The CIA's Airlines: Logistic Air Support of the War in Laos 1954 to 1975
by Martin Best
The war in Laos has often been called a
“secret war”. This is certainly a fair description in comparison with media coverage
of the neighbouring war in Vietnam but in recent years a number of books and a
controversial film have helped to throw some light on this war and the role of
US airlines in providing communications and logistical air support to the US
Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Central Intelligence
Agency's (CIA's) forces in Laos. None of these books, with one small exception,
have defined the fleet lists of these airlines even though, in terms of
aircraft numbers, their fleet sizes were comparable with those of the largest
airlines in the world at that time.
The objective of this article is to attempt to compile the fleet lists
of the principal airlines responsible for providing this logistical air support
in Southeast Asia. First, however, it is necessary to describe the geopolitical
context of the war in Laos as this explains the roles of these airlines and the
covert nature of their operations. As the space available in Digest does not allow an in-depth
description, a comprehensive bibliography is included.
Laos is a landlocked country the shape of Italy in the north-central
region of mainland Southeast Asia. Six populous neighbours surround it: China
to the north, North Vietnam to the northeast, South Vietnam to the southeast,
Cambodia to the south, Thailand to the west, and Burma (Myanmar) to the
northwest. The total land area of Laos is some 91,400 square miles, or roughly
the size of Great Britain. The northern half of the country is covered in dense
tropical rain forest, mountains that rise to over 7000 feet and slate-black
limestone karsts. In the northeast, the mountains give way to the Plaines
des Jarres (PDJ), a diamond-shaped patch of dairy land covered with giant
stone burial urns dating back thousands of years.
The southern half of the country runs in a narrow panhandle, which
empties onto the Bolovens Plateau. Down the eastern edge of the panhandle are
the Annamite Corilleras, a towering mountain range that covers most of the 1323
mile border with Vietnam. On the western edge is the Mekong River, which forms
a common border with Thailand, but there are also two Lao provinces on the
western side of this big river.
Laos was divided into five Military Regions (MR). MR I was in the
northwest, including Luang Prabang and the borders with Burma and China; MR II
was in the northeast, including Long Tieng, Sam Neua and Sam Thong; MR III
consisted of the central panhandle region, including Savannakhet and much of
the Ho Chi Minh trail. MR IV was in the south, including Pakse and the Bolovens
Plateau; finally MR V consisted of the neutral zone around Vientiane.
The climate of Laos roughly divides the year in half. Beginning in late
May are five months of heavy tropical rains. Five more months, beginning in
December, have high temperatures and little rain. A short spring and autumn
connect these rainy and dry seasons.
When compared to South Vietnam, Laos was a more dangerous place in
which to fly. Apart from enemy ground fire there were other problems to contend
with. The maps of Laos during the early days were very inaccurate and pilots
had to read the ground, watching for landmarks below them to ensure that they
did not get lost. Apart from the monsoon season, Laos also had a man-made
season when the villagers set fire to their fields in preparation for the
year's planting. The whole country became enveloped in a blue smog that reduced
visibility to half a mile or less.
During the Second Indo-China War, approximately three million people
populated Laos. Of these, nearly half were lowland Laotians from the Tai
linguistic group that migrated from southern China beginning in the 13th
century. The vast majority of these lowlanders are peasant farmers and
Buddhists.
Living along the mountain slopes are the diverse Lao Theung, which
account for up to 30% of the total population. Descended from the Mon-Khmer
ethnic group, the darker Lao Theung have historically been discriminated
against by the lowland Laotians. The Lao Theung is fragmented into dozens of
tribes that speak mutually unintelligible dialects.
On the mountain tops live the Sino-Tibetan hill tribes, comprising 20%
of the population. The most important of these tribes are the Hmong (Meo) and
the Mien (Yao). The Hmong, in particular, are renowned as among the fiercest
warriors in Southeast Asia.
The geography of Laos is well described in Tragedy in Paradise,
which also describes the USAID public health programme from 1963 to 1974.
Towards the end of World War II, US foreign policy was against the idea
of the European powers regaining control of their colonial territories in
Southeast Asia after the defeat of Japan. With the start of the Cold War and
Korean War, however, it was recognised that the vacuum created by this policy
was likely to result in communist domination of these territories, so the
American government provided material support to the French government in their
war in Indo-China, notably against the communist Viet Mihn. Despite this
support, which included Civil Air Transport (CAT) crews flying Fairchild C-119C
transports on behalf of the French, the French forces were comprehensively
defeated in the battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954. This war resulted in the
resignation of the French government and the calling of a peace conference in Geneva,
which resulted in the signing of a Peace Treaty in July 1954. This treaty
defined the Kingdom of Laos as a neutral territory and all foreign forces were
required to be withdrawn. An International Control Commission (ICC), comprising
observers from India, Poland and Canada, was established under the terms of the
Geneva Accords.
