Vietnam Air War GB - Extended!

I was a crewmember of USS Ranger in the Gulf of Tonkin (coast of North Vietnam) in 1972 during Linebacker II. We had two A-7E squadrons deployed with us. VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet" and VA-113 "Stingers".

subfixer

I was a crewmember of USS Ranger in the Gulf of Tonkin (coast of North Vietnam) in 1972 during Linebacker II. We had two A-7E squadrons deployed with us. VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet" and VA-113 "Stingers".

The Stingers had cool tail art. Glad to be of service. We lost one of them over the North during that operation. The pilot was believed to have drowned after ejection over the Gulf after being hit by groundfire.

Hi guys......slowly I've started to paint......here same shots.....Ciao Enrico

Thanks Prof!!!

That stinks about the pilot Subfixer, especially if he had ejected safely.

Definately excellent work Enrico! Is that the Trumpeter or Monogram kit?

Hi Troublemaker66.....this is the old monogram kit completely rescribed.Ciao Enrico.

troublemaker66

Here`s a question for the experts....was the A-7 Corsair II flown in the Viet Nam War? I had the A-7 and A-8 kits on top of each other and started building the A-7 (was supposed to start the Crusader)..oops. I think it wasn`t flown in the war but want to be sure. TIA.

Len

Len,

Both the F-8 and the A-7 were flown extensively in 'Nam.  We had two squadrons of A-7's in CVW-11 on the Kitty Hawk in '70-'71 on Yankee.  When I first got to Miramar in '68, there were still a number of F-8 squadrons deploying to SEA on a regular basis.

Ord

attila1@earthlink.net

stik,

Thanks for the info, I asked their modeling sight and their rep said "maybe Mk 82's".

So I guess it just wasn't documented.

Jeff

Why not email the Senator? Tell him that you are a registered voter, are building a model of the aircraft that he flew on his last combat mission and would like to know what ordinance he was carrying that day. His email should be public record for his constituents. The records exist somewhere, but as to it being easily found is another matter.

Old Ordie

Len,

Both the F-8 and the A-7 were flown extensively in 'Nam.  We had two squadrons of A-7's in CVW-11 on the Kitty Hawk in '70-'71 on Yankee.  When I first got to Miramar in '68, there were still a number of F-8 squadrons deploying to SEA on a regular basis.

Ord

F-8s flew from the begining at TonkinGulf, to the last. They were the only fighters that could be carried on the angle deck Essex class carriers- Intrepid, Hancock, Oriskany, Bonne Homme Richard, and all the others that served in SEA waters.... Only When those carriers were retired from line duty could the F-8s be retired from the VF squadrons. Truly the last of the gunfighters.

Hi Everyone,

I posted this in another place but this probably would be a good place to post it as well.  I have put together a list of aircraft used by the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War.  Please, before anybody starts pointing out that I left something out, this is only for the Air Force and does not include any of the other branches of service:

That's a staggering list of AC there, bro.

Old Ordie

That's a staggering list of AC there, bro.

It was a long war!  We practically went straight from the Korean War into the Vietnam War beginning November 1, 1955 and we pulled out August 15, 1973.  But we were still supporting even though ever so limiting after that until the end on April 30, 1975.  A total of 19 years, 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day!

Ken

I just discovered another version of the T-28 Trojan that was used in the Vietnam War by the USAF, the AT-28D.  So I have updated the list so here it is with the update:

Ken

Okay, seriously I have not updated this list for a good while and now I just found another aircraft to add to it.  The B-26B Invader.  So here is the list again with the B-26B included:

Ken

tcepilot

Im pretty sure the C-5a Galaxy wasnt an aircraft in nam guys.

Sorry, but it absolutely was.  My Dad was a flight engineer on the C-5A Galaxy and flew many missions into Vietnam.  In fact he was awarded an Air Medal for his actions that resulted in saving the lives and the aircraft from sabotage on a mission with the C-5A leaving Vietnam.

