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By November 1968, 71st SOS flight crews had progressed through the 4413th Combat Crew Training Squadron's program at Lockbourne AFB and were considered ready for the combat theater. On 27 Nov 1968, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul H. Nitze approved the deployment of the 71st SOS to South Vietnam. The AC-119G aircraft were being rotated through the Fairchild-Hiller Facility at St. Augustine, FL in preparation for the ferry missions to South Vietnam. The most significant modification was the removal of the four minigun pods and mounts, and the installation of a 500 gallon auxiliary fuel tank. Ferry crew members had been selected and assigned, and the first two ferry crews departed Lockbourne AFB, OH on 4 Dec 1968 for St. Augustine, FL. A ferry route was established that would require about 72 flight hours, approximately 9,800 air miles, and eleven stops. Following aircraft pick up at the Fairchild-Hiller Facility at St. Augustine, FL, most crews made the following overnight(or longer) stops for rest, fuel, aircraft maintenance, and weather delays.
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Crew #2 |
Crew #3 |
Crew #4 |
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| Pilot | Knie, Richard E. (LtCol) | Shinnick, Lawrence (LtCol) | Sobieski, Thomas J. (LtCol) |
| Copilot | Peterson, Tommy C. (Maj.) | Miller, Loman E. (LtCol) | Pollock, George W. (Maj) |
| Navigator | Scott, William R. (Capt.) | Nichols, Spencer L. (Maj) | Rice, Jerome J. (Maj) |
| Flight Engineer | Andreen, Albert (SSgt) | Strubbe, John W. (SSgt) | Thomas, Byron K. (TSgt) |
| Crew Chief | Wiedenhaupt, Wm A. (Sgt) | Wall, Earl W. (SSgt) | Bauer, Thomas W. (Sgt) |
| Departure Date | 24 Jan 1969 | 29 Jan 1969 | 22 Jan 1969 |
| Arrival Date | 27 Feb 1969 | 2 Mar 1969 | 18 Feb 1969 |
| Aircraft No. | 53-3170 | 52-5892 | 53-3205 |
Crew #5 |
Crew #6 |
Crew #8 |
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| Pilot | Morgan, Jack (Maj) | Blake, Charles E. (Maj) | Rupe, Roxy R. (Maj) |
| Copilot | Ray, Maurice E. (Maj) | Callaghan, Wm S. (Capt) | Rudkin, Richard E. (Capt) |
| Navigator | Wood, Thomas W. (Capt) | Walters, Ronald J. (Capt) | Schmucker, Franz (Maj) |
| Flight Engineer | Byler, Buddy R. (MSgt) | Turner, Michael P. (SSgt) | McDaniel, Earl (SSgt) |
| Crew Chief | Miller, Donald J. (A1c) | Dobbs, Charles J. (SSgt) | Cross, Ronald (Sgt) |
| Departure Date | 29 Jan 1969 | 13 Jan 1969 | 4 Dec 1968 |
| Arrival Date | 2 Mar 1969 | 13 Feb 1969 | 26 Jan 1969 |
| Aircraft No. | 53-7848 | 52-5938 | 53-7852 |
Crew #9 |
Crew #11 |
Crew #15 |
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| Pilot | McPherson, Ben R. (Maj) | Morris, William H. (Maj) | Lewis, John W. (LtCol) |
| Copilot | Evens, Marvin A. (Capt) | Dague, Joseph W. (Maj) | Tucker, Edmon G. (Maj) |
| Navigator | Kiely, Michael R. (Capt) | Withun, William (Capt) | Jones, Kyle (Maj) |
| Flight Engineer | Eddington, Ron N. (SSgt) | McNeeley, Wm V. (SSgt) | Westendorf, Bernie (SSgt) |
| Crew Chief | Burks, John M. (SSgt) | Price, Sidney W. (Sgt) | Antle, David A. (Sgt) |
| Departure Date | 6 Dec 1968 | 13 Jan 1969 | 5 Dec 1968 |
| Arrival Date | 30 Dec 1968 | 27 Feb 1969 | 25 Jan 1969 |
| Aircraft No. | 53-3178 | 53-7851 | 53-3192 |
Crew #16 |
Crew #17 |
Crew #18 |
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| Pilot | Long, William E. (LtCol) | Horak, Donald R. (Maj) | Sherrill, Clyde (Maj) |
| Copilot | Harrell, Ralph V. (Maj) | O'Brien, William R. (Maj) | Mangin, Howard (Capt) |
| Navigator | Cox, Vaiden Q. (Maj) | Martin, John L. (Capt) | Feather, Byron D. (Maj) |
| Flight Engineer | Hupp, Richard L. (SSgt) | Young, Henry J. (SSgt) | Loveless, Herb (SSgt) |
| Crew Chief | Finkel, Robert R. (Sgt) | Alvis, James R. (Sgt) | Hinton, Warren (Sgt) |
| Departure Date | 18 Dec 1968 | 6 Jan 1969 | 5 Dec 1968 |
| Arrival Date | 8 Jan 1969 | 22 Jan 1969 | 27 Dec 1968 |
| Aircraft No. | 52-5927 | 52-5925 | 53-3189 |
Crew #19 |
Crew #20 |
Crew #21 |
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| Pilot | Scott, Earl W. (LtCol) | Zumhingst, Herbert (Maj) | Reid, Norman D. (Maj) |
| Copilot | Johnson, Warren L. (LtCol) | Tippy, Gene R. (Maj) | Hoehn, Vernon L. (Maj) |
| Navigator | Beaty, Robert N. (Maj) | Derscavage, Joseph (Maj) | Halsey, Jack L. (Maj) |
| Flight Engineer | Stickles, Owen D. (MSgt) | Penrose, Ronald D. (SSgt) | Olmstead, Paul L. (SSgt) |
| Crew Chief | Garrett, Archie (SSgt) | Farmer, David (Sgt) | Gaddie, Thomas (SSgt) |
| Departure Date | 29 Dec 1968 | 6 Dec 1968 | 18 Dec 1968 |
| Arrival Date | 12 Jan 1969 | 27 Dec 1968 | 11 Jan 1969 |
| Aircraft No. | 53-8155 | 53-8069 | 52-5907 |
Crew #22 |
Crew #23 |
Crew #24 |
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| Pilot | Morgan, Richard E. (Maj) | Campbell, Burl G. (LtCol) | Conley, Robert L. (LtCol) |
| Copilot | Casey, William R. (Capt) | Horrell, Wm L. (LtCol) | Rhodes, Richard (Maj) |
| Navigator | Woolard, Wm H. (LtCol) | Crawford, Harold R. (Maj) | Ubinger, Wm (Maj) |
| Flight Engineer | Riley, Squire (SSgt) | Wheeler, Ronald E. (MSgt) | Hobbs, Lloyd I. (TSgt) |
| Crew Chief | Goen, Paul T. (SSgt) | Lawson, Roy L. (Sgt) | Evans, Wm E. (SSgt) |
| Departure Date | 26 Dec 1968 | 10 Dec 1968 | 10 Dec 1968 |
| Arrival Date | 20 Jan 1969 | 30 Dec 1968 | 21 Jan 1969 |
| Aircraft No. | 52-5942 | 53-5905 | 53-3136 |
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