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Where you in Vietnam during January through May 1969? The museum has various radio transmission excerpts of combat missions of the 71st SOS in Vietnam and we have listed many of the call signs involved in those missions, on ground and in the air. If you were part of any of those missions and know who these call signs represent, please contact the museum as we would like your personal recollections for our historical file and possible use on the web site. Any donations of photographs and artifacts for that time would be great assets for the museum. The call signs may not be spelled correctly as they were transcribed from the actual Shadow Gunship radio transmissions. Vietnam Missions Call Signs during January through May 1969: The Shadow Gunships calls signs in these radio transmissions were Shadow 78, Shadow 76, Shadow 45, Shadow 46, Shadow 63 and Shadow 47. The 71SOS AC-119G Gunships were all designated as "Shadow". Other 1969 Call Signs: Coal Mine 14, Flaxen Recall, Raider 23, Lofty Stylist, Bolo Swimmer, Painful Chain, Black Arrow, Black Arrow Big Daddy, Cement Canoe 41, Nitrate Bunker, Black Pony, Carbon Napkin, Haboo or Habu, Hawk, Gravel 47, Swanee Target, Jagged Chunk, Fuzzy Leftist, Patriot Pealess, Ferndale, One Five on the ground talking to Shadow 45 (note: One Five with within 20 meters of Charlie during this radio exchange), Six Zero in helicopter, with KIA's on board under fire talking to Shadow 76. If you can help us, contact the museum through this web site E-mail or send written correspondence to our mailing address. We are also looking for donations of Vietnam U.S. military grid maps used in 1969. Some of the grid coordinates of the area of operations we are looking for are (Are you ready to copy?) 425-074, 088-475, 095-477, 573-965, 572-963, 572-960 and 568-958. Shadow 77 Crew pictured here.
This photo is from Robert Branscomb, crew member of Shadow 77. In the photo from left to right are Major Thomas H. Cougill(P), Maj. Paul Maxwell (C/P), Capt. John McGary (Nav/NOS), Capt. James Davis (NOS/Nav), SSgt. Bart H. Dye (F/E), SSgt. Robert Branscomb (I/O), SSgt. Thomas Newbold (A/G), Sgt. Russell Steffensmeier (A/G). Click on photographs for full size viewing and scroll on the larger photos
71st SOS Glossary of Terms in Vietnam
1000th mission for 71st SOS "A" Flight, Nah Trang AFB Vietnam. Photo by USAF Det.13, 600th Photo Squadron AAVS, May 1969. Lower left to right: Colonel John W. Lewis, Lt Colonel Edmon C. Tucker, Captain Bill Scanlon, Sgt. Bernie Westendorf. Top left to right: Sgt. Phil Bender, Captain Bill Withuhn, Sgt. Clay Hedge. Phil Bender.
On the way to Vietnam. LTC Pyle on board a C141 Starlifter talking to the pilot with the navigator in the foreground.
Bill Hamilton Thanks to Captain Bill Hamilton for many of the 71st SOS photographs.
Captain Bob Reess in the cockpit of a 71st SOS AC-119G Gunship in Vietnam and Bill Hamilton standing next to a gunship.
A bad guy bullet hole through the boom of a 71st SOS gunship and a 71SOS AC-119G Gunship on take off roll Phan Rang Air Base Vietnam
Ben White 71st SOS AC119G Gunship gunner and Glenn another gunner
71st SOS AC-119G on the ground in Vietnam and a gun computer on board the AC-119G
AC-119G mini guns (During the 71st's pre deployment training, the C-119G Gunships could be seen firing their mini guns at targets at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.)
Flare launcher and IR light on the AC-119G
Camp Alpha Vietnam and captured AAA at Tan Son Nhut before shipment to the United States
A front view of a 71st AC-119G gunship in Vietnam and C Flight mascot
C Flight hats and Vietnam map and Major Maxwell C Flight
Crew 3 C Flight next to "Ghost Rider" AC119-G and Mel Fleener, engineer standing by "Burks Law" AC119-G
Captain Bill Hamilton next to "The City of Columbus" AC119G and a gunship crew planning a mission.
Here is a photo of one of the AC-119G Gunships in for repairs at Chu Lai 1969. This photo was donated by Lore Wiseman, Sergeant, USMC. He was a Marine ordnance man in Chu Li at that time.
The photos documents and information about the C-119 Gunships at Phan Rang were donated by Master Sergeant James E. Sands USAF (Ret.) who served at Phan Rang Air Base 1969-70. Sands trained on AC119 Gunships FLIR, NOS and Side Looking Radar the Weapons Fire Control Systems at Lockbourne Air Force Base 1969 with the 18th SOS as did the 71st SOS the year prior.
Sands working on AC-119 fire control systems at Phan Rang. The 71st SOS left their AC-119G's in Vietnam upon returning home in June of 1968 so they could be used by follow-on units. No AC-119 Gunships were to return to the US. Former 71st SOS member and museum member, Owen Stickeles stayed in Vietnam after the 71st returned to Bakalar Air Force Base and was at Phan Rang the later months of 1969.
AC-119 Gunships firing and flare illumination near Phan Rang Vietnam 1969-70 era. . Lines of Gunship tracers rake the area around Phan Rang.
AC-119 Gunships at Phan Rang. The AC-119G Shadow Gunship on the left is one of the 71st SOS left behind for other follow on units to use.
Gunship nose art and the interior view of the gun positions.
One of the AC-119 Gunships firing at a target near Phan Rang.
According to Sergeant Sands, the Air Force dropped leaflets near Phan Rang to encourage the enemy to give up, These are some of those leaflets that would drift his way from off base and he picked them up.
This is the graphic used by a unit that dropped leaflets. According to Colonel Al Huess (USAF Ret.), a former AC-119G Gunship pilot with the 71st SOS who was based at Nha Trang , said that aircraft would drop leaflets asking for the enemy to surrender and as the Gunships returned back from their mission to base they would expend all their remaining ammunition where the leaflets were dropped to encourage them surrender.
Pictured here are O-2 and O-1 aircraft that sometimes were used to drop leaflets as well as used in Forward Air Controller missions.
An Air Force Technician and Staff Sergeant James Hammack working on the AC-119 Gunship Side Looking Radar at Phan Rang. TSGT Clarence Gray and a technician working on the FLIR Forward Looking IR system on a AC-119.
Sergeant James Sands working on AC-119's at Phan Rang.
AC-119 nose view and the business end of a 20mm gatling gun.
The AC-119K "Stinger" Gunship is easily identifiable with two J85-GE-17 jet engines in under wing pods. Some of the AC-119G and AC-119K Gunships were turned over to the VNAF in 1971.
AC-119K Gunships front view showing the jet engine pods under the wing.
The photo is of a broken Gunship. This photo was given to Sergeant Sands by another photographer in Vietnam. A color photo of a under wing gun side view of a AC-119 Gunship.
Various photos of one of the buildings fondly call a "Hooch" at Phan Rang. Note the liberal use of sand bags. This section is to tell some of the story of the AC-119 Gunships, their crews and the people who made them work in Vietnam. |
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Send your questions or comments about this web site or
the museum to:
lakegc@aol.com Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum
4742 Ray Boll Boulevard Columbus, Indiana 47203
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71st
Special Operations Squadron in Vietnam
