Caribou Crews, Vietnam Mid 1960's
 

Old Army Caribou Pilot here. 6 years Active Duty, 6 years Reserve. Caribou TO and IN Vietnam October '64 to October '65. Then 32 years flying for AAL . Last flight was a B-757, New Year's Eve, 1997. Would enjoy sharing Bou Stories. Give me a shout. Dave

Super machine - the Aussies only retired theirs a decade ago.
Lot of people would have liked to see them replaced by a Turbo-prop Bou!

We had them in Oman during the Dhofar 'War'. Great aircraft for short strips.
Rather dirty to work on, especially round the engines. They just seemed to go on forever.
Bit of TLC after the last flight of the day and they were ready for anything.
Sad to to see the last two fly out to their new home in Canada

You might want to check out Vietnam to Western Airlines written by Bruce Cowee. Bruce was a Caribou pilot in the Air Force, He has written four volumes describing individuals that went straight for Nam to Western, Joe great hair raising stories.

Caribou Association

The C-7A Caribou Association

RAAF operated 29 aircraft. 35 Squadron served in Vietnam 08/64 to 02/72. Three aircraft lost.

A4-171 Crashed 30/08/67, An Thoi Vietnam. Into water 300m short of runway.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9cce4e6aad.jpg

A4-185 Crashed 18/11/64, A Ro Vietnam. It crashed into a ditch dug across the runway, fuselage converted to a command post following recovery of wings and engines.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....35fdae81bb.jpg


A4-193 Destroyed 29/03/70, That Son Vietnam. Destroyed by a mortar attack when on the ground.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....bdf7a0df83.jpg

One RAAF front seat crew learnt not to throw dross out the cockpit window, remains of lunch tossed out and impacted the autofeather probe, which did what it's supposed to do. Checked serviceable I guess.

ADF Serials - Caribou

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2d4a2925ea.jpg

A US twin-engine transport Caribou crashes after being hit by American artillery near Quang Ngai City, Vietnam. US artillery accidentally shot down the ammunition-laden plane, which crossed a firing zone while trying to land at the US Duc Pho Special Forces camp. All three crewmen died in the crash. Hiromichi Mine made this photo probably during the American military Operation Hood River, a search and destroy mission in the Quang Ngai Province, between 2 and 13 August 1967, conducted by the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. It shows a tragic scene of war casualty, caused by friendly fire. The plane was shot down, while it was trying to land at the Base Area 121, near Ha Thanh, about 15 kilometers west of Quang Ngai City and about 40 kilometers northwest of Duc Pho. Although a cease-fire order had been issued, this command was not received by the battery commander. Subsequently, the Caribou flew into the line of fire of a 155mm howitzer. The shell blew off its entire rear fuselage and tail section. The three crew members, Captain A.E. Hendrickson, Captain J.D. Wiley, and Technical Sergeant Z.A. Carter, died in the crash. Following the accident, the US Army and US Air Force tightened up their coordination procedures for air operations near artillery fire zones. The photograph was posted to every US Caribou briefing room in Vietnam, as a reminder that the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army were not the only problem for pilots in Vietnam. A USAF crew following take over of Caribou assets from the Army under the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966.

Receiving arty clearance was part and parcel of all Vietnam low level ops, as you never knew who was shooting what where. One Huey back seat crew had the experience of seeing a dark shape enter one door and exit the other, thankfully both doors were open, as they usually were.

The tragic one is the turboprop conversion crash on its final approval flight where the owner lost his son? It’s on the web but I won’t post it here, they had left the gust locks in.
We had one visit us in the U.K. with mag problems. One of the guys was able to. Sort it for them, very rugged reliable aircraft. The Turboprop conversion would have given them a second life.

Welcome to the forums.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2cbfc4d76a.jpg
Pic is of aa with his second favourite a/c (the C130K is first ). Keep the 'Bou' pics and tales coming please.

Flew into Cape May NJ in 2002 and was surprised to find around 20 Caribou parked up awaiting conversion to turbines by Pen Turbo Aviation. See there are still at least 18 there mostly intact plus another 8 forward fuselages...

Google maps

There are four volumes of -:

Caribou Airlines: A History of USAF C-7A Caribou Operations in Vietnam: Volume II: Tet Offensive - 1968 (Volume 2)

highly recommended.
Four volumes in total in chronological order.
Hope it helps
David

This is the story of one Australian pilot’s tour of duty flying the Caribou in Vietnam.
https://airpower.airforce.gov.au/APD...in-Vietnam.pdf

Not quite the same, but had a flight in one out of Townsville on the Tropical Survival SERE Course in 99. Wasn’t quite sure what to make of it as there was more oil on the floor and stuff dangling than I have seen in any ac - except a ‘53. I think the airframe was due for retirement, but it was without doubt 10,000 rivets flying in formation. Nonetheless, it’s ability to get in and out of tight strips and jungle clearings was pretty impressive!

