Before Saigon fell, on April 29, 1975, C-130A Hercules with tail number 56-0518 completed the final mission out of Vietnam
C-130A Hercules, tail number 56-0518, completed the final mission out of Vietnam on April 29, 1975, just before Saigon fell.
On August 23, 1957, 56-0518 was admitted into the US Air Force (USAF) inventory. According to Master Sgt. Jeff Walston, the 913th Airlift Group was initially stationed at the 314th Troop Carrier Wing at Sewart AFB, Tennessee, as mentioned in the article Last “Herk” out of Vietnam. It was in service with multiple Air Force units from 1964 to 1972. The aircraft was sent to the South Vietnamese Air Force on November 2, 1972, as part of the Nixon administration’s effort to support that nation’s defense through the Military Assistance Program against the communist forces who were invading the country from the North.
The day before Saigon fell, on April 29, 1975, North Vietnamese forces destroyed almost every aircraft on the Tan Son Nhut Air Base flightline, totaling over 100 aircraft. The only C-130 to escape destruction was 0-5-1-8.
Maj. Phuong, a South Vietnamese instructor pilot, and his crew were getting ready to take away the last operational aircraft from the demolished Tan Son Nhut air base.
Hundreds of fleeing refugees scrambled in a frenzy to board this last operational C-130, their only hope for freedom. The throng pressed themselves into every nook and cranny, to the point that the humans positioned on the rear ramp prevented it from closing.
The loadmaster alerted Phoung, who had little choice except to slowly taxi the aircraft forward before using the brakes and forcing the passengers forward. The ramp closed.
It would require all of Phuong’s flying skill and more runway than was available to get the laden aircraft off the ground, but the C-130 managed to take to the skies.
Phoung was lost over the Gulf of Siam, delaying his intended 80-minute flight to the safety of Thailand. After locating a map and making adjustments, the C-130 touched down at Utapao Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand three and a half hours later.
There were 452 people on board in total, 32 of whom were in the cockpit. The airplane needed to use every foot of the runway in order to take off because it was overloaded by at least 10,000 pounds. On this historic flight, no lives were lost.
Following the landing, the aircraft was reclaimed by the US Air Force and subsequently assigned to the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1976. In 1979, the aircraft was assigned to Nashville, Tennessee’s 118th Tactical Airlift Group (ANG). The aircraft, which was retired to Little Rock AFB in 1989, is on display at the main gate. It was originally assigned to the 62d Troop Carrier Squadron and the 314th Troop Carrier Wing.
Photo by U.S. Air Force