The political scene in Laos could generally be divided into three
camps: the communists, including Prince Souphanouvong, Kaysone Phomvihane, the
Pathet Lao and their North Vietnamese masters; the pro-Western forces including
Prince Boun Oum, Phoui Sananikone, General Phoumi Nosavan and the Hmong
guerrillas and militia led by General Vang Pao (VP); and the neutralists, which
included Prince Souvanna Phouma, Kong Le, and theoretically the Royal Lao
Government (RLG). At various times after peace talks three coalition
governments were formed but these rarely lasted very long before fighting broke
out between rival generals' forces or there was a coup. Fighting between
factions within the royalist forces (FAR) diverted the troops from defending
the country from attack by the neutralist (FAN), Pathet Lao (PL) and People's
Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces. Officers on the losing side of a coup would
often be imprisoned. The history of the war in Laos is summarised in the
Chronology.
After the signing of this first Peace Treaty the US military advisors
were withdrawn but a Programs Evaluation Office (PEO) was established in the US
Embassy in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It soon became apparent that
although all the Western forces had withdrawn the terms of the treaty were not
being honoured by North Vietnam in their support of communist Pathet Lao
forces. Although direct intervention by US forces was contemplated this was
vetoed following the ‘Bay of Pigs' debacle in Cuba and from that point on US
military support of the Lao neutralist government was covert, administered by
the CIA but under the direction of the US Ambassador to Laos.
The CIA's presence in Laos grew steadily from the early 1960s, but it
still remained small. The total number of people connected with the war, both
in Laos and in Thailand, never exceeded 225. This included some 50 case
officers with Hmong, Lao, and Thai units.
Unlike the North Vietnamese, the Lao are peace-loving people and the
Royalist and Pathet Lao forces were militarily less than effective. The
Americans soon learned to rely on the hilltribes to fight the invading PAVN in
much the same way as the French had in Indochina. These forces used guerrilla
tactics to oppose the conventional PAVN forces in a mirror image of the
Vietcong's war in South Vietnam. Conventional but mercenary forces recruited in
Thailand and paid for by the US government supported these Groupement Mobiles (GM). Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU)
and CIA advisors were appointed to advise the Lao and hilltribe forces in the
various MRs in Laos. The indigenous Hmong guerrilla and militia forces were
intent on defending their homeland from their traditional enemy, the North
Vietnamese, regardless of US policies or the support of the CIA. The use of the
hilltribe forces to fight conventional battles, however, led to the decimation
of these untrained and poorly equipped forces and it became necessary to use
the Thai mercenary forces to fight set-piece battles against the PAVN.
The early years of the war took on a seasonal pattern. During the dry
season the PAVN and PL went on the offensive, applying pressure on the Hmong in
northern Laos and on RLG forces throughout the country. During the monsoon
season the anti-communists took advantage of the mobility provided by Air
America and struck deep into enemy-occupied territory. The character of the war
began to change in 1968. The North Vietnamese, impatient with the progress of
the PL, introduced major new combat forces into Laos and took control of the
year's dry season offensive.
The Pathet Lao and PAVN forces would progressively invade the villages
occupied by the hilltribe and Lao populations who would then be displaced as
refugees. USAID would then try to resettle the displaced village populations in
safer areas where they could plant new crops and build a short landing strip or
drop zone for the supply of food until new crops could be harvested. The use of
the majority of the male population of the Hmong hill tribes to fight the PL
and PAVN meant that there were few able-bodied males left in the villages to
provide food for the families. Food was supplied by air using the CIA and
USAID's contractors: Arizona Helicopters Inc.; Bird & Sons Inc., which
later became Continental Air Services Inc. (CASI), and Air America Inc. (AAM),
formed out of Civil Air Transport (CAT) following the death of Major General
Claire Chennault, of “Flying Tigers” fame. These US airlines used STOL aircraft
to get in and out of small landing sites (LS) in remote area, as well as
conventional military transports and numerous helicopters to provide air
mobility and supply.
The US airlines were generally only required to provide communications
and logistical support. US military personnel usually worked as military
advisors but one exception was the provision of Forward Air Controllers (FACs),
who flew Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, O-2 Super Skymaster and U-17 spotter planes to
mark enemy targets for attack my Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF) T-28 or USAF
fighter-bombers based in Thailand or South Vietnam. These FAC pilots were known
as “Ravens” after their radio call sign. Most of the Ravens worked out of Long
Tieng, but a few were also stationed in Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Savannakhet,
and Pakse. US military personnel transferred to Laos were “sheep dipped” out of
the services and employed as civilians assigned to USAID Laos.
The principal logistical base for CIA operations in Laos was at Udorn
(aka Udon Thani) in northeast Thailand, across the Mekong River from Laos and
Vientiane, but the day-to-day campaign was directed from the US Embassy in
Vientiane. Advisors to GM in the various MRs would generally return to Vientiane
to debrief each evening and return to the field in the morning with new orders
and supplies using air transport provided by the CIA's airlines. The security
situation generally did not allow the aircraft or advisors to remain in the
field overnight (RON). The headquarters of the USAID Laos operation was in
Vientiane with contractors' aircraft being based at Vientiane's Wattay airport
(Lima 08), which had runway and control facilities provided by USAID. A USAID
civilian hospital was built at Sam Thong (LS20), about 5 km from Long Tieng
(LS20A), to care for the refugee population in that area, as well as military
casualties that could not be treated at Long Tieng.
