Now, almost 4  years after that eventful day, there is a marked recovery from the blow, but under water, there is still a lot lost in Marine Environment.

The very active Thai Divers Association (TDA), in conjunction with the Phuket Council, developed a marvelous plan to build an artificial reef in the Phuket waters. They found the cooperation of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) to donate the derelict Dakota's, for a sinking operation of unparalleled allure, in order to create a new Diver's paradise.



Along with old Sikorsky Helicopters, old Military Trucks (all Vietnam Vet's), a structure will be set up on the sea bottom, (to start with 4 Dakota's), that promotes the growth of Marine Life and is intended to replace the underwater destruction, that occurred after the Tsunami. In the process, all RTAF  Dakota's will be sunk in near future, to start now with 4 of them, that sit at a harbor site near Phuket town, on concrete blocks, intended for the underwater anchoring of the derelicts.

While the sinking operation was intended to start in May 2008, an early start of the monsoon season delayed this until november 2008. It gave me the opportunity to fly in and negotiate with the TDA President and their energetic CEO, Mr Rainer Gottwald , the Phuket Council and the Royal Thai Air Force Commander, the removal of the wingtips from the aircraft, doomed for a submarine burial as the final act in their eventful life of defending Freedom.



Fortunately, in that last minute effort, we could convince the Thai authorities, that the wingtip removal will open the outer side rib holes in the main wings, that give access to the labyrinth of wing chambers inside that wing.

Those holes of 10-12 cm diameter, only allow the influx of smaller marine life into the wings, making a perfect breeding place, that gives shelter for small fish and their eggs against predators and intruders of larger size.

With such controlled entry, the creation of a rich and varied Marine biotope should develop faster, evidently yielding more attraction for divers and, in the end, promoting tourism for the devastated island, that has not yet fully recovered from that blow in 2004.

A Win -Win deal for all parties, our proposal was found to have some sound arguments, and all parties involved agreed to accept the wingtip removal from the planes, and in exchange, we will contribute as sponsors to the substantial costs of the sinking operation.

But there is one other factor, not to overlook. The C-47's were handed out to the Thai Forces in a US Military Aid Program (MAP), which effectively forbids re-export of any aircraft or its parts, without the consent of the US Military.
We work hard to convince them , that the wingtips are of no more military value (all C-47's were built only during WW II and are truely "vintage" to almost "antique" by now), and could be saved as wanted static display parts, in order to keep up the memory of that All American Icon of Aviation History in museums and with collectors all over the world.

With my special thanks to Mr. Rainer Gottwald and Mr. Ralf Erler from the TDA Tecnical Committee for their help, hospitality and introduction toward many Officials, that are involved in the Operation.



Next to Thailand, I will re-visit soon Madagascar and Colombia, where we also found derelict and crashed Dakota's in the jungle. The purchase and export of the parts and cockpits are in both countries a delicate affair, that requires a lot of patience in lengthy dealings with the Military and Customs Authorities. We will keep you posted over these exploits in the next newsletter, issued by December 2008.


Best regards,

Hans Wiesman



With appreciation for data and pics from following websites, please see those for more details:
- RTAF – Douglas C-47
- Spooky & Puff the magic dragon
- Colonel Ron Rosson

The Thai Air Force Dakota’s that we see on those pics, are all left–overs from the Vietnam conflict that started for the Americans in the early 1960's and came to an end in 1975.

The US Armed forces flew in Vietnam with a mix of Hi Tech Jet powered aircraft as the B-52 and a variety of supersonic jet fighters, as the F-4 Phantom and the
F-105 Wild Weasel.
But next to that state-of-the-art aircraft, there was also a fleet of more ‘obsolete’ radial engined or piston powered aircraft, of which the Douglas A-1 Skyraider was very successful as a low altitude Ground Attack aircraft, equipped with rockets and bombs.

Most interesting is the extensive use during the conflict of the Douglas C-47, the military version of the DC-3, also known as Dakota, Gooney Bird, Skytrain etc.
This plane, manufactured during WWII and designed in the mid 1930's, had a very lively career in Vietnam, some 20 -25 years after its days of glory at the Invasion Operation in Normandy, starting June 6th 1944. During this operation, more than a 1000 C-47’s were to fly 60.000 paratroopers and tons of equipment in less than 60 hours!!

In Vietnam, the “vintage” C-47 turned out to be an excellent “Bush” Plane (and is still operational due to that capacity in the deep Amazon Jungle, Alaska and Canada), and flew support missions into the remote backwoods of Laos and Cambodia, delivering goods to the pro-American Mountain tribes.
The big wheels with balloon type tires of the Dakota, the slow landing speed, the tail dragger configuration, it all makes the landing on bumpy or muddy grass or sand strips relatively easy. With engines and cockpit angled high up in the air, the run out over gravel or dirt strips is short and relatively safe from debris and dust. Impossible to do this with more modern Turbo prop aircraft, with their much smaller wheels and very vulnerable turbo engines, that are ruined by a single piece of debri that could come in on such strip, also due to their higher landing/ take off speed.

With this edge and in spite of their age, the Vietnam C-47’s soon turned out to be of excellent value in that Jungle environment and, as the war effort substantially grew after 1964, a large number of them were converted for special missions.

First, there came a EC-47 or “Electric Goon”, a Dakota equipped with Signal Interception devices, for locating Viet Cong Radio Transmissions. Some 50 aircraft were rebuilt to this standard, and used in a broad electronic Interception role.

Even more interesting is the conversion to the AC-47, that stands for Attack/ Cargo, nicknamed Spooky.
This was to be the last "Claim to Fame" for the Dakota in US military service.

The Cargo plane was converted into a Gunship by the mounting of 3 Gatling Guns with rotating barrels on the port side, protruding from the windows and door.
Those remote controlled sideward firing guns could deliver max. 6000 rounds per minute, to be shot from a low altitude tightly circling aircraft, that concentrated its fire in a cone to ground targets. In a sharp banking, with the target visibile over the wingtip, the aircraft made a pylon turn and delivered its deadly ammunition load.

The result was so devastating, that Viet Cong soldiers were instructed not to shoot their rifles on the aircraft, as that would attract the crew's attention and surely turned to become an invitation to raise hell for them, out there on the ground

This effect can be compared with a roaring, fire spouting dragon, that flies in books and films. The nose art and nickname “Puff, the magic Dragon”, was taken from a folk song in the early 60's by Peter, Paul and Mary. Until 1969, the AC-47 Gunship has given air support to the US ground forces and their help was much appreciated, as a most effective way for shooting up Viet Cong assaults and strongholds .

Also some 50 AC-47 Gunships were built, so we must presume that from the C-47’s that we see here in Phuket, waiting for their last resting place on the bottom of the sea, quite a number will take their secrets of military operations with them into the deep. Stealth flights over enemy grounds, day/ night attacks on Viet Cong strongholds, leaflet droppings and radio interceptions, all as part of a psycholocigal warfare against a very dedicated enemy.
That was all part of the missions of those aircraft that you see here standing, stripped to the bone from any piece of equipment, but still in original Vietnam camouflage colours.