FOX<= /span> FAX

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Journal of the 19= 9^th Recon Airplane Company RVN 1967-70 Vol.&nb= sp; 4, Issue 2 Feb 07

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Swamp Fox Coordin= ator 2004-6 Bob Woolley - Fox 26 &n= bsp; bjdubu@ao= l.com

Reunion Coordinator C&C &nb= sp; &nb= sp; Don Nicholson - Fox ?? lontri= ps0@aol.com

Unit Historian = &nb= sp; Charley Baker - Fox 46 cbkbwdb@starpower.net=

Patch and Shirt Project &n= bsp; Gary Simon - Fox 16 GaryLBB@aol.com

Web Master / Commo Chief = ; Ray "Doc" Jennings - Fox 032A r.jenning= s@KTIS.net

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WEB SITE www .SwampFox199thRAC.co= m

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Aldridge photo

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Vinh Long 1968 (Robertson photo)

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Udvar-Hazy

This is a good news = and not so good news report that leaves us at least in the ½ glass full level for the future.

Good News: The Smith= sonian has an Army Cessna O-1A (L-19) Bird Dog in the queue to go into the Udvar-Hazy museum facility near Dulles in Northern Virginia. An information sheet concerning the Birddog is attached. Harry Townsend may have ferried this aircraft from Japan i= nto the Korean War. It seems that the first 6 years of log book records are missing which include that period.<= o:p>

Not So Good News:&nb= sp; In December I learned from the gentlemen responsible for the movement of aircr= aft that the L-19 is to be moved to Udvar-Hazy in a= bout 2 years. Earlier I was told that we might be able to have this date mov= ed forward into 2007 to coincide with the 50^th Anniversary year of = the AAAA.

Good News for the Future: If AAAA and other Birddog organizations wish, we can seek to arrange an acceptance get- together/ceremony to officially unveil the L-19 = in the museum. I am in contact with the Smithsonian Communications Office and have been advised that a special events office might be the one to work= if Udvar-Hazy supports such events. My contact will receive this note and advise me of the details.

Best wishes

Curtis J. Herrick, J= r.

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Cessna O-1A (L-19) Bird Dog<= /h1>

Wingspan<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>

10.97 m (36 ft.)=

Length

7.86 m (25 ft. 9= 1/2 in.)

Height

2.22 m (7 ft. 3 = 1/2 in.)

Weight

726.3 kg (1,614 = lb) empty

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During the late 1940s the U.S. Army began to loo= k for a replacement of its Piper L-4 and Stinson L-5 observation aircraft. In Aug= ust 1949, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army issued a joint specification for an all-metal, short/unimproved field aircraft capable of performing a variety of tasks. Among these were observation, rescue, photo-reconnaissance, and artillery fire control. Additionally, the aircraft was to be adaptable for both ski and float operations. The initial fly-off competition date was set for March 1950.

Cessna was interested in competing for this cont= ract. To make the deadline, that company decided to use components from the exist= ing production Models 170 and 195. The new aircraft was designated Model 305, a= nd was completed within 90 days. It was then flown to Wright Field in Ohio for the com= petition with aircraft from Piper, Temco, and Taylorcraft. Cessna won and was issued the contract o= n May 29, 1950, for 418 aircraft under the designation L-19A. As specified, this aircraft had the capacity to trade wheels for skis or floats and had a MK4A bomb rack under each wing. A steel-spring landing gear reduced ground-loop tendencies and made unimproved field operations practicable. A slotted high-lift flap along the trailing edge of each wing increased performance during slow flight and short field landings. Tests demonstrated that the L-= 19A could takeoff and land over an obstacle 50 feet high in as little as 167 ya= rds.

On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began. Cessna w= as immediately pressed for increased production. Other services also became interested in this versatile aircraft. It was the first all metal, high-win= g, single-engined aircraft to see service in U.S. = Army aviation which eventually accepted 3,105 of them. The L-19 had dual controls for the pilot and observer. Foreign nations were also finding the L-19 to b= e a useful aircraft. General Mark Clark named the L-19 "Bird Dog". He chose this name as it represented one of its primary missions--hunting. Dur= ing its lifetime the L-19 proved to be one of the most enduring aircraft in mod= ern military history.