Re Post 7 and the Malaysian version. At Labuan, the RMAF (TUDM) had a detachment with an RAAF training officer called Don Melvin, who was very helpful to the RAF (1966/7) and a great guy to have around.

Unfortunately, a Caribou was lost after an engine failure and IIRC some issues with fuel management to the live engine. Eventually the aircraft crashed in the jungle and the co-pilot was killed. The captain had had a similar incident in a twin pioneer some years before.

An RAF Wg Cdr on secondment, did the BoI and he asked for details of the loads carried and lost. Inevitably, the opportunity to 'write off' stuff was too good to miss and some fairly extravagant claims were made. The wg cdr announced in the bar one night that the crash was caused by the aircraft being 20000 lbs over its max AUW! - he then got down to the real business, which included the RMAF's own response to the accident when first reported, which might be politely described as: 'initially inadequate'.

(The story of how a Beverley was overloaded by 7000 lbs at Labuan is for another Thread on another day!)

Old Duffer

Surely there WAS a 'turboprop version' of the Caribou, the DHC-5 Buffalo?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b64f6f460e.jpg
RMAF 'Bou' strip landing .

pr00ne
When the Buffalo was demonstrated in Oman it was found to be nowhere as good as the Caribou.
Landings into desert strips caused too much damage to the props.
It was only any good at proper airports!

Compass Call, RCAF would likely beg to differ with that comment. They used the Buffalo for SAR Work along with the Twin Otter and both these aircraft went into some very unprepared airstrips with no issues that I'm aware of?

The Caribou became obsolete when the Russians developed an oil-seeking missile.

Any-one got a copy of the 'Fly Slow Land Short' documentary from the 90's (?) they can stick on you tube ?
Used to be there. Disappeared.

If anyone hasn't seen it, "Treasure of the Humboldt Glacier" is a documentary about Darryl Greenamyer's ill-starred attempt to recover the B-29 "The Kee Bird" from somewhere NE of Thule in Greenland. Some great Caribou action in it, used to airlift supplies, B-29 engines and spares and other essential kit into the site, a good illustration of the type's ruggedness.

Here you go Tredi

Cheers Nutty :ok: - though my copy has an English accented narrator ! :p

Second vid reminds me of seeing several Canadian registered Buffaloes passing through Gatwick in the '70s on delivery to Mauritania, Sudan or somewhere. Forty odd years later I'd swear one of them levitated off the runway in a flat attitude with plenty of flap, stuffed its nose down a bit and climbed away in a rather helicopter-like attitude...

Kee Bird
 

Caribou appears a few times in the documentary

I remember many years ago, seeing a photograph of a US Army Caribou operating in Vietnam with an RAAF outer wing fitted, left side I think, the Australian wing markings were clearly visible. I believe the photo caption said it was a sign of the, "Excellent cooperation between the two allies in keeping aircraft serviceable" or something like that...

There certainly was excellent cooperation between the two countries. Perhaps your story may be a payback on the fortunes of RAAF A4-173, had the right wing damaged in an accident 07 May 65 which was replaced with a US Army unit, another accident on 16 August 66 damaged the left wing which was replaced with a US Army unit. Details on the link.

https://qam.com.au/portfolio/de-havi...a4-173-cn-173/


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f8bf5c693b.jpg

Yup, that's the one although my memory of the details seemed to have failed me.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ef93a45516.jpg
Another RAMAF Caribou 'arrival'

megan :-
No wonder A4-173 is a memorial to all the RAAF personnel who served in Vietnam. What a survivor! More like Trigger's broom than an original aircraft, but all the more credit to those who had toiled in theatre and back home to make sure that this 'write-off' wasn't. Her star and bars are witness to the bonds forged in a very nasty war indeed. Many thanks for the link megan :-

https://qam.com.au/portfolio/de-havi...a4-173-cn-173/

Blimey, nothing worse than an aircraft reduced to produce, with its future secured as parts, the paper trail of what’s been removed often does not exist, I have rebuilt a couple of crashed aircraft in the past and it’s an absolute pain figuring out what’s missing and what went where.

RAAF Caribou at Vung Tau
 

On the 31st of March 1966 I made my first flight to Vung Tau where due to a fire fight taking place not far from the aerodrome perimeter we, the crew of RAAF C130A Hercules A97-206, were instructed to hold off until there was less risk of attracting ground fire. This picture that I took depicts five RAAF Caribou and, if you look carefully, a goodly number of Iroquois helicopters positioned along the sides of the main runway, ready to receive reinforcements and lift them into battle.

After the action had died down a little we landed on the PSP runway and were then taken by a couple of the Australian Caribou crews first to their palatial but sparsely equipped villa and thence to the beach. Here we counted close to 30 helicopters in the sky just inland and, in stark contrast to the fighting, Vietnamese traders selling lobster thermidor from their shacks by the shore!

