The flight went missing while en route to Vietnam. and flew to Portland ,Oregon. Federal Express (FM / FDX) Base / Main Hub. Great article with great info, I remember in 1968 when I went. With four Rolls Royce engines that developed 5,700 horsepower, it cruised at 375 miles per hour, carrying up to 60,000 pounds of cargo over a range of 3,000 miles. WebAir America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1950 to 1976. Change). These women allayed the fears of soldiers heading to war and offered support and reassurance to those headed home. The companys participation in the Peruvian Airlift aided earthquake victims in the quake devastated country. Free shipping for many products! Not sure if the change in mood was due to smoked joints and beer, but it sure didnt hurt any. In 1965, the company received two Boeing 707-320C freighters and became part of the jet age. I was on those flights, twice over and back although on other carriers. a light greenish blue I spent one year there and flew 15 missions in Vietnam, 8 north and 7 south. Wish I still knew a few of these darlings. All the ladies on all the flights were outstanding, especially the ones on the flight home that handled some of the rude guys in isle seats. Great article .. enjoyed it more than my flight to Vietnam,but, what a wonderful sight when I walked out to the plane to return home. The young men would leave their patches, their names, their addresses, their rosary beads and ask the crew members to write to them while they were in Vietnam. Yes, it was a memorable 4 day flight. Sources: ATDB.aero, Aviation Safety Network, The Free Lance-Star. Indeed, having begun in November 1955, it wouldn't come to an end until almost two decades later, in April 1975. We of course did not get his and flew on to Bangkok where we transferred to a military aircraft and flew down to U-T a B-52 base. Flying Tiger Line was ramping up operations in Vietnam, too, and its believed maintenance standards dropped as a result of increased demand. As a grunt and a company commander from the 1st ID, who had left a few week old daughter and now was headed home to see her and the rest of the finally, I didnt cry but I damn sure slept well on that plane for the first time in 18 months. Its a way to look back, said one woman planning to attend, Ann Price Montgomery, who joined Flying Tigers in 1968. In the Vietnam airlift, Flying Tigers provided strategic flights from the US to numerous military bases throughout the Pacific and Southeast Asia geographic region. A fine bunch of people. In February 1947, the airline legally changed its name to The Flying Tiger Line, Inc. Elsie the Cow was one of the airlines first celebrities when the Borden Company chartered a plane especially equipped for the bovine for a one-month tour. Flying Tigers was a mechanism of the war she opposed. On September 23, 1962, Flying Tiger Line Flight 923, an L-1049H Super Constellation (N6923C), ditched in the North Atlantic after three engines failed, killing 28 of 76 on board. Thank you all. I made that trip also in Jan,1967. On September 9, 1958, a Flying Tiger Line. I missed my 21st birthday completely. Country. The first full shipment consisted of grapes flown from Bakersfield, California to Atlanta, Georgia. After a dangerous heist of a mysterious device from the FBI, the HKPD assigns Ko Ka Chun, to save Hong Kong from the imminent threat from the Black Snake Gang. In August 87, the newly re-engined DC8-73DF freighter came online with the Tiger fleet of B-747s and B-727s. With the Boeing 707s supplemented by Canadair CL-44s, Flying Tigers supplied U.S. military forces and became the largest carrier of cargo in the Pacific. We relied on each other and the soldiers to manage.. Rumbles & Bangs: Japan Airlines Boeing 767-300ER Encounters Engine Failure, Investors Are Now Worried About US Airline Stocks. The flight attendants were as depicted in this article, both going and coming home. On December 16, 1988, Federal Express announced their cash tender offer for the purchase of Flying Tigers. All rights reserved. Thank you for taking care of us. I have just relived a very important part of my young life, thru these articles and the loving responses. After all the things i remember about my viet nam year , i never remembered about the flight to or from . WebAir America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1950 to 1976. From 1979 to 1980 the Flying Tiger Line passed Pan Am to become the world's number one air cargo carrier. It was her name, address and telephone number with the instructions that if it didnt work out between me and my fiance after I came back to give her a call because she saw something in me that she had been looking for. High over the Pacific, It wasnt my style to go asking every woman that I met to get her address and telephone number, besides I had more important things on my mind. In 1964, the company graduated its first class of flight attendants. Its ultimate destination was the Vietnamese city of Saigon, to which it was transporting 96 soldiers. In June 1946, the Budd Conestogas were replaced by C-47s. The airline was bought by Federal Express in 1988. After an almost three hour delay, the airplane is back in the air and en-route to our final destination Vietnam. It surpassed Pan American World Airways in 1980 as the world's largest air cargo carrier after acquiring its rival cargo airline Seaboard World Airlines on 1 October 1980. )I was engaged and (2.) In quieter moments, men cracked: a lieutenant crying softly in his seat, admitting that his wife had just given birth to a baby he might never see again; a young mans hand shaking as he reached for a cup of milk. This allowed for more extensive geographic capability and cargo capacity. Flew over on Military Transport (think it was a 141) The flight was a complete 3 stooges movie MATS had trouble w/plane. I was 24, Breen recalled. (1966-1969), The Douglas DC-8-63F was a new breed of aircraft that had a far reaching effect on the continuing growth for the airfreight industry. While in Alaska stopping and refueling I was only 1/2 way through a mountain of pancakes, sausage and eggs smothered with Maple syrup when they announce for all out bound corpsmen to report immediately for departure. Flying Tiger aircraft were chartered to transport troops and supplies from the United States to Asia; Flying Tigers later received a cargo route award to Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. /stilI could not talk or say a word, still stunned that in one day went from war to out of Army and nowback in the house at home. My tours were 67 to 68 and 68 to 69, My second tour i was stationed in Saigon , my unit had a small crew break room where the transit crews rested between flights. Room parties and roof parties and lobby parties and oh, my goodness.. I went to Vietnam on a