I'm just messing around this morning and saw the picture from May 84 at Yokota AB in my folder and thought I'd share it with you guys.
Some of you know but for those of you who dont this is a (E)T-39A
Flight Check aircraft ,what it did was check the landing facility's instruments and also gave Air Controllers feed back on how they preformed their duties.
Sort of like a \"Path Finder\"
Once a air strip is set-up the 1867 FCS's job was to calibrate the instruments
for the strip and NAV-AIDS.
Thats why its in EURO-1 paint because it and its Sister outfits 1 in Germany with the other T-39 and Scott AFB and its 4 C-140A Jetstar aircraft all had War time Tasking.
I was second to the last DCC on this bird before it was replaced with the C-23.
Its name was the \"Green Lizard\" and the T-39's at Yokota AB (3) were known as the \"Biscuit Bombers\"
Labor Day weekend in 1983 when the Russians shot down KAL-007 we were one of only a handful of Aircraft that were up with in 6 hours of the Shoot Down, looking for the wreckage .
The Commies were playing \"Cat and Mouse\" with any Aircraft around,The C-130'S WERE REALLY SCREWED WITH Mig's flying around the northern islands of Japan.
Misawa at the Time wasnt a USAF base, it was a Navy base but that Friday the Kadena AB F-15 SQUADRON (ZZ) were getting ready for joint JSDF operations the following week.
Since it was \"Labor Day\" The Commander of the F-15's let all the pilots go back to Kadena AB for the Holiday.
Only folks left there were the few pilots who wanted to go to sight seeing and the Maintance troops.
So when the \"SHIT HIT THE FAN\" their were 20 some F-15's sitting in the Area of the Shoot Down with no drivers.
So every T-39 in PACAF (3 from Yokota,2 from Kadena and 2 more from CLARK) were used to Ferry the pilots to Misawa which was the fastest why to get them there, The \"Green Lizard\" went-up to do \"SAR\"
So they issued out .38's to the crews and CrewChiefs and the word was \"If you get Attacked thats your Fire Power\"
So we flew around the clock and someone had grabbed some \"Biscuits \" from the Chow Hall and believe me once they got cold you could sink a
\"SHIP\" WITH THEM.
So each air crew was given a Bag of Biscuits if the \"SHOOTING STARTED\"
so the pilot could open up the window and throw'em at the Commies.
They even painted later on in Our Hangar a Banner THE\"Biscuit Bombers of 5TH AF\"
Plus they put up the Unit Citation award Ribbon with the AFA ribbon under it.
So I guess you could call 4476 the \"Ugliest T-39 in AFCC/MAC.
Goose