USAID Laos responsibilities included the development of agriculture,
education, public health, and construction projects, in cooperation with the RLG. The CIA was responsible for military aid within the US mission, which also
included representatives of the USIS.
The aircraft used by these two airlines were often interchanged,
complicating the definition of fleet lists. Aircraft were also “loaned” to the
airlines by the US armed forces, devoid of national markings, where overt
military support was not politically acceptable. In these circumstances it is
difficult to identify which US military aircraft were operated by the US
airlines and generally these loans are not recorded in aircraft production
lists.
The roles of the US airlines supporting CIA and USAID operations in
Laos included: aircraft maintenance and repair; casualty evacuation; communication
flights; evacuation and relocation of refugees; insertion, re-supply and
extraction of road watch teams and patrols; photo-reconnaissance; psychological
warfare; recovery of damaged aircraft; search and rescue; supply of food (“soft
rice”) and weapons & ammunition (“hard rice”); surveillance, including
signals intelligence and the monitoring of ground sensors; and troop transport.
Communication flights included the regular CASI ‘milk run' from Bangkok
to Udorn and Vientiane using C-47 aircraft. The American mission also had two
‘milk run' flights each day from Vientiane to Northern and Southern Laos. The
aircraft were Air America C-47s or occasionally C-46s. Heading north they
landed at Luang Prabang, Sayaboury and Ban Houai Sai. Going south they stopped
at Savannakhet, Pakse, and Attopeu. On the return trips they made the same
stops. STOL Helio Courier aircraft were used at the smaller landing strips but
these were later replaced by Pilatus Porter aircraft, with DHC Caribou STOL
transports handling larger loads to the longer strips. C-46 and C-123B
transports were used to drop commodities such as food and ammunition.
Helicopters used included the piston Sikorsky H-34 and turbine Bell JetRanger.
There were few roads in the country, and none of them were usable
except in the immediate vicinity of the larger towns along the Mekong River. In
most areas, roads were non-existent. Where they did exist, lack of maintenance
and poor security often precluded their use – particularly in the hinterland,
where most of the fighting and displacement of the civil population occurred. A
road was eventually built between Vientiane and Long Tieng.
During the periods when there was a moratorium on the Rolling Thunder
bombing of North Vietnam, extra resources were available to bomb Laos instead.
The second Indochina War left Laos with the dubious distinction of being the
most heavily bombed country per capita in the history of warfare.
Strategically the war in Laos was seen as a way of diverting PAVN
divisions from the Vietnam War without the commitment of significant US forces.
With the withdrawal of US forces from South Vietnam, following the Paris Peace
Treaty, signed in January 1973, the neutrality of Laos was reconfirmed and the
CIA's support for the Lao government was also withdrawn. Once again, the Pathet
Lao was invited to join a coalition government. Although the ICC attempted to
monitor the withdrawal of foreign forces from Laos the PAVN continued the
occupation of Laos, resulting in “ethnic cleansing” of the Hmong hill tribe
populations; survivors still populate refugee camps in Northeast Thailand.
The war in Laos has been described in much greater detail in War in
Laos 1954-1975, by Kenneth Conboy, The Ravens, by Christopher
Robbins, and Covert Ops, by James E Parker. Details of these and other
sources are given in the Bibliography.
Operation FREQUENT WIND was the evacuation of Saigon as the PAVN
advanced towards the city in April 1975. Air America responded to the call and
initiated the largest aerial evacuation in history. The unsung heroes of the
airlift were the Air America Bell UH-1 crews, who put in sterling work ferrying
evacuees from around the city to either the US embassy or the Defense
Attaché's Office compound. They were transporting people out to sea to awaiting
aircraft carriers, refuelling on the carriers, and returning to a
disintegrating Saigon.
In the period from 6 April 1975 to 30 April 1975, a total of 51,888
people were flown out of Saigon. Of these, 45,125 (87%) were flown out by Air
America. On 29 and 30 April alone, 7,014 were flown out, with 5,595 (80%)
evacuated by Air America. Several helicopters were lost during the evacuation
due to enemy fire.
There is an excellent essay on the formation and history of CAT in
Air-Britain's Curtiss C-46 Commando monograph (pp. 28 – 30); Perilous
Missions, by William Leary, describes these in greater detail. The latter
includes an Equipment List for February 1954 that has been taken into account
in the preparation of the fleet list at Table 2.
During the Korean War, CAT made more than 100 hazardous over-flights of
mainland China, airdropping agents and supplies. These flights included
Operation PAPER in support of Li Mi's KMT forces in the Shan provinces of
northeast Burma that were used for two unsuccessful invasions of southwest
China in an attempt to divert Chinese forces from Korea. Later CAT was used to
repatriate these KMT forces and their families to Taiwan after they had become
an embarrassment to the governments of Burma and Thailand. Operation BOOKLIFT
was CAT's contract with the USAF for the airlift of men and supplies between
designated points throughout the Far East.