In the Korean War, the L-19 or, as it was affectionately called, "the jeep with wings," was used for a vari= ety of missions including artillery spotting, laying communication wire, evacua= ting wounded, and dropping supplies and flares. It was frequently used as an observation platform for commanders in the field.

Again, during the Vietnam War, the L-19 proved i= tself to be irreplaceable. In a new role, the Air Force began to employ the Bird = Dog and its crew as a forward air controller (FAC) for supersonic jet fighters. Flying low and slow the L-19 pilot looked for concentrations of Viet Cong w= hile attack aircraft circled at high altitude. After spotting the enemy, the Bird Dog would "point" the attack aircraft to the target with white-phosphorus rockets.

In a demonstration of remarkable durability, in February 1952, an L-19 was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire at an altitude of 6,000 feet. Twelve feet of the right wing was shot off but the pilot and observer regained control and miraculously landed the aircraft at an Air Fo= rce base. Within three hours, a new right wing had been installed and the pilot= was able to fly it out to another air base for further inspection and repair. <= o:p>

In response to the Army's need for an instrument trainer, Cessna modified the L-19A and began production of the TL-19D. It boasted a constant-speed propeller, significant engine modifications, and a rear cabin with a hinged instrument panel. A total of 307 TL-19Ds were delivered. The latest version of the L-19, the L-19E, was produced in 1956.= In September 1962, the L-19A was re-designated the O-1A (L-19) Powered by a 21= 3 h.p. Continental O-470-11, six-cylinder air-cooled en= gine, this version had electric flaps and could carry four 2.75 smoke rockets (fo= ur additional rocket launchers were added later).

On April 30, 1975, the fall of Saigon appeared imminent. A Vietnamese Air Force major, together with his wife and five children, boarded an O-lA on the island of Con Son (off the coast of So= uth Vietnam) and flew to the carrier USS Midway. With his fuel tanks almost empty he made an excellent carrier landing and became the first 0-lA to land on a carrier deck.

Cessna delivered the Museum's O-lA, Serial No. 51-1963, to the U.S. Army on January 18, 1952. It was transferre= d to Wichita= in February 1952. A gap in the aircraft records exists until January 31, 1958, when it was assigned to the 502nd Aviation Company. It had been redesignated as a TO-1A (trainer). It remained with t= he 502nd until March 2, 1962, when it was transferred to the Forward Aerial We= apon Depot (FAWD) in Forth Worth, = Texas. On May 18, 1963, it left FAWD for duty with the AQC (Aviation Qualification Course), Aviation Maintenance Department, Fort Hood, Texas, wh= ere it remained until June 10, 1966. On November 19, 1971, it was assigned to the = U.S. Army Aviation School (USAAVNS) at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Shortly thereafter, on December 28, 1971, it was lent to the Fort Devins Flying Club, Ayers Massachusetts. The airframe= had flown 10,333 hours up to that time. The aircraft entered a civilian career = as a Cessna 305A, Manufacturers Serial No. 22277, FAA Peg. # N4508B. It remained with the Flying Club until it was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum on May 2, 1978 by authority of the U.S. Army Aviation System Command direct= ive, dated April 14, 1977.

Copyright © 1998-2000 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution (revised 9/27/01 D.= Daso)

Aircraft = of the Smithsonian

Super Spooky - FYI

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http://www.af.mil/photos/media_search.asp?q=3Dac= 130+bushmaster&btnG.x=3D0&btnG.y=3D0

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From:= HerbGingras@cs.com [mailto:HerbGingras@cs.com= ]
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 11:45 AM

Subject: 30-mm Bushmaster

(http://www.af.mil/news/story_media.asp?storyID=3D123039626)

Tech.Sgt. Ben Filek= and Master Sgt. Chris Jette look over a
newly-installed 30 mm Bushmaster cannon aboard an AC-130U Spooky
gunship Jan. 26 at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Ser= geant Filek is an aerial
gunner with the 19th Special Operations Squadron at Hu= rlburt Field.
Sergeant Jette, also an aerial gunner, is with = the 1st Special
Operations Group standardization/evaluation section at Hurlburt
Field. The 30 mm gun will eventually replace both the 40 mm cannon
and 25 mm gun on U-model gunships. (U.S. Air Fo= rce photo/Chief
Master Sgt. Gary Emery)

by Chief Master Sgt. Gary Emery
Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

2/1/2007 - HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNEWS) -- Spooky is about to ge= t a
little scarier.

