124 223 (Aviation tactique)
70 464 (Stratégic Air Command)

873 878 ravitaillements / 4 068 000 tonnes de carburant

HANOI TAXI

5/9/2006 - DAYTON, Ohio (AFPN) -- The first aircraft to return Vietnam prisoners of war to the United States arrived at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at 9:30 a.m. May 6.

The C-141 "Hanoi Taxi" was the first aircraft to arrive in Hanoi in February 1973 to pick up POWs returning to the United States. The "Hanoi Taxi" was one of several aircraft involved in repatriating more than 500 American POWs held by the North Vietnamese.

The Hanoi Taxi -- the last C-141 Starlifter still serving in the Air Force -- made two of its final three flights May 5. Former POWs gathered for a reunion and to take part in a weekend of activities created by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing here that included retirement of the famed aircraft.

The aircraft made several passes before its final landing on the runway behind the museum May 6. Crewmembers from the 445th AW flew the aircraft from nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the museum.

A ceremony was held following the aircraft's arrival at the museum. Speakers included Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command; Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, commander of Air Force Reserve Command; and retired Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, museum director. Former Vietnam POWs and past crewmembers were in attendance to witness the event.

During the ceremony, Lockheed Martin presented the museum with a painting of the Hanoi Taxi flying over the museum. The painting is titled "The Airlift Legend: Celebrating the 43-Year Career of the C-141 Starlifter."

The museum plans for the Hanoi Taxi to be on public display this summer.

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 Hanoi Taxi flew Bob Hope to USO shows in South Vietnam.[1] The Hanoi Taxi was used in 1973, in the final days of the Vietnam War, to repatriate American POWs from North 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.

[edit] 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. 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]. 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. Framed photographs, plaques, and other memorabilia adorn the interior. The aircraft has been exhibited to the public at the Dayton Air Show and other venues.

[edit] 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. This aircraft and others evacuated thousands of people, including the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) of hundreds of ill & injured. At the end of its career as at the beginning, this aircraft brought Americans out of a hostile environment and back to safety.

[edit] 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. 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. 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]