CAT is significant in this story because it was used to support the
French armed forces during the First Indo-Chinese War during 1953 and 1954,
when the US Government did not wish to commit US forces overtly. Operation
SQUAW began on 6 May 1953 and continued until 16 July, using six USAF C-119
aircraft repainted in French Air Force colours and based at Gia Lam airbase,
outside Hanoi. CAT returned to
Indochina in 1954 with twelve C-119s and 24 pilots to support the French forces
at Dien Bien Phu. Between 13 March and the fall of Dien Bien Phu on 7 May, CAT
pilots flew 682 airdrop missions to the beleaguered French troops under
Operation SQUAW II.
CAT operations continued in Indochina after the fall of Dien Bien Phu.
Between mid-May and mid-August, C-119s dropped supplies to isolated French
outposts and delivered loads throughout the country. CAT also supplied twelve
C-46s for Operation COGNAC, the evacuation of civilians from North Vietnam to
South Vietnam, following the signing of the Geneva Agreement on 21 July 1954.
Between 22 August and 4 October they flew 19,808 men, women and children out of
North Vietnam.
Tables 1 and 2 only show the aircraft operated by Civil Air Transport
Co. Ltd. of Taiwan, most of whose aircraft were registered in Taiwan. This list
therefore excludes the XT-registered aircraft that were operated in Mainland
China from 1946 and also the aircraft taken over from CATC and CNAC by CATI
that had been abandoned in Hong Kong and were then registered in America. CAT
provided the basis of Air America's initial fleet.
The United States had been supplying economic and military aid to Laos
under an agreement signed in 1950. Following the Geneva Conference of 1954,
Washington decided to expand this programme and in January 1955, it established
the United States Operations Mission (USOM) in Vientiane to administer economic
assistance. A PEO was later set up within USOM to handle military aid. CAT soon
became involved in USOM's aid programme.
In July 1955, USOM officials learned that a rice failure threatened
famine in several provinces in Laos. Because a number of these areas were in
remote, mountainous regions, airdrops were the only feasible means to deliver
essential supplies of rice and salt. Three CAT C-46s arrived at the railhead at
Udorn, in northeast Thailand, on 11 September to begin the airlift. By the end
of the month, CAT had flown more than 200 missions to 25 reception areas,
delivering 1,000 tons of emergency food.
CAT's permanent presence in Laos commenced on 1 July 1957 when a C-47
was brought to Vientiane to service a new contract with the US Embassy. Between
1957 and 1959, the unstable political situation in Laos led to growing American
presence in the country as the United States increased its support of the FAR.
It was this situation in Laos, not Vietnam, which led to the “domino theory” in
Southeast Asia. If Laos fell to the communists then the rest of Southeast Asia
was expected to follow.
Air America, Inc. was reportedly formed in July 1950 as a 100%-owned
subsidiary of the Pacific Corporation and undertook worldwide charter and
contract operations primarily in the Far East. Air America operated
supply-dropping missions in Laos under contract to the USAID.
Air America was owned by the CIA and played a leading role in logistic
air support of the CIA's forces in Laos from 1959 to 1974. When the US wars in
Southeast Asia were over, Air America's surviving aircraft were sold and the
company was liquidated. Money ($20 million) raised from the sale of aircraft,
e.g. via Omni Aircraft Sales Inc., was returned to the US Treasury.
Christopher Robbins has written a history of Air America in Air
America: the story of the CIA's secret airlines. This book is not limited
to just the history of Air America; its full title is a more accurate
description as the book also considers CAT, Bird Air and CASI. It reports that
the owners of Air America had very little knowledge of its fleet size or
composition. Some excellent pictures of many of Air America's aircraft, plus
others with CAT, Bird Air and CASI are included in Terry Love's Wings of
Air America: a photo history.
During the war, Air America flew throughout South Vietnam, Thailand,
and Cambodia, but their main operations were in Laos. Air America provided air
support for American objectives in Laos, mainly through USAID. Their main
objective was logistical. They supplied General Vang Pao's 45,000-man army in
MR II. Probably the biggest part of Air America's mission was support of
refugee supply, movement and resettlement. Because no US military planes were
permitted to be based inside Laos, Air America came to play an essential role
with its helicopters, transports and STOL aircraft. Air America provided the
only Air Rescue Service in the area during the early 1960s.
The formal Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos, signed on 23 July
1962, provided for a coalition government and the withdrawal of all foreign
troops from the country by 7 October. The United States pulled out its 666
military advisers and support staff, and Air America stopped dropping weapons
to the Hmong. Air America's operations declined sharply in 1963. Restricted to
food supply to the Hmong, which averaged 40 tons a month by the summer, the
airline laid off people and mothballed aircraft. By May 1963, the number of
UH-34s assigned to Udorn had dropped from 18 to 6. Flight hours, which had
averaged 2,000 per month before the Geneva Accords, dropped to 600.
By 1966 Air America had almost 6,000 employees. At its peak in 1970,
Air America had the largest airline fleet in the world, in terms of numbers of
aircraft owned, although a lot of these aircraft were small or helicopters. Air
America operated up to 30,000 flights per month by 1970. By the summer of 1970
the airline had some two dozen twin-engine transports, another two dozen STOL
aircraft, and some 30 helicopters dedicated to operations in Laos. During 1970,
Air America airdropped or landed over 20,000 tons of foodstuffs (mainly rice)
in Laos and helicopter flight time reached more than 4,000 hours a month.
