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Taking The Night Away From Charlie

Explore the stealthy operations of the QT-2PC aircraft in Vietnam, assessing its efficiency and capabilities during nightly surveillance missions.

cedric-grimes
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Taking The Night Away From Charlie

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  1. Taking The Night Away From Charlie • SIXTH TRIENNIAL VIETNAM SYMPOSIUM • THE VIETNAM CENTER • TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

  2. QT-2PC Aircraft

  3. Six Sheave 3:1 V-Belt Reduction System

  4. Starlight Scopes

  5. “Skonk Works, North Rules(with respect to Kelly Johnson)‏ • Limited Access • Very short Chain Of Command • Direct contact with customer. • Minimum inspection, documentation, and reporting. • Commercial parts and local vendors. • Many usual DoD & Lockheed requirements waived.

  6. Skonk-Works, North

  7. QT-2 1st Flight - August 15, 1967

  8. Prize Crew Operational Evaluation (OpEval) Plan • Add IFR Instrumentation and Comm/Nav Avionics • Add viewing ports for the Tactical Observers • Paint the aircraft for night operations. • Train the aircrews • Deploy the aircraft to Vietnam within 90 days. • Conduct nightly surveillance missions. • Evaluate the quiet aircraft concept and, specifically the Prize Crew Aircraft, in a tactical operational environment.

  9. Up-Loading a QT-2PC into USAF MAC C-130 at NAS Moffett Field, (“Blimp” Hanger in background)‏

  10. Soc Trang Army Airfield, RVN • 3500’ Long • 130’ Wide • Near Sea Level • In the Mekong Delta Near Bassac R. and the South China Sea

  11. Off-Loading the QT-2PC(on its trailer) from the USAF C-130

  12. Uncrating the QT-2PC

  13. Crew Installing Port Wing

  14. Preflight Checkout

  15. Typical Hanger Work 1

  16. Typical Hanger Work 2

  17. QT-2PCs on Ramp (STAF Tower in backgound)‏

  18. Prize Crew OpEval Objectives • Determine which missions and roles can be performed by quiet aircraft and ascertain whether the results justify further development of the concept. • Determine the capabilities and limitations of the quiet aircraft in performing those missions and roles. • Determine the requirements to improve mission performance in a future quiet aircraft. • The plan also included additional objectives beyond the scope of this paper: Development and identification of tactics, organizational structures, resources, and support for quiet aircraft operational deployment.

  19. QT-2PC Range/Endurance

  20. Prize Crew Mission Planning • Two four-hour missions per aircraft each night between sundown and sunrise and within a 70-mile radius of Soc Trang . • Crew change at turn-around. • On-station times approximately half of the mission time. • Half-hour a fuel reserve allowed for unplanned events. • Alternate Airfields: • 1st: Binh Thuy VNAFB • Tertiary: Tan Son Nhut and Binh Hoa

  21. Prize Crew Ops Shack

  22. Air Crew Brief/Debrief

  23. Aircrew Ingress and Buckle-Up

  24. Pre-Flight Check-out

  25. Salute and Take-Off

  26. QT-2PC in Left Turn

  27. QT-2PC Landing After a Mission

  28. Prize Crew Mission Roles • Hot Contact, Pre- and Post- Strike intelligence. • Linear surveillance along routes, trails, roads, tree lines and waterways • Area and perimeter searches around bases, camps, and outposts: Defense and location of enemy attack positions: • Support for: • Artillery • Special Forces and SEALs. • Riverine and Coastal Naval Forces

  29. Prize Crew Sightings % Total Sightings/ Mission Flight % Flight Role Time Sightings Hour River/Canal 35 70 0.9 Route: 15 20 0.62 Area, Coastal, 27.5 12.5 0.26 Perimeter & Strike Enroute/ Training 22.5 --- --- Average 100 --- 0.49

  30. Optimum Moon-Target-Aircraft relationship for target viewing and minimum aircraft detectability

  31. QT-2PC Joint Service Air Crew

  32. QT-2PC Joint Service Ground Crew

  33. 75RR Missed Lucky Trooper

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