Air America in South Vietnam I From the days of CAT to 1969 by Dr. Joe F. Leeker First published on 11 August 2008, last updated on 24 August 2015 I) At the times of CAT Since early 1951, a CAT C-47, mostly flown by James B. McGovern, was permanently based at Saigon1 to transport supplies within Vietnam for the US Special Technical and Economic Mission, and during the early fifties, American military and economic assistance to Indochina even increased. “In the fall of 1951, CAT did obtain a contract to fly in support of the Economic Aid Mission in FIC [= French Indochina]. McGovern was assigned to this duty from September 1951 to April 1953. He flew a C-47 (B-813 in the beginning) throughout FIC: Saigon, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Nhatrang, Haiphong, etc., averaging about 75 hours a month. This was almost entirely overt flying.”2 CAT’s next operations in Vietnam were Squaw I and Squaw II, the missions flown out of Hanoi in support of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu in 1953/4, using USAF C-119s painted in the colors of the French Air Force; but they are described in the file “Working in Remote Countries: CAT in New Zealand, Thailand-Burma, French Indochina, Guatemala, and Indonesia”. Between mid-May and mid-August 54, the CAT C-119s continued dropping supplies to isolated French outposts and landed loads throughout Vietnam. When the Communists incited riots throughout the country, CAT flew ammunition and other supplies from Hanoi to Saigon, and brought in tear gas from Okinawa in August.3 Between 12 and 14 June 54, CAT captain Fred Walker flew some 39,000 pounds of mortar shells to Seno in southern Laos, but then returned to air- dropping food, parachutes, barbed wire, and fencepost.4 But when the last CAT C-119s and C-46s had left Vietnam by the end of 1954, only a single CAT aircraft remained in the country: a C-47 attached to the USOM office at Saigon.5 CAT C-47A B-827 operated for USOM / Saigon, taken at Hong Kong on 13 September 56 (UTD/Kirkpatrick/slide A 4074) 1 On 31 August 51, the CAT C-47 based at Saigon was B-811 (Memorandum dated 11 September 51 sent by the President to the Board of Directors, in: UTD/Leary/B20F9). 2 “CAT in French Indochina”, p.4, in: UTD/Kirkpatrick/B1F1. For more details, see my file Working in remote countries within this e-book. 3 “CAT in French Indochina”, p.24, in: UTD/Kirkpatrick/B1F1. 4 Hamilton-Merritt, Tragic mountains, p.63. 5 Leary, Perilous missions, pp.154-94; Robbins, Air America, pp.56-60; Conboy / Andradé, Spies and commandos, pp.14/5. 1 Yet another type of contract work was done immediately after the Geneva Agreement of 21 July 1954. As the agreement permitted free movement of civilians for a certain time, a mass exodus began from the North to the South. Chinese officials immediately chartered 2 CAT C-46s to evacuate Nationalist supporters from Hanoi to Saigon for a month. On 22 August 54, Project Cognac began, in which, for two months until 4 October, at first 12 CAT C-46s,6 and, due to French competition, 7 CAT C-46s since 18 September, transported people from North Vietnam to the South. “An interesting aspect of Cognac was the association with [Col. Edward] Lansdale’s Saigon Military Mission (CIA). As Lansdale later reported: ‘CAT asked SMM for help in obtaining a French contract for the refugee airlift, and got it. In return, CAT provided SMM with the means for a secret air travel between North and Saigon.’ [...] Major Lucien [...] Conein was responsible for developing a paramilitary organization in the north, to be in position when the Vietminh took over. Conein had MAAG cover, moved north as part of MAAG staff working on refugee problem. The team had headquarters in Hanoi, with a branch at Haiphong. Among its cover duties, the team supervised the refugee flow for the Hanoi airlift operated by CAT.”7 So CAT’s return flights to the North were often used to smuggle north agents of the CIA’s Saigon Military Mission and weapons to be used for causing trouble to the new Communist regime – over eight tons.8 Especially in January 1955, CAT C-46s flew supplies, arms and equipment to Haiphong, where they were hidden inside building foundations or buried on cemeteries during phony funeral ceremonies. Other supplies, including 14 radios, 300 carbines, 50 pistols, and 300 pounds of explosives, were flown north in February and March 55 and hidden in caches along the Red River.9 “The northern group was involved in a number of ‘dirty tricks’ operations, including the sabotage of busses and the railroad. They also identified targets for future paramilitary operations. However, the mission generally was a failure, with little success in leaving an effective stay- behind network.”10 Confronted with a Viet Minh that was fiercely determined to take over power, these agents left the north together with the last French troops on 9 October 54. Some of the arms caches were discovered only in 1964.11 In January 1958, Dale Williamson replaced Al Pope in Saigon. Clyde Bauer was Station Manager at Saigon. Flying was an average of 120 hours a month, point-to-point for the USAID mission, with Chinese co-pilot and radio operator. On Tuesdays, there was a scheduled flight from Saigon to Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Vientiane, and Bangkok, returning the next day.12 In June 58, Saigon Station was requested that a second C-47 be stationed at Saigon that was to fly for Johnson, Drake and Piper and for Capital Construction.13 6 “August 17, 1954 saw the signing of a new contract (dubbed ‘Operation Cognac’) in Saigon between the French and CAT. […] Six C-46s arrived in Saigon on August 22nd and another six followed shortly thereafter in one of the largest exodus from a Communist regime. CAT operations were centered at Hanoi with maintenance at Hanoi. […] The center of operations was later transferred from Hanoi to Haiphong on September 19th and remained there until the operation came to an end on Oct. 4th” (“Operation Cognac”, in: CAT Bulletin, vol. VII, no. 10, October 1954, pp.28/9). 7 “CAT in French Indochina”, pp.24/5, in: UTD/Kirkpatrick/B1F1. 8 Robbins, Air America, p.153. 9 Conboy / Andradé, Spies and commandos, pp.9/10. 10 “CAT in French Indochina”, p.25, in: UTD/Kirkpatrick/B1F1. 11 Leary, Perilous missions, pp.192/3. 12 Dale D. Williamson, interview made by William M. Leary at Bellevue, WA, on 13 July 1987; Professor Leary’s notes are preserved at UTD/Leary/B43F5. 13 Letter dated 18 June 58, President Grundy to Vice Chairman of the Board, CEO Doole, online readable at: http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/1818029/195802.pdf 2 II) The 1959-1964 period: As to the American involvement in South Vietnam during the early sixties, since 1961, Air America had very close relations with a South Vietnamese company called VIAT, a cover for the CIA,14 which it helped to build up – as will be described later. Probably due to the fact that President Diem did not want to have an official presence of US troops in South Vietnam,15 the official presence of Air America aircraft in South Vietnam was still very limited during the early sixties: In 1961, there was only contract no. 61-02 with USOM / Saigon, dated 20 June 61, which called for one Piper Apache.16 By 1963, Air America’s presence in South Vietnam had grown a little bit. Initially, aircraft that were normally based in Laos or Thailand would come to South Vietnam for a short period, that is TDY. One of the pilots involved was Joe Hazen. He recalls: “On/about 5 January 1963, Fred Walker, Ed Dearborn and I, as captains, Leroy Letendre and Howard (Howie) Carroll as co-pilots, went from Vientiane to Danang to check-out several strips for future Air America operations. I don’t recall who designated the airport abbreviations, but Danang was F-16.17 I think Khe Sanh was K-2 (not F-2). There was also F-12, F-22, F-24, F-25, F-28, F-84 and F-87. Saigon and Pleiku did not have designations or abbreviations. The other places we went to were Dalat, Ban Me Thuot, Kontum, Qui Nhon, possibly Cam Ranh Bay, Nha Trang and a few others.18 […] On 18 January, all of us went to BKK on [Caribou] 853 as it was in need of service that was not yet available in Vietnam. Don Coney took my place when the aircraft went back to Vietnam. I stayed in BKK and then flew [Caribou] 851 to Vientiane on 23 January. – The next time I went back to Vietnam is when I took N4224G (DO-28) from BKK to SGN (F-17) on 3 February 1963 and stayed until 16 February.19 On the 16th, I was a passenger on an Air Vietnam Caravelle SGN/BKK. While operating the DO-28 for two weeks, I went to F-1, F-3, F-4, F-7, F-11, F-16, F-20, and F-22. Places with no designations were Camau, Plei Mrong, Cheo Reo, Ham Tan, Rach Gia and An Loc.”20 In July 1963, the following Air America aircraft were assigned to operations in Vietnam: AAM Aircraft Availability of 1 July 63, in: UTD/Walker/B25F8 14 Fax dated 7 August 2000 by Brigadier General Aderholt to the author.