In Vietnam, Air America served about 12,000 passengers monthly. These
included USAID people, missionaries, military personnel, correspondents,
government officials and nurses. Up to 40 aircraft were based in Vietnam.
Air America men were among the last to leave when Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam collapsed. Many Air America aircraft were shot down and lost. 243 men
were killed in action while working with Air America; 100 AAM personnel died in
Laos, including 23 crewmembers that died in flight operations. Eleven AAM
crewmembers were lost in the three years 1965, 1966 and 1967, of which five
were due to enemy action. Between December 1971 and April 1972, six AAM
crewmembers died in Laos. In December alone, 24 aircraft were hit by ground
fire and three were shot down.
Tables 3 and 4 are an initial attempt to establish Air America's fleet
size and composition. The annual World Airline Surveys by Flight
International (Table 3) give an indication of fleet composition and size,
and Table 4, which has been compiled from numerous sources and production
lists, gives the identity of many of these aircraft.
Arizona
Helicopters, a smaller helicopter contractor, operated in Laos in the early
1970s. For a fleet list please see Table 7.
Little has been written about Bird Air. It escaped coverage in the
annual World Airlines Surveys by Flight International and Ron
Davies's excellent books: The World's Airlines and Airlines of Asia.
The following description is taken from the C-46 monograph:
“Bird and Sons was a proprietary company of the US Central Intelligence
Agency, operating a variety of aircraft, mainly light types, in South-East
Asia. A number of C-46s were operated on quasi-military operations in 1964 and
1965.”
In fact Bird
& Sons, Inc, a private airline run by William H Bird, was the aviation
division of A Bird and Sons, the San Francisco heavy construction company
operating in Vietnam and Laos.
The aviation
division of Bird and Sons, Inc., including 22 aircraft and 350 employees, was
bought by Continental Airlines for $4.5 million cash in 1965 and commenced
operations as the South-East Asia Division in September, 1965.
Given this
transfer of aircraft the fleet lists of Bird & Sons and CASI are combined in
Tables 5 and 6. Some aircraft continued to be registered to Bird & Sons
Inc. after the take-over.
Continental Air Services, Inc. (CASI) was formed in April 1965 as a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Continental Air Lines Inc. to operate aircraft and
ground facilities in support of oil exploration, construction and engineering
projects, USAID and other US Government Agencies, e.g. the CIA. In August 1965
the company took over much of the aviation division of Bird and Sons in Laos and
Vietnam, with headquarters in Vientiane.
Aircraft were interchanged between the fleets of Air America and CASI,
perhaps without any change of ownership, thus adding a further complication to
the compiling of fleet lists. Many aircraft owned by Bird & Sons were
registered in Laos (on the XW- register) and some of the survivors were later
transferred to the US register under CASI ownership many years after the
take-over. With the fall of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, operations were
terminated and the surviving aircraft were sold, as shown in Table 6.
This article has attempted to compile the fleet lists of the principal
US airlines operating in and around Laos during the first and second
Indo-Chinese wars (1954-1975). Although these fleet lists are considerably
longer than information published in Aviation Letter during 1968, for example,
there are still significant gaps when the lists are compared with reported
inventories of these airlines. For example, only three of ten Beech Barons
operated by CASI have been identified to date.
Readers are encouraged to check their own records and report any
additions or corrections to the author or the editor. For example, as copies of
the USCAR consulted were published at intervals of four years, further
information of interest my be available in intermediate publications, e.g. the
civil registrations of Air America's C-123s, operated in about 1966.
The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of: Judy Porter
(General Secretary, Air America Association, photographs); Len Lundh (S-58
spreadsheet & photographs); Stephen Darke (Beech 18 & Baron information
& photographs); Terry Love (permission to use copyright information and
clarification of details in Wings of Air America); and Wayne Buser
(Caribou spreadsheet). Other assistance is reflected in the Bibliography.
AAA
Air America
Association
AAM
Air America,
Inc.
AB-IX Air-Britain
Information Exchange (web site and mailing list)
AFB Air Force Base
aka also known
as
AL Aviation
Letter
AMCAR American Civil Air Registers
quarterly review
BOA Boun Oum
Airways
CAB Civil
Aeronautics Board
Canx. Cancelled
CASI Continental Air
Services, Inc.
CAT CNRRA Air
Transport > Civil Air Transport
CATC Central Air
Transport Corp.
CATI Civil Air
Transport, Inc.
CIA Central
Intelligence Agency
CIC Commission International d'Control (see also ICC)
c/n construction
number
CNAC China National
Aviation Corp.