Crews at Hurlburt Field have put the finishing touches on the first
AC-130U Spooky gunship armed with the 30 mm Bushmaster cannon. The
rearmed Spooky retains its 105 mm cannon but replaces the 25 mm and
40 mm guns with Bushmasters.

The project is a "win-win," according to Air Force Special
Operations Command officials -- unless you're one of the bad guys.

"We're buying increased lethality and accuracy at the same time
we're improving reliability," said Lt. Col. Mike = Gottstine, AFSOC's
chief of strike/intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
requirements, "The bottom line is we'll have more gunships available
for the warfighter on a day-to-day basis."=

The aging 40 mm Bofors cannon, which has been a= round in various
guises since World War II, is increasingly hard to maintain, Colonel
Gottstine said, and there is no production line= set up to replace
shrinking ammunition stocks. While the 25 mm gun is newer, he said,
"it is a maintenance hog as far as the amount of money and time we
spend maintaining the ammo handling system." In addition, because no other Air Force aircraft use the 25 mm cannon, no one is working on
developing new types of ammunition that could be effective for
gunship operations, he said.

The Bushmaster cannon, on the other hand, will arm the Marine Corps'
new amphibious assault vehicle, is installed on some Navy ships and
is being looked at for uses in other capacities. Because of that,
"the services are developing a lot of variations of 30 mm ammo,"<= br> Colonel Gottstine said. "Different types o= f ammo will allow us to
perform different missions or maybe give us some options to
prosecute our targets differently."

The 25 mm cannon was originally installed in gunships<= /span> as a
suppression weapon to keep enemy troops pinned down so they could
not move or shoot, said Paul Brousseau, AFSOC A= C-130U requirements
contractor support. However, the 25 mm has no air burst capability,
which is often preferable for suppression fire, he said. "The Marine Corps is looking at a 30 mm airburst round that could possibly be a
good capability for us sometime in the future," he said.

The new cannon fires 200 rounds a minute, faster than the 40 mm and
a bit slower than the 25 mm guns it replaces, Colonel = Gottstine
said. "The 25 mm throws a lot of lead down but it scatters it more
than the 30 mm will. We're expecting increased lethality and
increased accuracy with this weapon," he said. "Hits are what
counts."

Gunners from the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlbu= rt Field are
ready to put their new weapon to the test.

"It's going to be fun, it's going to be interesting," said Master=
Sgt. Chris Jette, an aerial gunner with 1st Spe= cial Operations Group
standardization/evaluation. "Overall, we don't know what the round
actually does from our platform until they do the testing, but it
looks like it's going to be good."

"I'm impressed with how easy it is to work on," said Tech. Sgt. B= en
Lerman, an aerial gunner with the 4th Special Operations Squadron.
"Hopefully, it will make our job as gunners easier. Commonality
between the (forward and rear guns) means we will have
interchangeability of parts so we can fix them in the air."

The ability to perform repairs while airborne is important, Sergeant
Jette said.

"We can actually troubleshoot and repair the front gun where, with
the 25 mm, once it breaks we can't do anything to it," he said.

The 30 mm-armed AC-130U will undergo flight testing through May. It
should be declared operational and in the hands of "U-boat" crews=
from the 4th SOS in July, Mr. Brousseau said. T= hree more modified
U-model gunships will join the fleet by December 2007, he said.

The rest of the fleet will be modified as funding is available, with
installation probably in the mid-2009 time frame, he said. The
fleetwide modification should be complete by fi= scal 2010, he said.

The desired goal is to eventually install the 30 mm cannons on
AFSOC's AC-130H Spectre fleet as well, Colonel Gottstine said.

