These images were recently scanned from some 30-year old, faded, poor-quality 3.5-inch prints - so the full-size scans are a little fuzzy and faded.
Latest and Greatest At the time, the brand new F-4E aircraft was the latest aircraft in the tactical inventory, and none of them had seen their first "birthday". This was the first opportunity for the local populace to see the "latest and greatest" up close. A year later, the 43rd TFS' F-4Es moved to Elmendorf AFB Alaska, taking over the air defense commitment there.
Recycled P-51s Though the OV-10 was doing the job of close air support quite well in Vietnam, a Florida company modified two WW II Mustangs for evaluation, but the USAF didn't buy them. One had a Rolls Royce turbine installed, spec'd for 560 knots cruise...
SAC's Big ones: A rare comparison. Most folks think that SAC's B-58 Hustler was already in the boneyard by 1969 - but it wasn't true. ( Seeing pictures only, one might think the B-58 was a "large fighter" - sized jet. I know I did. But it was huge, as can be seen in this pic.)
A-26 Counterinsurgency Another comparison, but this time, the other way. A number of WW II B-26 aircraft were converted to what were essentially "spyplanes" for use in Vietnam...right down to the flat black paint, like a U-2. Surprisingly, I expected a bomber to be much bigger - but compare it to the T-33 parked in the next spot...
MacDill had a very active B-57C/E outfit, in addition to 120 brand new F-4Es; this 4424 CCTS bird was soon replaced by highly-modified B-57Gs of the 13th Tac Bomb Squadron "Grim Reapers"; the G-model had laser target designators, imaging infrared TV, and the "newest" APQ-125 radar. By 1972, this excellent high-tech equipment had been transferred to the "new" A-7D bomber airframe, which replaced the B-57. The "babe" in the picture is my ( then ) bride of two months. 30 years and five kids later, she still looks just as good !
The "BIB" It's no big deal these days, but in 1969 the flightline was an exclusively-male province. Though pinned, the ejection seat was "hot" - thus, the "don't touch ANYTHING" hands on the "Babe"-in-back. In perspective - imagine getting a pic of your wife/girlfriend in the cockpit of today's F-22. The F-4E aircraft was that new in 1969.
The Warfighters At the time, the F-100F and F-105F shown here were relative rareties in the US. The rest of them were heavily involved in the Vietnam war.
Voodoo Though I had attended Tech School with new airmen who were still being trained on the F-101's radar system, most (if not all) had been converted from interceptors into RF versions by this time. The F-101 maintenance troops had one of the best "illegal" patches that ever existed, though: the famous "Voodoo Medicine Man" emblem, very rare today.
The F-102 Delta Dagger Often confused with the F-106 (which was actually a redesign of the F-102), this craft served on a few more years in the overseas Air Defense role. (In May 1971, I saw four of them in service at Bangkok's Don Muang Air Base.)
AC-47 Gunship The original gunship that gained such fame pouring rivers of fire into NVA positions. Nicknamed "Puff, the magic dragon" by some, it was an idea that survives today in the fierce-firepower AC-130.