CNRRA
Chinese
National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
DBR
Damaged Beyond
Repair
DOD Department of Defense
FAA
Federal
Aviation Agency
FAC Forward Air
Controller
FAN Force Armée Neutraliste (Neutralist Armed Forces)
FAR Forces Armée du Royaume (Royal Armed Forces)
GM
Groupement Mobile
ICC International
Control Commission
ID Identity
KMT Kuomintang
(Nationalist Chinese)
LAC Lockheed
Aircraft Corporation
LS Lima Site
(Landing Site in Laos)
MR Military
Region
MSB Martin S Best
(author's files)
NLR No Longer
Registered
OWAD
The
Observer's World Aircraft Directory
PA&E Pacific
Architects and Engineers, Inc.
PARU Police Aerial
Reinforcement Unit (Thai)
PAVN People's Army of
Vietnam
PDJ Plaine des Jarres (Plain of Jars)
PEO Programs
Evaluation Office
PL Pathet Lao
q.v. quod vide
(= which see)
reg. registration
rgd. registered
RLAF Royal Lao Air
Force
RLG Royal Lao
Government
RON Remain
Overnight
r/r re-registered
RTAFB
Royal
Thai Air Force Base
RVN Republic of
Vietnam (South Vietnam)
SEA Southeast Asia
STOL Short Take-Off
and Landing
TAHS The Aviation
Hobby Shop
TBC To Be
Confirmed
TBD To Be
Determined
TPAPL
Turbo
Prop Airliner Production Lists
USAF United States
Air Force
USAID
United
States Agency for International Development
USCAR
United
States Civil Aircraft Register
USMC United States
Marines Corps
USOM United States
Operations Mission (became USAID)
USRQ
United States
Register Quarterly
USIS
United
States Information Service
USSF
United States
Army Special Forces
USSR
Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics
VNAF South Vietnamese
Air Force
VP General Vang
Pao
VTB-18
Volpar
Turbo Beech 18
WFU Withdrawn From
Use
W/O Written Off
1.
Air America Association (AAA) web site, including Feature
Stories/Articles (q.v.) and Image Library: http://www.air-america.org/
2.
Air America and the H-19A, Clarence J Abadie, AAA web site Feature
Stories (q.v.)
3.
Air America Rescue, Chuck McGrath, AAA web site Feature Stories (q.v.)
4.
Air America: the story of the CIA's secret airlines, Christopher
Robbins, Putnam, New York, 1979 & Corgi Books, 1988, ISBN 0 552 13722 7,
first published as The invisible air force: the true story of the CIA's
secret airlines, Macmillan, 1979.
5.
Air-Britain Information Exchange (AB-IX): Files web site (C-123,
DHC-4): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ab-ix
6.
Airlines of Asia since 1920, R E G Davies, Putnam
Aeronautical Books, 1997, ISBN 0 85177 855 0.
7.
America's war in Vietnam: a short narrative history, Larry H
Addington, Indiana University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-253-21360-6.
8.
Aviation Safety Network web site (C-46, C-47, Twin Pioneer): http://www.aviation-safety.net/
9.
Beech 18/C-45G & H production list: USRQ7, Volume 3, Runway Six
Nine, Winter 1978/1979, pp. 7-22.
10.
Beech 18 Conversions and Testbeds, Stephen Darke, Air-Britain
Digest, Winter 1998, pp. 10-15 & e-mails from Stephen Darke re Air America
Volpar conversions, etc.
11.
Bell 47 production lists: MSB (to be published)
12.
Bell 204B production list: MSB (to be published)
13.
Business Turboprops International 2000, Michael Austen, Air-Britain
(Historians) Ltd., 2000, ISBN 0 85130 280 7 (PC-6)
14.
Covert ops: the CIA's secret war in Laos, James E Parker Jr., St
Martin's Press, 1995, ISBN 0-312-96340-8
15.
DHC-4 Caribou production lists: MSB (AB-IX Files) + Wayne Buser's
spreadsheet & web site (Caribou Roster): http://www.oc-kahuna.com/Roster_1_25.html
16.
DHC-6 Twin Otter production lists: TPAPL (q.v.) + Dave Holder's web
site: http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/pecan/617/propliner.html
17.
Dornier Do28 production lists: MSB (to be published) + AMCAR14 (pp. 40,
44) & 17 (p. 63) + Hendrik van der Veen's e-mails & web site: http://home.planet.nl/~hendriksf260/do28.html
18.
Fairchild C-119 ‘Flying Boxcar' production list: MSB (to be published)
+ AMCAR78-82
19.
Fairchild C-123 Provider production list: MSB (AB-IX Files) + AMCAR83-85
20.
FH-1100 production list: MSB (Copters Files)
21.
Flipper's Boeing CH-47 helicopter historical database production list
web site: http://www.flippers.net +
Helicopters web site (q.v.)
22.
Helicopters/Files/Construction Lists web site (CH-47, FH-1100, KB-47): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Copters
23.
Helio 391B Courier & 395 Super Courier production lists: AMCAR 44
& 45, Runway Six Nine
24.
Kawasaki-Bell 47 production list: MSB (Copters Files)
25.
Laos: the Rough Guide, Jeff Cranmer & Steven Martin, Rough Guides
Ltd., November 1999, ISBN 1-85828-447-3
26.
Lockheed Hercules production list 1954-2001 (18th edition),
Lars Olausson, February 2000.
27.
