GREAT BOOKS ABOUT THE CARIBOU and de HAVILLAND COMPANY

A Rock in the Clouds: A Life Revisited Cover Image   

"On 4 October 1966, a C7-A Caribou airplane flying through blinding cloud cover crashed into Hon Cong Mountain near the base camp of the 1st Air Cavalry Division at An Khe. There were thirty-one people aboard the aircraft, an air crew of four along with twenty-seven passengers. Thirteen people died in the crash. I was one of the survivors."


 Joe Tedeschi lives his experience with you in A Rock in the Clouds. Taking you through the life events that led to that fateful day, he describes the horror of the crash and relates the aftermath of recovering from his injuries and continuing his life as a career Army officer. As his journey reveals his faith-based purpose and destiny, he hopes to bring hope and inspiration to other Vietnam-era veterans, their families, and people of faith.

https://rockintheclouds.com

 

  

Welcome! I served as a Royal Australian Air Force pilot between 2002 and 2014 and flew various aircraft types including the CT4B, PC-9, Hawk Jet, DHC-4 Caribou and C-130J Hercules. Even though it may be slow and certainly not the prettiest aircraft, the Caribou was my favourite of all these types due to the hands on nature of the flying and the short unprepared airstrips that it was capable of operating from.

After taking many photos on my Canon digital SLR camera of the Caribou in operational service I became aware of the lack of publications of this iconic aircraft that feature modern colour imagery and this led to my inspiration to create this project.

27th November 2019 recently signified 10 years since the Caribou ceased operational service with the RAAF and I hope you will find this to be a good opportunity to take home some memories of this great aircraft known affectionately to many as the "Gravel Truck" or "Bou".

Contact us:   dhc4book@gmail.com

At the current time this book is only avaiable for delivery within Australia only.

 

https://www.redemption-press.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Front-cover-BOU-Pilot-510x746.jpg  

Drop into one man’s world of transport flying at the height of the Vietnam War and experience the good, the bad, and the ugly – with character and compassion.

Humorous, compassionate, and tragic day-to-day experiences of a transport pilot in combat. When Jon Drury was shipped to Vietnam with 90 percent of his graduating class, he was assigned to the short-field C-7A Caribou, made by De Havilland. His challenging mission carried troops into combat, air dropped live chickens in crates, ferried cows to Special Forces camps, and dodged .50 caliber fire.

On the more compassionate side, Jon served the Vietnamese in civic action, drove an ambulance to a free dispensary, and escorted those killed in action on their final journey home.

Jon web site is : https://jondrury.com/

 

 

A Dream Takes Flight

A Dream Takes Flight

Pursuits of an Army Pilot

 

by J. Glenn Singleton, Major, United States Army (Ret.)


A Dream Takes Flight chronicles the journey of a young boy’s pursuits to become an Army pilot—and the remarkable opportunities that placed him in the pilot’s seat of the Army CV-2 Caribou transport aircraft and the UH-1 series Huey helicopter during the Vietnam War. These iconic aircraft of the 1960s opened new horizons and tactical advantages in the non-frontal war periods against hostile forces, making it a pivotal and exciting time in military history. Major J. Singleton, an Army pilot/instructor in Vietnam and Germany, shares his personal experiences and documents his Army career through the Cold War era, peacetime, and war, including his participation in training and counterinsurgency unit missions, and 11th Air Assault and Vietnam assignments. With over 100 photo panels, A Dream Takes Flight brings one man’s military career to vivid and colorful life—a must-read for those with an interest in the Vietnam War (the “useless war”!) and for military and aviation enthusiasts of all ages.

                                   https://outskirtspress.com/webpage?isbn=9781432793890                                                     also at www.amazon.com


All five Volumes of Pat Hanavan's "Caribou Airlines" Comprehensive history of  USAF C-7A operations in Southeast Asia are now in print

Caribou Airlines is a comprehensive history of USAF C-7A operations in Vietnam. It is about aircrews, crew chiefs, maintenance officers, line chiefs, maintainers, phase inspection personnel, specialty shop personnel, supply personnel, personal equipment specialists, administration and operations personnel, commanders, staff personnel, etc. They made it possible to deliver the troops, guns, ammunition, rations, beer, soda, equipment, animals, etc. to hundreds of bases on the battlefields of Vietnam. The 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing and its squadrons were not an airline, per se. They were tasked with supporting Army and Marine units and other customers with air landed and air dropped supplies using pre-defined, emergency, and opportune sorties to front line locations where the supplies were needed. The history of the Military Advisory Command, Vietnam (MACV); C-7A Caribou Association newsletters; and personal stories of those involved in C-7A operations provide the context for this book.

Signed individual copies of the book can be ordered from the author for $20 and a set of all five signed for $80, shipping included:
Pat Hanavan
12402 Winding Branch
San Antonio, TX 78230-2770

You can also find the books on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=caribou%20airlines&sprefix=caribou+ai%2Caps




Pizza and Mortars: Ba- muoi-ba & Body Bags

                                                                 by William R. Upton

In 1965 William R. (Bill) Upton flew to Vietnam in a Caribou, a U.S. Army airplane. For twelve months, he ferried bullets, bombs, and body bags from the Mekong Delta to Quang Tri. His plane was hit thirteen times by enemy fire. Still, he snapped photos, wrote poems, and kept journals to record events that changed his life forever. The result is his coming of age memoir, Pizza & Mortars: Ba-muoi-ba & Body Bags.


                                                    "C-7 CARIBOU in action"

                                           by Wayne Mutza - Squadron/Signal Publications. 


 

                                        The Baker Affair

Lou Barber has written a great novel that has U.S. Army Aviation and the Caribous forming a great background. Check out Lou's site at -

 

Army Aviation in Vietnam

 by Ralph B. Young

"Army Aviation in Vietnam  - Volume 1 - 1961 - mid 1963", "Army Aviation in Vietnam -  Volume 2 - Mid 1963 - to mid 1966" 

Contact - The Huey Company, P.O. Box 625 - Dept.100,          Ramsey, NJ  07446-0625 

 

 

 

Fred W. Hotson has written a great book "de HAVILLAND in Canada" about the history of the de HAVILLAND aircraft company. It has sections on the Beaver, Otter, Caribou and Buffalo aircraft.

The book is available from CANAV Books, 51 Balsam Ave., Toronto, Ontario M4E 3B6.

 

 

 THE HISTORY OF THE SECOND FLIGHT PLATOON,

92nd AVIATION COMPANY

 By Erwin H. (Butch) Koehler

 

 DHC 3 OTTER HISTORY

For many years now Karl Hayes has been researching the history of the Otter and, at long last, the results are now available. The publication is on a CD-ROM, to be read on the computer or printed off. The CD comes to 830 pages and has 300 color photographs.

His postal address is: Karl E. Hayes, Crakaig, Killiney Hill Road, Killiney, Co. Dublin, Ireland   or  Karl.Hayes@goregrimes.ie

 

 

MISSION VIETNAM

Royal Australian Air Force Operations

1964 - 1972

By George Odgers

 

 

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