside.

A few days after the airfield at A Luoi was open to C-7, C-123 and C-130 landings, the C-130 crews found themselves in the one episode in all of airlift history that demonstrates the courage required to fly transports in battle. On May 12, 1968 General Westmoreland ordered the evacuation of the camp at Kham Duc. Though the battle is most remembered for the flight made after it was over that earned C-123 pilot L/Col Joe M. Jackson a Medal of Honor, it was the C-130 and C-123 crews who went into the camp earlier in the day who were the real heroes of the battle.

At daybreak enemy fire claimed an Army CH-47 that had been sent in to begin the evacuation. The wreckage blocked the runway. After it was removed L/Col Daryl Cole's crew from the 35th TAS landed their C-130A under a hail of fire that shot out a main-gear tire and damaged an engine. When they stopped, the airplane was mobbed by Vietnamese, mostly dependents of the men at the camp. Cole attempted to take off but the weight was too great. The flight engineer used a bayonet and blow torch to cut away the remnents of the tire. Afterwards, Cole took-off and flew the badly damaged airplane to Cam Rhan Bay, a flight that earned the crew the 1968 MacKay Trophy. Shortly afted Cole took off, Major Ray D. Shelton landed in a C-123 and took with a planeload of evacuees.

After Major Shelton's flight, which took place at around noon, no other aircraft got into the camp, though some accounts have a C-130 making an airdrop of CDS containers. In mid-afternoon MACV ordered 834th Air Division to evacuate the camp, and the first of a string of C-130s that was orbiting nearby landed. Major Bernard Bucher loaded more then 200 Vietnamese civilians onto his C-130B, and then took-off - right into a crossfire from two NVA .50-caliber machinegun positions. The airplane shuddered, then crashed into a ball of fire in a ravine. There were no survivors.

Lt/Col William Boyd, Jr and his crew watched the NVA shoot down Bucher's airplane, knowing that their turn was next. Boyd approached the runway, but had to break off due to heavy fire and go around for another attempt. In spite of hundreds of hits by small arms, Boyd landed and his loadmaster put on "about 100" people. They took off in the opposite direction from the ill-fated B-model crew and made it to Chu Lai in an airplane that was filled with smoke. Someone wrote on the side of airplane with spray paint after they landed 'The Lucky Duc."

Lt/Col John R. Delmore of the 21st TCS at Naha was next to land. As they approached the runway, the C-130A was hit repeatedly by automatic weapons fire. Bullet holes appeared in the roof of the cockpit and smoke curled through the floor. The power lever controls were shot away, leaving Delmore with no control over the engines. He punched ALL FOUR engines into feather, and deadsticked the airplane to a landing! The crew was rescued a few minutes later by Army personnel. A Marine helicopter flew them to safety.

As the C-130s made their attempted landings, strike aircraft rained ordinance on the Communist attackers. US Army and Marine helicopter crews took advantage of the diversion to press into the fight and make pickups while other C-130s landed. Three more C-130s, an A, a B and an E-model, got into the camp and out again with refugees. The last of the three brought out the last defenders, but in the confusion the 834th AD command post ordered another C-130 to land and discharge three members of an airlift control team, including C-130 pilot Major Jack Gallagher, who had been brought out by L/Col. Cole's crew, and who had been ordered back into the camp. Lt/Col Jay VanCleef did as he was told, and the three men ran off into a camp that had been deserted. When no one showed up to be evacutated, VanCleef took off again as enemy fire was beginning to find the range of his airplane.

When everyone realized what had happened, a deafening silence fell over the airwaves. Then 834th told the airlifters to go in and try to bring out the three of their own who were now stranded. The next airplane in the string was a C-123 flown by L/Col Alfred Jeanotte's crew. They landed but did not see the three men until after they had taken off again. A second C-123 flown by Major Jesse Campbell and L/Col Joe M. Jackson made the next attempt. Miraculously, the C-123 was not hit and the three men ran out of a culvert where they were hiding and were pulled aboard by the flight engineer and loadmaster. Colonel Jackson received the Medal of Honor for the flight while Major Campbell was awarded the Air Force Cross. The two enlisted men, TSgt Trejo and SSgt Grubbs, were awarded the Silver Star for their role in the Medal of Honor-producing flight.

After 1968, the Vietnam War went into a period of heavy combat activity that saw the C-130 force frequently under fire as they supplied US Army units in the field, especially in the area along the Cambodian Border, where the Communists had shifted their attention. The C-130s lived up to their new nickname as "mortar magnets" as the arrival of a C-130 at one of the forward field usually brought in an artillery barrage within minutes. In 1969 the C-130s of the 463rd TAW began dropping bombs as they supported Operation COMMANDO VAULT. The C-130 Bombers dropped huge 10 and 15,000 pound bombs to clear landing zones that were assaulted into by Army and Marine helicopters. After dropping their pair of the awesome weapons, the C-130 crews spent the remainder of their crew day flying combat airlift missions.