Memories of the Fall of Saigon, April 29, 1975, Fred Walker,
Allen Cates, Thomas Grady & E G Adams, AAA web site Feature Stories (q.v.)
28.
Perilous missions: Civil Air Transport and CIA covert operations in
Asia, William M Leary, The University of Alabama Press, 1984, ISBN
0-8173-0164-X
29.
Pilatus Porter production lists: AMCAR25 + MSB (to be published) +
Markus Herzig's e-mails & web site: http://mypage.bluewin.ch/aviationworld/pc6/
30.
Piston Engine Airliner Production List (2nd edition), A
B Eastwood & J Roach, The Aviation Hobby Shop, 1996, ISBN 0 907178 61 8
(C-46, DC-4, DC-6, Twin Pioneer)
31.
Ravens of Long Tieng, Ralph Wetterhahn, Air Space Magazine, http://www.airspacemag.com/ASM/Mag/Index/1998/ON/rolt.html
32.
Sikorsky H-34: an illustrated history, Lennart Lund, Schiffer
Publishing Ltd., 1998, ISBN 0-7643-0522-0.
33.
Sikorsky S-58 production lists: MSB + AMCAR82-87, etc. + Lennart
Lundh's spreadsheet
34.
South-East Asia Civil Aircraft Registers, (Ed.) Ian P Burnett et al,
Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1979, ISBN 0 85130 067 7.
35.
Supporting the “Secret War”: CIA Air Operations in Laos, 1955-1974, William M
Leary, http://www.odci.gov/csi/studies/winter99-00/art7.html
36.
The Boeing 727, John A Whittle et al, Air-Britain (Historians)
Ltd., 1976, ISBN 0 85130 047 2.
37.
The Curtiss C-46 Commando, John M Davis et al, Air-Britain
(Historians) Ltd., 1978, ISBN 0 85130 065 0 + update.
38.
The Douglas DC-3 and its predecessors, J M G Gradidge,
Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1984, ISBN 0 85130 119 3 + 2 updates.
39.
The Douglas DC-4, John & Maureen Woods, Airline Publications
& Sales Ltd., September 1980, ISBN 0 905117 71 9.
40.
The Douglas DC-4 including Canadair 4 and Douglas DC-5, Peter Berry et
al, Air-Britain, October 1967.
41.
The Douglas DC-6 and DC-7 Series (2nd edition),
John A Whittle, Air-Britain, 1971.
42.
The Lockheed Constellation Series, Peter J Marson, Air-Britain
(Historians) Ltd., 1982, ISBN 0 85130 100 2.
43.
The Lockheed Twins, Peter J Marson, Air-Britain (Historians) Inc.,
2001, ISBN 0 85130 284 X
44.
The Observer's World Aircraft Directory (OWAD), William Green,
Warne, 1961.
45.
The Ravens: pilots of the secret war of Laos, Christopher
Robbins, Asia Books Co. Ltd., 2000, ISBN 974-8303-41-1.
46.
The Vietnam War: the history of America's conflict in Southeast Asia, Salamander Books
Ltd., 1998, ISBN 1 84065 003 6.
47.
Tragedy in Paradise. A country doctor at war in Laos, Charles Weldon
MD, Asia Books Co. Ltd., 1999, ISBN 974-8237-38-9.
48.
Turbo Prop Airliner Production Lists (4th
edition)(TPAPL), John Roach & Tony Eastwood, The Aviation Hobby Shop,
January 2001, ISBN 0907178 83 9 (C-130, DHC-6, SC-7)
49.
United States Civil Aircraft Registers, FAA, (a) 01/01/74; (b)
01/07/68; (c) 01/07/72; (d) 01/01/76.
50.
Vietnam: the helicopter war, Philip D Chinnery, Airlife
Publishing Ltd., 1996, ISBN 1 85310 827 8.
51.
Vietnam: the ten thousand day war, Michael Maclear, Thames
Methuen, 1981, ISBN 0-458-95170-6.
52.
War in Laos 1954-1975, #6063,
Kenneth Conboy, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-89747-315-9.
53.
Wings of Air America: a photo history, Terry Love, Schiffer
Publishing Ltd., 1998, ISBN 0-7643-0619-7.
54.
World Airlines Survey, Flight International, e.g. (a) 13 April 1961,
(b) 15 April 1965, (c) 14 April 1966, (d) 6 May 1971, (e) 22 March 1973.
55.
World Directory of Airliner Crashes, Terry Denham, Patrick
Stephens Ltd., 1996, ISBN 1 85260 554 5.
