432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing & 555 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Photos from Dave Dwiggins - Recovered from Bill Bogart's old 7th Web Site
In June 1966, the 555th TFS moved to Ubon RTAFB joining the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. While stationed at Ubon, the Triple Nickel downed an additional 14 aircraft including four MiG-21s Jan.2, 1967. The Nickel was now the only "Quad Ace" fighter squadron in Southeast Asia, with 20 MiGs to its credit.
In 1968, Nickel aircrews participated in the interdiction campaign against the Ho Chi Minh Trail until the Linebacker Campaigns against the North Vietnam heartland in l972. During Linebacker I and II, the Triple Nickel scored another 20 Mig kills. These victories brought the Nickel's total to 40, producing the first and second USAF aces.
This first photo is of the 555 Squadron Headquarters. "Home of the Hunters".
A picture of the front gate at Udorn Air Base-circa 1971.
A picture of the same front gate-circa 1997.
This is the cover of the small booklet that they gave us upon arriving at Udorn years ago. Thailand has changed a great deal. Very few of the folks speak English as they did, there's no demand at Udorn or in the Isan Region. Much of the jungle is gone due to the clearing of trees and the irrigation of land. Around Udorn there is only one rice crop unlike the protocol carried out in the south. While I was there a year ago, in 1997, their economy seemed to be strong and the Thais were making great strides in the world marketplace. The baht was about 25 or 30 to the US dollar and recently the baht was well over the 50 mark near 54 and 55. This meant that the baht was only worth about half what it was a year ago. The entire Asian economic situation is not good but Thailand's situation is improving slowly. On the other hand Udon Thani has kept much of the Thai tradition in tact and still remains fairly primitive compared to other large cities in Thailand. Udon Thani claimed to have a population of over 80,000 in 1970. Today Udon's population is over 150,000. If it were not for the cirles within the city limits, I probably would not have recognized a single thing.
Old Air Base front gate.
This is the Udorn International Airport. It hasn't changed much since we were there. It is still on the Udorn RTAFB grounds and uses the runway to take off. We never were permitted on the air base itself but I was able to get a peek at the old revetments and buildings that we left behind. We rolled to the west end of the air base to prepare for our takeoff in a southeasterly direction. There were lots of weeds and very little activity. Each year the US military participates in military operations simulating an attack against the Thais. The operation is called Cobra Gold. The joint operations are rotated to different bases around Thailand so that the economic advantages are shared. Operations were going on at the time I was there and Udorn was quiet