ship so we had 21 days to prepare our minds unlike the guys traveling by plane that had only a few hours to prepare! They became known for carrying a number of unique cargoes, including Shamu the SeaWorld killer whale and the torch of the Statue of Liberty. On March 6, 1967, Flying Tigers first DC8-63F aircraft arrived. That was not us, recalled Andee Reingold Wright, a San Francisco native who was 21 when she started with Flying Tigers in 1967. Nobody wanted to take anybody over there who wasnt coming back.. En route to Saigon, the flight was set to make several refueling stops. Read about what they talk about at their reunions. Ninety-three of these were enlisted with the US Army, with the remaining three being from South Vietnam. THe girls (attendants) were great cant saw much for the people of California . Piloted by the novice American Volunteer Group, who were from all branches of the military and civilians, these men provided military support to the Republic of China in their defense against the Japanese invasion between 1941-1942. Many of these people became valuable members of the Flying Tigers family. The Boeing 707 remained in the fleet only few years, and later sold, upon arrival of the higher-payload Douglas DC-8, the largest civilian airliner until the Boeing 747 entered service. 25 Jun 1945. After just under two hours on the ground, The Free Lance-Star reported that the flight departed Guam just before 21:00. I salute you all ladies!! On November 9, 1977, President Carter signed into law the legislation which deregulated airfreight in the U.S. On March 3, 1978, one month after Flying Tigers was named the largest airfreight carrier in the free world, the airlines founder, Robert W. Prescott, died. When I went back in 1970 out of McCord it was on World Airlines. After an almost three hour delay, the airplane is back in the air and en-route to our final destination Vietnam. WebFind many great new & used options and get the best deals for FLYING TIGERS Douglas DC-8 -Aviation Postcard Airlines-WGA-927 at the best online prices at eBay! But nothing could have prepared her for what it was like to be a flight attendant at Flying Tigers during the golden era of aviation a job so fabulous and exciting on the one hand and emotionally brutal on the other that it transformed the lives of hundreds of young women like her who were hired during the war, forcing them to confront the realities of Vietnam in ways they never expected, and bonding them to each other for decades to come. They played cards with the guys, laughed with them. As I was sitting down one of my friends who considered himself a ladies man, smarted off to me Oh, you struck out too, didnt you? I told him that I had not asked for her address that she gave it to me. It supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, including providing support for drug smuggling in Laos. C-47-Flying Tiger relied heavily on the Douglas C-47, the cargo version of the famed DC-3. I was one of those Men that you brought back to the World. I went to Nam not on a Flying Tiger plane, and made it back home in one piece with no PTSD, only a parasite from the veggies. Not a good way to start the year! Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 was a Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, which is pictured here. The flight attendants, although very young themselves, couldnt believe how young the troops were just 17 and 18 in some cases. The company was started by Robert William Prescott. Eleven members of the AVE joined Prescott and formed the National Skyways Freight Corp. Web346 views 9 months ago. Theyd usually start at Travis Air Force Base outside of San Francisco or McChord Field in Washington, picking up more than 200 fresh-faced, uniformed servicemen from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. God Bless you all. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, a 21-year-old Seattle woman saw a job ad for a California cargo airline called the Flying Tiger Line that had a large presence in San Francisco. The aircraft was operating a Military Air Transport Service (MATS) cargo flight from Travis AFB to Kadena Air Base. JW, beautiful poem. This presumed death toll made it the worst accident involving the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation. Mel Beers ret first sergeant . Contact Thank you to all who came out to join us for our BBQ Fly-in! return home flight in July 69 was on a Flying Tigers stretch-8. In the years during and after World War II, military veterans were given special preference to purchase or lease government surplus aircraft. I dont remember the faces of the flight attendantsprobably because I was so overwhelmed by my own emotions going to war and coming home. Also in 1962, the company initiated the first coordinated combination of sea and air transportation; later to become known as SeaTiger. "Airlines Remembered" by B.I. With the DC-8, Flying Tigers was able to inaugurate daily international schedules on routes linking the major markets of the U.S. and Asia. Flying Tiger history began during World War II when the original aircrafts were small fighter planes. (1946-1951), C-46 Gen. -- The Curtis C-46 "Commando" that Flying Tigers flew on supply missions over the Hump during World War II came home for civilian duty, joining Flying Tigers' fleet in 1949. Just reading this article brings tears to my eyes. Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 was a Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, which is pictured here. Flying from Clark AFB to Guam refueling then on to Travis AFB and Home. This article is an important read. Sweet Jesus, I was back in the USA ; Many flight attendants struggled at first to contain their own emotions. We all knew that some going would not make it back alive. I think it is great! Two examples were thoroughbred racehorses and show animals from Stansted, England to the Melbourne Cup, as well as breeding stock cattle (milk supply) to nations such as Japan and Thailand. I was so wrapped up in my own personal trauma that I thought they were being so nice because they were paid to, not because they wanted to. As in Korea, these flights carried both cargo as well as military personnel and their dependents. The merger gave the combined airlines scheduled, all-cargo services world-wide. Remember the pungent fish smell and heat as we deplaned. The next stop was Saigon where we left off troops. Capable of lifting 7,000 pounds over a version of the famed DC-3. But the womens bond outlasted the death of the airline that brought them together. Landed in Saigon. They saw so much in those soldiers eyes and dealt with some truly emotional issues. Flying Tigers already had terminals at San Francisco, Burbank, San Diego, Chicago, Cleveland and Newark.
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