Ken

Once again I have to add to the list.  During Project "Farm Gate", B-26Cs and RB-26Cs were used in addition to the B-26Bs.  This was during a time when we were not officially involved in more than "advisors".  Hence the reason why it is just recently been revealed.  So here is the list again with the new info:

Ken

Actually "Farm Gate" was never a "classified"  Op,  like say "White Star", but their actual combat role was denied for awhile. And you might want to add the good old plain Jane C-47 to the list. Look up the"Dirty Thirty". They were there in the beginning days. And if you count the Mayaguez  incident, USAF direct combat in mid May, 1975, involvement ended after that. The final US fatalities due to direct combat with the Communists was there.

stikpusher

Actually "Farm Gate" was never a "classified"  Op,  like say "White Star", but their actual combat role was denied for awhile. And you might want to add the good old plain Jane C-47 to the list. Look up the"Dirty Thirty". They were there in the beginning days. And if you count the Mayaguez  incident, USAF direct combat in mid May, 1975, involvement ended after that. The final US fatalities due to direct combat with the Communists was there.

Thank you Sitk, you are absolutely correct.  I am downstairs at the moment on my laptop so I don't have the list on this computer to update with.  When I get back upstairs I will add the C-47 to the list.   

Ken

C-5A's were heavily involved in bringing re enforcements to Vietnam, including tanks, during the Easter Invasion of 1972.  A forerunner of what they would do the next year for Israel during Operation Nickel Glass.

Yes the C-5A was and still is a heavy lifter for the military.  In addition to tanks, it could haul small aircraft including Huey helicopters.  And it was used a lot.  When we started pulling out of Vietnam (during the Nixon administration), we started pouring equipment into Vietnam.

Back to the topic of the list, I have discovered a few more aircraft in addition to the plain Jane version of the C-47 that Stik pointed out.  That is my favorite part of modeling, the research!  That is one of the reasons I like this site is that there are a lot of people with first hand knowledge willing to share it with us.

I have found that the C-46 Commando and the U-10B Courier needed to be added to the list as well.  So here is the new list:

Ken

How about the EF-105F and F-5C?

pilot - I saw the first C-5A I ever saw sitting on the ground at Clark AFB in the P.I. on my way out of the TO in June of '71.  It was the biggest airplane I had ever seen, and I was amazed at it.  Among other things, I suppose, it was bringing AF personnel bound for various SEA in-country AFB's to Clark, where they were split up into groups for ferrying to this base or that.  I spent what might be the best three contiguous days of my life there in the transit barracks with several of those guys, all waiting for a plane to somewhere or other (OK, it was more in the EM and NCO clubs rather than 'in the barracks', LOL!).  They told me that the C-5A I saw was the first one to ever land at Clark.  They could have been pulling a swabbie's leg about that, I guess, but they seemed genuinely excited to have been on that particular flight, so I believed them.  Anyway, the C-5A was there, moving supplies/personnel to the TO.  I'm sure many more flights followed, and to more in-country types of places than Clark.

Cheers ,

Ordie

stikpusher

How about the EF-105F and F-5C?

Good call Stik!  I love it!  My goal is to make this list as complete and accurate as possible.  Here is the list again with the additions:

Ken

Hi Everyone,

After I added the C-46 Commando to the list I started looking for where I could find a kit for it.  It turns out if you want an injection molded kit the only game in town right now is Williams Brothers.  They make a kit in 1/72 scale.  I ordered it on Wednesday via email paying for it with PayPal ($42.95 plus shipping) and it arrived today (2 days).  Great service!  Here is a review of the kit:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/wb/kit_wb_72346.shtml 

and here is a link to the company website wher you can buy it:

http://www.williamsbrothersmodelproducts.com/ 

Ken

Now if I could just find a C-5A that's not resin, not an astronomical sum; a scale that won't take up my entire garage....etc. etc.

mikeymize

Now if I could just find a C-5A that's not resin, not an astronomical sum; a scale that won't take up my entire garage....etc. etc.

That would be a 1/144 scale Otaki/Revell kit that is long out of production.  They sell on eBay for around $100, sometimes less, sometimes more.  There is one now with a start bid for $89.99 here is a link

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SEALED-1-144-rare-vintage-Otaki-Lockheed-C-5a-Galaxy-MIB-/180985111007?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item2a238da1df 

Ken