I was reminded of my visit after reading the excellent posts and videos regarding Caribou operations in Viet Nam provided above by Cloudee and lancs, for which many thanks. Our visits in 'A' Model Australian Hercules to Bien Hoa, Tan San Nhut and Vung Tau were necessarily brief, and although back at RAAF Base Richmond I had heard some stories about operating Caribou in Viet Nam from those who had returned, there had never been as much detail as these posts provided. We never remained overnight in the country but after flying within Viet Nam repositioned to Ubon in Thailand where No 79 Squadron had some Sabres ready to defend the Base or flew back to RAF/RAAF Butterworth in Malaya. Butterworth was the initial destination for the Service we provided from Richmond via an overnight stop at Pearce WA and the refuelling post on Cocos Island. 'Confrontation' with Indonesia at that stage prevented us from staging via Darwin (as we were able to do later on).

Whilst flying Hercules with No 36 Squadron RAAF I boarded a Caribou only once, simply with the aim of making a parachute jump from the ramp into warm blue waters 2,000ft below just to the north of Williamtown NSW. I was a little surprised to learn that we wouldn't have a reserve 'chute, for on all the parachute dropping sorties I had flown in suitably-equipped transport aeroplanes our 'passengers' had always enjoyed having the presence of a reserve ... just in case! Once a year the RAAF offered the opportunity for serving personnel to volunteer to make a parachute jump, and there were sufficient numbers that day to require the Caribou to undertake three sorties.

This all goes to prove that flying/operating transport aircraft can at times be challenging and exhausting, but more often than not immensely satisfying at the end of the day when despite all the difficulties that crop up from time to time you know that the task has been completed successfully.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6fd226afed.jpg
Aerial View of Vung Tau taken on 31 March 1996 depicting RAAF Caribou and Iroquois

The newer DHC-5 Buffalo was an entirely different model. And yes, there were several Turbo-Bou's cobbled together! ... David

Are there are any still flying in the States/ Canada?

There are at least a couple still flying with HARS museum in NSW Australia.
Well worth a visit if you have the misfortune of landing in Australia!

N90:-

Great pic Tim, but shouldn't the date be 1966?

Hope you are keeping well.

Chug

Vung Tau in 1966
 

Chug has observed quite correctly that the description below the image of Caribou and Iroquois at Vung Tau in post No 31 showed an unlikely date of 1996 instead of 1966 as I had written in the accompanying text. I am grateful for my friend of many years and shared types for pointing this out, and so now submit a second photograph that was taken as our C130A departed from Vung Tau that same day, 31st of March 1966, en route to Butterworth.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f48a3e0db0.jpg
View from the flight deck of a C130A departing from Vung Tau on the 31st of March 1966

N90, another amazing pic! The mass of hicopleters parked alongside the runway testifies to the intense war being conducted then. If you had performed a R/W excursion similar to my Hastings one, it doesn't bear thinking about what the consequences could have been. Unlike you (serving with the RAAF), I only landed once in Vietnam during the war (which Harold Wilson very resolutely included us out of). We took a load of Red Cross supplies into Saigon (we were told they would be on the streets for sale within hours!). On final approach, gear down and landing flap, a B-57 flew left to right immediately in front of us firing ordnance (the VietCong were attacking the suburbs). We rather irritably reported this to the tower who replied by simply clearing us to land. Once on the ground you had to vacate the R/W ASAP. Someone else was either immediately behind you for Ldg or T/O. To encourage you in this need there were two manned bulldozers, one each side of the R/W. If for any reason you could not vacate, you shut down and evacuated the a/c before it was then forced to vacate as baled metal.

Often flew past Vietnam though, going to/from HK. The Violet Picture indicator (localiser type needle) was either welded to the LHS or RHS of the gauge, depending on which way we were going. It was monitoring 243Mhz!

I watched a episode of 'Plane Resurrection' last night, on the PBS America channel, about the last flying Caribou in the USA. It is operated by the Cavenaugh Museum. Here is a clip

For years those C130A's were parked at RAAF Laverton. Since refurbished and sold I think..

Our unit had a line of Hueys parked along the side of the strip at the city that had to be destroyed in order to save it, Ben Tre, early morning, Thai C-123 landing, PSP still slick with overnight dew, one engine fails to go into reverse, off runway excursion demolishing a Huey, crew sunbathing on the Huey roof proved not to be asleep and escaped prior to impact. Photo of incident at bottom.
A day at work.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a6011d219c.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d0f812589b.png
Under wing jet buried in Huey cockpit.
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Flew the BOU in the RAAF in PNG and NAM and then in SOAF, OMAN. Very fond memories and keep in touch with mates through the AVIOR Association in OZ.
ULH