Above - Doc and 032, looked like a good idea at the time, but never mounted.
Narrative of a Lost Bird Dog
The Demise of Bird Dog # 53-08032
Dong Tam AF, 3 February 1968
The following is a recall of the demise of the O-1G, tail # 53-08032 which occurred on the night of 2-3 February 1968 at Dong Tam AF in Dinh Tuong Province, RVN. As a sector pilot assigned to the 1st Platoon, 199th RAC and based at Ben Tre in support of Kien Hoa Province, I was flying in support of the MACV Advisory Team 93. Due to the disruptive activities in Ben Tre City following the initial TET attacks, the USA Bird Dogs were relocated to Dong Tam because the Truc Giang AF (Ben Tre) was not secure for night operations. During the night of 2-3 Feb, I was flying a nightcap mission over the province’s area of operation in order to provide communications between the Province’s TOC and the outlying district teams.
During the day of 2 Feb, Tim Davenport (the other sector pilot) and I had flown alternating missions in support of the clean up operation that was being conducted by the US 9th Division to relieve Ben Tre City. The TOC had also requested that we night cap the province. Davenport flew the first mission, and I flew the second. Up until this time, we had been flying one USA Bird Dog and one USAF O-1 in support of Kien Hoa requirements. We had picked up the USAF aircraft at Truc Giang on the morning of TET because the other USAF aircraft had been schatchel charged during the initial attack on the airfield. We landed and flew it out in order to have two aircraft to support the province during the TET operations conducted by the 9th Div Task Force. We were flying the gray "loaner" aircraft and a "spare" 199th aircraft leading up to the night of 2 Feb.
Late in the day of the 2nd, Sam Linch (one of the sector FACs) was lifted out of Ben Tre City by chopper to Dong Tam. The USAF wanted to reclaim their aircraft, so after coordination with the FACs and the TOC, we parked the gray O-1, # 0-12867 at Dong Tam. We had also obtained another 1st Platoon aircraft from My Tho in order to have two 199th aircraft supporting operations in Kien Hoa Province.
After a 2200 hour takeoff from Dong Tam and relieving Davenport on station, I had suggested that the USAF utilize its pilot and aircraft to relieve me on station over Kien Hoa between at 0130 on 3 Feb. All parties agreed that three aircraft supporting the province was better than just two. Davenport was to relieve Linch on station sometime after 0400-0430, if required.
During the mid-night time frame, Dong Tam began receiving occasional mortar rounds and pestering automatic weapons fire into and around the airfield. Prior to 0100, I had asked Dong Tam AF Advisory to keep me informed of the activity, and that I would be monitoring their frequency for updates. At 0125, I contacted Dong Tam and was advised that there had been no hostile fire for the last ten minutes. At 0135, I informed Advisory that I would be landing on runway 35, and indicated that due to no reported traffic, that I would be landing without lights (blacked out) and reported a 4-mile final. Dong Tam reported no other traffic, and I continued the approach and reported a 2-mile final; I reported a ½ mile final and was cleared to land. I rolled out to within 200 feet of the departure end of runway 35, turned around and reported that I would back taxi on the active and report clear, and that I was remaining blacked out. I had taxied approximately 400 feet when a collision occurred while I was still on the active runway.
I had been run over by the gray aircraft (# 0-12867) being operated by Sam Finch. Sam was not monitoring the airfield’s operational frequency. As it turned out, Linch’s intent was to relieve me on station as planned, but was delayed while plotting artillery firings. He was monitoring the artillery advisory frequency instead of the airfield frequency while he was on the runway preparing to take off on runway 17. Neither of the pilots were injured, but two Bird Dogs were destroyed at Dong Tam on 3 Feb ’68 at 0140, one gray, and one olive drab in color. I was the pilot of # 53-08032, it had been assigned to the company for two months and was a very fine flying "slick".
A week later, the 611th Trans (DS) Co flew a UH-1 into Dong Tam. The recovery team removed the engine & prop, tail surfaces, instruments, and radios; and loaded them into the helicopter’s cabin. The remains of "032" were hauled off to the Dong Tam trash pile in the NW corner of the airfield. I was there to watch the process.
Bob Woolley.