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Coming Events

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199^th RAC Swamp Fox Reunion 2= 007

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No pla= ns yet. Open to suggestions.

Contac= t Don Nicholson or send to me and I will forward.

= - .ed

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221^st RAC Shot Gun Reunion=

Goo= d News . . .

&nb= sp; Our friends with which we shared the Delta under the 307^th Phantom Battalion are getting organized. Al Poindexter has agreed to be SPOC ( Star= ting Point Of Contact ). Many of us have duel citizenship with the 221^{st.
If you served with Shot Gun e-mail Al as they are building their e-mail lis=
t.
Please pass the word to those you know who served with Shot Gun.}

Din= g Hoa . . . all the best to Shot Gun.=

Fro= m the Shot Gun web site: www.221st.org/reunions.htm

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219^th RAC HeadHunters Reunion Sept. 2007 Atlanta Georgia=

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9/17/2005 HEADHUNTERS decide to hold their NEXT REUNION scheduled for <= b>SEPTEMBER 2007 in ATLANTA, GEORGIA. The hosts will b= e Steve Butler (RVN 1/68-1/69 Pleiku) and Tom Mo= rris (RVN 7/65-7/66 Nha Trang= , Tuy Hoa, Phan Thiet & NonCo).= The host location will be Peachtree City South of Atlanta. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

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www.219h= eadhunters.com/Reunions.htm

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WEB SITES of INTEREST

=

EAA calendar

http://www.eaa.org/= events

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IBDA

LBJ RANCH FLY-IN

FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS

4-6 MAY 2007

On May 5, 2007 the IBDA has been invited ...........................

to par= ticipate in a special event at the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch. It coincides with = our Regional Roundup at the Freder= icksburg, Texas Airport and promises = to be a unique opportunity to be the focus of an event at the Ranch. The National Park Service is spearheading this effort and our coordinator is no= ne other than LBJ's personal pilot, Barney Hulett. They will ensure that sufficient public= ity is provided to bring in a significant amount of visitors to see the "warplanes" used in Vietnam during President Johnson's tenure. It is anticipated we will land at = the Johnson Ranch and have the visitors buses stop at the aircraft to visit with the Pilots and look at the aircraft. During the day the Birddogs will have the opportunity to provide a flight display for the visitors and neighborhood.

=

If tha= t is not enough, our Roundup at Frederi= cksburg airport has a Hangar Hotel and fuel discount for Friday, Saturday and Sunda= y of the May 5 weekend. A free pizza feed on Friday night, a free lunch Saturday, a pay as you go dinner Saturday and more activities on Sunday mor= ning before everyone heads home. No formal registration for the Roundup, b= ut there is some paperwork for landing at the LBJ Ranch. Contact the Hangar Ho= tel at 830/997-9990 and tell them your with the Birddog Group for your discount rate ($129, that's the best we could do on the weekend ).&nbs= p; So join us for not only a very unique opportunity, but also to visit with fellow Birddoggers.

=

Its no= t to early to get signed up so let our paperwork guru Mitch Leland ( mitchleland@austin.rr.com ) know you are coming and he will email you the form required to fly into t= he LBJ Ranch. After signing that and mailing it back to him, the only th= ing left to do is have your insurance company name the LBJ Ranch, the owners an= d US Government, Stonewall, Texas 78671 (attention Bob House) as= an additional insured for May 5, 2007. That's it and your ready to go!

=

=

www.ibdaweb.com/merchandise= .htm

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Lots o= f new stuff on the IBDA web site.

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www.ibdaweb.com

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SWAMP FOX NETWORK

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Status Quo

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Soldiers Angels

=

Do check out this we= b site if you are looking for a charity to support our troops.

www.soldiersangels.com

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Site News

New pa= ge, Doc's Digs

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www.druid-consultin= g.com/doc's_digs.htm

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If you have somet= hing to add to the Fox Fax, I need it before the fifth of the month.

I try to publish = the week end following the fifth. Sometimes I am even on time.=

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NOTE: = NEW e-mail address below

=

Cheers Y'all - Editor r.jennings@KTIS.net

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