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Fig. 6-11. AC-130 "Spectre"
was a modification of the Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" cargo plane. This gunship
saw service from Thailand from the late 1960s until the end of the war.
It is one of several Vietnam-era aircraft still in use today. |
 |
Fig. 6-13. The Fairchild AC-119
was yet another conversion of a cargo plane to gunship. There were two
versions, the "G" (shown here) and more sophisticated "K." The AC-119s
were stationed at several Thai bases near the Laotian border. |
 |
Fig. 6-15. This view of the
General Dynamics F-111 shows how it got its unflattering nickname, "Aardvark."
(It is interesting to note that the F-111 did not enter service with an
'authorized' nickname, which was quite unusual.) This was taken on its
first deployment, to Takhli in 1968, under "Combat Lancer." Three of the
six planes went down, but the F-111 was vindicated four years later when
it returned to Thailand for another shot. It went on to become one of the
Air Force's most long-lived, successful fighter-bombers. |
 |
Fig. 6-18. This photo of the
Ho Chi Minh Trail shows the road cut by U.S. bombs; however, the cuts were
simply bypassed (and struck again and again). |
 |
Fig. 6-25. The mighty Boeing
B-52 was used to 'carpet bomb' enemy targets. The model most commonly used,
the "D," was modified to carry up to 108 quarter-ton bombs. B-52s were
based on Guam and other far-flung locations; in Thailand they were stationed
at U-Tapao, a Royal Thai Navy airfield on the southern coast, which placed
them closer to their targets. |
 |
Fig 6-26. The aftermath of a
B-52 strike...rows of neatly placed craters (and debris). |
 |
Fig 8-6. 122mm AAA guns are
placed atop a dike 30 miles southwest of Haiphong to thwart U.S. warplanes
taking part in Linebacker I (spring '72). |
 |
Fig. 9-4. US Marines land on
Koh Tang Island in 1975 to free the SS Mayaguez, a merchant ship
that was captured by the Khmer Rouge. The leathernecks were supported by
Air Force tactical aircraft; USAF planes also bombed other locations on
the island. This was the last combat mission for the USAF in Thailand. |
