Hanoi Taxi flying over the National Museum of the United States Air Force in December 2005

Hanoi Taxi is a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter strategic airlift aircraft (serial number 66-0177) that was in service with the United States Air Force and became famous for bringing back the first returned prisoners of war in Operation Homecoming. The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official National Museum of the United States Air The Lockheed Corporation (originally Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company was an American aerospace company founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies primarily via Aircraft. Operation Homecoming was a series of diplomatic negotiations that in January 1973 made possible the return of 591 American prisoners of war held by North Vietnam Introduced to replace slower piston-engined cargo planes such as the C-124 Globemaster II, the C-141 was designed to a 1960 requirement and first flew in 1963; production deliveries of an eventual 285 began in 1965, 284 for the Military Airlift Command, and one for NASA. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Military Airlift Command (MAC it an inactive United States Air Force organization The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program

This aircraft, which was delivered to the Air Force in 1967, was the last C-141 to be withdrawn from service after a career of almost 40 years, as the last of the fleet was retired in 2006 as sufficient C-17 Globemaster III aircraft became available in the regular Air Force to allow C-141s still serving with Air Force Reserve units to be replaced by the C-5 Galaxy aircraft being seconded from the regular Air Force. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM of the U WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Operational history

Vietnam War Service

For much of the late 1960s and early 1970s, 66-0177 flew out of Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, California with the 63rd Military Airlift Wing (MAW). The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. For the civil use of this facility after March 1994 see San Bernardino International Airport Norton Air Force Base (1942-1994 is a former front-line The Hanoi Taxi flew Bob Hope to USO shows in South Vietnam. Bob Hope, KBE KCSG ( May 29, 1903 &ndash July 27, 2003) was an American comedian and actor who appeared in ^[1] The Hanoi Taxi was used in 1973, in the final days of the Vietnam War, to repatriate American POWs from North Vietnam. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN or less commonly Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa was a Country on the northern half of Vietnam Arizona Senator John McCain was one of the POWs who flew home on the Hanoi Taxi. The Hanoi Taxi's name comes from the writing on the flight engineer's panel by the POWs aboard the plane for the freedom flight.

Later service

Hanoi Taxi after 2002 repainting to revert to 1970s livery. Other C-141s with the standard AF livery can be seen in the background

Volunteers from Dobbins, ARB, Ga, shuttle a patient who arrived there on Hanoi Taxi. About 100 Hurricane Katrina victims were airlifted to Dobbins for transportation to hospitals in Atlanta.

Later in its career it was transferred to the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) Area A in Ohio. The 445th Airlift Wing is an operational wing of the United States Air Force Reserve. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties eight miles (13 km) northeast of In 2002, when this aircraft was upgraded to a C-141C, the Air Force repainted it in the same white over grey livery as it wore in 1973 [1]. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. A livery is a Uniform or other sign worn in a non-military context on a person or object (such as an airplane or Vehicle) to denote a relationship Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Signatures of the freed prisoners have been preserved on the panel over the years and are the centerpiece of what is essentially a "flying museum. " Plaques, documents and photographs of the homecoming are part of the on-board exhibit researched and created by the 445th Airlift Wing. Etchings of the names of those who are missing in action were taken from engravings on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and are mounted on the plane. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national War memorial located in Washington D Framed photographs, plaques, and other memorabilia adorn the interior. A souvenir (from French, for memory) memento or keepsake is an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with The aircraft has been exhibited to the public at the Dayton Air Show and other venues. The Dayton Air Show is an annual event at the Dayton International Airport in Dayton Ohio.

Hurricane Katrina

In 2005, Hanoi Taxi was one of the aircraft marshalled by the Air Force to provide evacuation for those seeking refuge from Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States This aircraft and others evacuated thousands of people, including the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) of hundreds of ill & injured. Medical evacuation, often termed MEDEVAC or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being At the end of its career as at the beginning, this aircraft brought Americans out of a hostile environment and back to safety.

Retirement

With the scheduled 2006 retirement of the last 8 C-141s, the Hanoi Taxi (which was the last C-141 to be retired) embarked on a series of flights, giving veterans, some of whom flew out of captivity in this aircraft, the opportunity to experience one more flight before its retirement. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. At 9:30 AM on Saturday, 6 May 2006, the Hanoi Taxi touched down for the last time and was received in a formal retirement ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) Area B in Riverside, Ohio near Dayton. Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official National Museum of the United States Air Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties eight miles (13 km) northeast of Riverside is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the County seat and largest city of Montgomery County. Area B is the Wright Field portion of the base which its runways are no longer in operational service except for inbound flights to the museum. Hanoi Taxi is now part of the permanent static display collection of the Museum. [2]

References

External links

• 445th Airlift Wing fact sheet on Hanoi Taxi