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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Some Unusual Aircraft I Remember

Greetings and Salutations:

When I was a soldier in Viet Nam, I saw a couple of aircraft that I never see anymore, not even here in the United States of America.

I wonder why, since both of them look like they'd be fun to fly.

When I was in Saigon, stationed with the Phu Lam Signal Battalion, I frequently observed an odd looking airplane taking off from nearby Ton Son Nhut Air Force Base.

Since then, I've learned that it was called a "Porter", and was manufactured in Switzerland.

It was an Air America plane, not part of the United States Air Force, and at the time, guys told me that Air America was really a secret airline operated by our Central Intelligence Agency.

It was a single engine propeller-driven monoplane, with the wing above the cockpit cabin, and a nose which was extraordinarily long.

The tail of the airplane was not of a normal curved shape, but looked exactly like a rectangular board standing on end.

Since those long ago days, I've learned that the Air America "Porter" airplanes were designed to land and take off on VERY short mountainside airstrips, and they were flying in and out of Laos.

But since those bygone years, when I was a soldier in a far-off war, I've never seen another "Porter" airplane.

Someone told me that the Swiss manufactured "Porter" could not be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, and that's why we never see them flying in the United States.

I wonder if that's true, and if so, why?

Another unusual airplane I remember seeing in Viet Nam was a specially designed reconnaissance aircraft, used by the United States Army.

I don't remember what the plane was called, but it looked like a glider, with a single-seat cockpit and a low powered propeller engine, for it had really long wings, flew only at night, going very slow and very close to the ground, with the engine making almost no noise, and showing no lights.

I first read about the plane in the "PACIFIC STARS & STRIPES" newspaper, and one night, while I was on perimeter guard duty at Camp Eagle, one of those planes flew just above my head.

If I remember correctly, that plane flew just after sunset and just prior to sunrise.

When I left Viet Nam, I was assigned to the Combat Developments Experimentation Command at Hunter-Liggett Military Reservation, a very isolated location where experimental tactics and equipment could be tested and evaluated.

One of the items being tested was the Cheyenne attack helicopter.

It was like a Cobra, but bigger, noisier, and more heavily armed.

The first time I encountered one, I heard it long before I saw it, for it sounded like a Second World War fighter plane making a strafing run.

It was kind of spooky seeing it suddenly appear above the forest, but I did admire it.

However, the Army decided not to adopt it.

Thank you.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

C-124 Globemaster Memories

Greetings to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

As I walk through the underground tunnel linking the Scott Building and the Sheridan Building here at the Ol' Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C., I observe a framed color official United States Air Force photograph of a Douglas C-124 "Globemaster" flying over the Statue of Liberty in the harbor of New York City.

I love looking at that photograph, for it brings back a fond memory.

I can't remember the exact year, but I'm guessing it was the Winter of 1972, and I was a soldier, just back from Viet Nam, and trying to get to North Carolina to visit my folks.

I went to McChord Air Force Base, which is adjacent to Fort Lewis and Tacoma, Washington, to try and get a "military hop" going East.

One of the benefits of being in the military service is free transportation on military aircraft, if space is available, and the crew's mission will allow it.

As luck would have it, I caught a C-124 "Globemaster", carrying two U.S. Army UH-1 "Iroquois" helicopters, bound for Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

NOTE: Just about everybody calls the UH-1 helicopter a "Huey", because it was manufactured by Hughs Aircraft, but its correct official nickname was "Iroquois".

At the time, I knew this was something VERY special, for the C-124 "Globemaster" was an old airplane and would not be flying much longer.

It was cold and noisy, but I covered up with some blankets and slept most of the way.

We stopped at Gray Army Airfield, which is at Fort Hood, Texas, where the two helicopters were unloaded.

A few years later, I would be stationed at Fort Hood.

The flight of the old C-124 "Globemaster" resumed, ending at Kelly Air Force Base.

There, I caught a C-141 "Starlifter" which was headed for McGuire Air Force Base, which is adjacent to Fort Dix, New Jersey.

From there, I rode a Greyhound bus to North Carolina.

I remember touring a C-124 "Globemaster" on Armed Forces Day (I don't remember where - - - Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, maybe?) and looking out the window onto the wing, which seemed to stretch for miles.

You entered the aircraft up a ramp, through gaping double doors in the nose of the plane.

It was so huge, you had to wonder how the plane ever flew?

So, every time I see a C-124 "Globemaster", either in a photograph, on a television show, or a movie, or parked on display at a museum, I experience fond nostalgia for that old airplane, even though I only got to ride in it just once.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

" - - - the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, and we in dreams behold the Hebrides."