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USS Midway, San Diego, California
- Thread starter sksvlad
- Start date
Slick
Well-Known Member
sksvlad
Well-Known Member
Interesting story from Wikipedia:
On 29 April 1975, the day before the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War, Republic of Vietnam Air Force Major Buang-Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and took off from Con Son Island. After evading enemy ground fire, Major Buang-Ly headed out to sea and spotted the aircraft carrier Midway. With only an hour of fuel remaining, he dropped a note[SUP][9][/SUP] asking that the deck be cleared so he could land.[SUP][10][/SUP] Knowing there was no room for this to happen, Midway's commanding officer, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Lawrence Chambers ordered US$10 million worth of South Vietnamese Bell UH-1 Iroquois ("Huey") helicopters to be pushed overboard into the South China Sea. The Bird Dog that Major Buang-Ly landed aboard Midway is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[SUP][11][/SUP] A similar aircraft was restored in the markings of the aircraft flown by Major Buang-Ly for an exhibit at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California
On 29 April 1975, the day before the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War, Republic of Vietnam Air Force Major Buang-Ly loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and took off from Con Son Island. After evading enemy ground fire, Major Buang-Ly headed out to sea and spotted the aircraft carrier Midway. With only an hour of fuel remaining, he dropped a note[SUP][9][/SUP] asking that the deck be cleared so he could land.[SUP][10][/SUP] Knowing there was no room for this to happen, Midway's commanding officer, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Lawrence Chambers ordered US$10 million worth of South Vietnamese Bell UH-1 Iroquois ("Huey") helicopters to be pushed overboard into the South China Sea. The Bird Dog that Major Buang-Ly landed aboard Midway is now on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[SUP][11][/SUP] A similar aircraft was restored in the markings of the aircraft flown by Major Buang-Ly for an exhibit at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California