29/10/46: CNRRA Air
Transport (CAT) formed by Claire Lee Chennault and Whiting Willauer
03/02/47: CAT commenced
non-scheduled operations in China
02/03/47: First CAT
transport arrives in Shanghai
July 1947: National
Security Act, formation of the US Central Intelligence Agency
1948-1949: Communist forces
take over mainland China
19/07/49: Laos is
recognised as an independent state with ties to France
10/11/49: Managements of CNAC & CATC defected to the Communists leaving the aircraft guarded in Hong Kong
16/12/49: CAT moved its
aircraft to Formosa
19/12/49: Chennault & Willauer purchase the Nationalist Government shares of CNAC & CATC and registered their fleets to Civil Air Transport,
Inc. (CATI) in USA
01/01/50: CATI bought Pan
American's 20% share in CNAC
1950: Civil Air
Transport Co. Ltd. formed in Taiwan to take over the routes of CATI
08/05/50: US announced
military and economic aid to the pro-French regimes of Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia
25/06/50: North Korea
forces attack South Korean positions south of the 38th parallel
10/07/50: American Airdale
Corporation (CIA holding company) incorporated
1953: Operation
SQUAW, CAT's operations in support of French forces in Indochina
1953-1954: Operation REPAT,
airlift of Nationalist troops from Burma & Thailand to Taiwan
1954: Operation
SQUAW II, CAT's operations in support of French forces in Indochina, especially
during the siege of Dien Bien Phu
07/05/54: The remnants of
the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrender
July 1954: The Geneva Accords on Indochina are signed [1], partitioning Vietnam and setting up an ICC to supervise compliance with the
Agreements [2]
1954: Operation
COGNAC, CAT's airlift of refugees from North to South Vietnam
31/03/56: Prince Souvanna
Phouma becomes prime minister in Laos
05/08/56: Souvanna Phouma
and the Communist Prince Souphanouvong agree to a coalition government in Laos
29/05/57: Communist Pathet
Lao attempt to seize power in Laos
01/07/57: First CAT
aircraft deployed to Vientiane to service a contract with the US Embassy
07/10/57: American Airdale
Corporation changes its name to Pacific Corporation
31/03/59: CIA investment
in CAT Inc. transferred to Air America, Inc. (or 26/03/59?)
Jun-Jul 1959: Communist Pathet
Lao forces attempt to gain control over northern Laos
July 1959: USSF Mobile
Training Teams dispatched to Laos (HOTFOOT teams)
23/08/59: First two
transports of Air America arrived in Vientiane
Dec 1959: Second USSF
contingent, HOTFOOT 2, replaced the first group
31/12/59: General Phoumi
Nosavan seizes control in Laos
09/08/60: Captain Kong Lee
staged a successful coup d'état in Vientiane and urged
restoration of a neutral Laos under Prince Souvanna Phouma
16/12/60: The forces of
Phoumi Nosavan captured Vientiane
04/01/61: Prince Boun Oum
organises a pro-Western government in Laos; North Vietnam and the USSR send aid
to the Communist insurgents
1961: Air America
supplied with ~23 USMC H-34 helicopters by Executive Order
16/05/61: A 14-nation
Conference on Laos opened in Geneva [1]
08/10/61: The Lao factions
agree to form a neutral coalition headed by Souvanna Phouma
May 1962: Phoumi Nosavan's
forces are routed, paving the way for a settlement in Laos
23/07/62: Protocol to the Declaration
on the Neutrality of Laos signed in Geneva
07/10/62: All foreign
military personnel to be withdrawn from Laos
April 1965: Continental
Airlines forms CASI by taking over the air division of Bird & Sons, Inc.
Sep 1965: CASI commences
operations in SE Asia
08/10/69: Souvanna Phouma
requests increased American aid to meet heavier Communist pressure in Laos
18/12/69: Congress
prohibits the use of current DoD appropriations to introduce ground combat
troops into Laos or Thailand
10/02/70: Souvanna Phouma states that he will take no action against Communist supply activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail if North Vietnam will
withdraw combat troops from Laos
29/12/70: Congress adopts
legislation that denies funds for the introduction of ground combat troops into
Laos or Thailand
27/01/73: The Paris peace
accord is signed and the Vietnam War is officially ended
21/03/73: Souvanna Phouma
and the Communists conclude a cease-fire in Laos
29/03/73: The last
American troops leave South Vietnam
03/06/74: Last Air America
aircraft crossed the border from Laos into Thailand.
30/06/74: Air America
operations at Udorn, Thailand, close down
April 1975: Clashes occur
between Communist insurgents and Laos government troops
April 1975: Operation
Frequent Wind, the evacuation of refugees from Saigon
17/04/75: The fall of
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
29/04/75: The fall of
Saigon, RVN
16/05/75: The Pathet Lao
seizes Pakse in Laos
20/05/75: Savannakhet falls to
the Pathet Lao
June 1975: Pathet Lao
troops seize US Embassy property in Vientiane
23/08/75: The Pathet Lao
consolidates the Communist takeover in Laos
03/12/75: The Lao
coalition headed by Souvanna Phouma is abolished; Laos becomes a Communist
state with Souvanouvong as President
30/06/76: Air America
finally closed down.
[1] The 14 nations that participated in the Geneva Convention were: the
US, the Soviet Union, France, Canada, China, India, Great Britain, Poland, Thailand,
Burma, Cambodia, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and Laos.
[2] The International Control Commission (ICC) was composed of members
from India, Canada and Poland.
[3] This Chronology has been compiled using various sources listed in
the Bibliography.
Bird and Son and Continental Air Services
(CASI)
If you have any comments, suggestions, corrections, or additional information regarding the content of this page, please contact Martin Best directly at msbest@loxinfo.co.th
Thank you.