Commando Vault was not the only mission involving C-130s in the strike role. In 1966 a pair of TAC C-130s had flown Operation Carolina Moon against the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. Since early 1965 the A-models from Naha had been flying Project Blind Bat , searching for targets and dropping flares for strike aircraft on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and, for a time, in North Vietnam. Other missions had involved dropping drums of contaminated fuel in an attempt to burn out the dense forests of Vietnam,

In 1966 a C-130 special operations mission was established at Nha Trang. The new unit flew specially modified C-130E(I ) Blackbirds delivering supplies to Special Forces teams operating in remote regions of South Vietnam and across the border in Laos and Cambodia, and, for a time, in North Vietnam.

After the invasion of Cambodia in 1970 the Vietnam War began winding down to a low ebb, in which it remained until the spring of 1972. Most American ground forces were withdrawn, and along with them, most of the C-130 squadrons. The A-model unit at Naha was inactivated, along with the B-model squadrons in the Philippines. The unit designations for the 314th and 463rd returned to the United States while the A and B model airplanes went to the reserves. The 374th designation went to the E-model unit which had been the 314th at CCK, Taiwan.

In the spring of 1972 the Communists launched a major new offensive. The town of An Loc was cutoff and taken under seige by North Vietnamese troops equipped with the most advanced antiaircraft weapons ever seen in Vietnam. Intense antiaircraft fire made helicopter operations impossible and prevented the South Vietnamese C-123 crews from supplying the besieged forces. The USAF was ordered to take over the mission. But the American C-130s initially fared little better. Three C-130s were shot down over An Loc, along with a Lockheed AC-130A "Spectre" Gunship that was reportedly hit by a SAM while providing fire suppression over the city. A turn to high-altitude drops of bundles rigged with parachutes thad did not retard the descent of the loads solved the problem of resupply at An Loc. Using the same radar that guided the C-130 bombers, the C-130s were able to drop from altitudes out of reach of the Communist guns, and the seige was broken.

Other C-130 missions during the 1972 Spring Invasion supported South Vietnamese troops in the battle for Kontum in the Central Highlands, while airdrops of supplies became a regular occurence. Special C-130s with All-Weather AirDrop capabilities (AWADS) were sent to Thailand from Pope and Little Rock to supplement the 374th C-130s. The special operations C-130E(I)s also flew airdrop missions using their special onboard airdrop equipment that allowed blind drops without outside guidance.

When the US and North Vietnam agreed to a ceasefire, 374th C-130s were the first American airplanes to land in North Vietnam for peaceful purposes in more than 20 years. For two weeks the C-130s flew into Hanoi in advance of the release of the POWS. On the day of the release, two C-130s brought in equipment to guide in the C-141s who were coming to pick up the POWS. The two C-130 crews, strictly by coincidence, had the honor of escorting each of the returning POWS to the waiting C-141s. Subsequent releases had the C-130 crews serving as escorts after the first POWS were so complimentary of the fact that the first Americans they talked too were combat airmen like themselves.

After the 1973 ceasefire, the C-130s continued supporting US efforts in Laos and Cambodia. When Communist Khymer Rouge surrounded the Cambodian capital of Phom Penh, a massive airlift was mounted to supply the city. To avoid the attention the possible loss of an Air Force crew would have drawn in the media, the Air Force contracted with a civilian firm known as BIRDAIR for civilian C-130 crewmembers, nearly all of whom were drawn from the ranks of recently retired and discharged military C-130 personnel, along with many who were in reserve units. The little-known Cambodian Airlift eclipsed every airlift in history, including the Berlin Airlift. It was made more difficult because of the presence of enemy forces equipped with antiaircraft guns and SA-7 missiles.

When Communist troops began advancing toward Saigon in 1975, the American Embassy planned to evacuate the city using USAF C-130s. But the airlift was cancelled when Tan Son Nhut airfield came under heavy artillery fire and the Embassy was evacuated by helicopters instead. During the last days of the war South Vietnamese C-130s airlifted refugees out of airfields in advance of the NVA forces, and dropped Blu-82 15,000 pound bombs that were flown in to Tan Son Nhut from Clark by USAF C-130s. The C-130s brought American and South Vietnamese out of Tan Son Nhut on their return flights. A USAF C-130 was destroyed by shelling on the last day of the war.

The Air Force lost a total of 62 C-130s in Vietnam. of which 52 were assigned to airlift tasks at the time of their loss (the others were gunships, rescue or airlift airplanes on special ops at the time they were lost.) Of those lost during airlift operations, 21 were shot down, 10 were lost to enemy action on the ground and 21 were written off as operational losses. The Marines lost a KC-130 at Khe Sanh and another during aerial refueling operations when it collided with two USMC F-4s.

Other links - Phu Cat Air Base AirEvac Pictures The 314th Tactical Airlift Wing Fact Sheet: 41st Airlift Squadron Fact Sheet: Pope Air Force Base Pacific Air Forces AIRLIFT USA Fairchild C-123 Provider USMC C-130s Combat Talon American Heroes MC-130E/H Combat Talon I/II Lockheed AC-130A "Spectre" Gunship

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(The Low-Altitude Parachute Delivery method known was LAPES was used for pinpoint deliveries of cargo to units in the field.)