Rare Bird

[Retired W4]

The King Air 100 was a transitional model between the 90 and the 200. They were not really rare in the civilian market but the Army only had five, designated U-21F. They were scattered around the world, causing logistic problems. Our TO&E at NAS Dallas called for 5 F/W aircraft so we ended up with all 5. Very similar to the C-12 (BE-200) but without the T-tail.

One of the five King Air 100s owned by the U.S. Army.

 

[rwsmith]

Nice little transport..

I see that some models were 'modified for military use'. Some are used for reconnaissance. Seems like a really odd choice for anything besides transport. Drop bombs? Fire missiles? Ground attack?

 

[Retired W4]

I see that some models were 'modified for military use'. Some are used for reconnaissance. Seems like a really odd choice for anything besides transport. Drop bombs? Fire missiles? Ground attack?

The Army has/had RC-12s for recon missions. Talk about about a bunch of sensors sticking out, some of which had to be retracted for T/O and landing. The U-21F was only used for carrying passengers when we had them.

 

[CW3Mike]

My first assignment was in the Reserve unit at NAS Dallas in 1986. Only guys I remember are Mr. Whitehead and “bullets” Baldwin. Did you know either of them? I think we were under 394th Engineers at the time I joined.

 

[Muddyboot]

So how many fixed wing pilots did the Army have?, or did they use USAF pilots for the planes....

 

[Kinman]

I went into the Army in '69, at that time you could go either fixed wing or rotor, the Army had a cargo plane referred to as the C-7 it was flown by Army crew, they had spotter aircraft that were also flown by Army crew. I was stationed at Ft. Eustis, VA. it was the Armies Transportation network, everything from flight, railroad, marine.
I was in the Armies Navy, at one time the Army had more boats than the Navy...boats, not ships. Nearly all of the military tugboats were operated by Army crews. My MOS was 61B30 (Harbor Craft Operator).
Remember the U.S. Airforce got its start from the U.S. Army Air Corps.

 

[ameridaddy]

W4 - how was that used? VIP short hops?
Keep posting your pics - I really like them, being a lifelong aviation buff.

 

[Retired W4]

My first assignment was in the Reserve unit at NAS Dallas in 1986. Only guys I remember are Mr. Whitehead and “bullets” Baldwin. Did you know either of them? I think we were under 394th Engineers at the time I joined.

PM will be on the way with more names you might remember.

 

[Retired W4]

So how many fixed wing pilots did the Army have?, or did they use USAF pilots for the planes....

You're killing me, dude. NO the AF didn't fly our aircraft!! We flew all our own aircraft, F/W and R/W, all the way up to UC-35's and GulfStream 4's (jets). The G-4's were based at Andrews with Air Force 1 and were flown primarily by W4s. The UC-35 hub and school house was at Dobbins JRB, my last assignment.

Fixed wing pilots are fairly rare in the Army.

 

[Muddyboot]

"Fixed wing pilots are fairly rare in the Army."

That's why I ask, you really don't hear much about F/W Army pilots...after WWII.

 

[D Brown]

Reminds me very much of the U-8 my dad flew for the two years we were stationed in New Delhi, India (1970-72). My dad's assignment there was diplomatic, he worked out of the American Embassy.

My dad was an Master Army Aviator (received his Master's Wings while we were in India) who started in fixed wing, went to rotary wing, and finally back to fixed wing.

ETA: Here's a link to the same model U-8 my dad flew. Queen Air One of these days I'll find my misplaced thumb drive with all the photos from back then.

 

[Retired W4]

Hey Dave. The one I had in Little Rock was A U-8F Excalibur with IO-720 engines (8 cylinder, 720 cu. in. normally asperated). I was going to send you a picture of it but couldn't via PM.

Muddyboot, Just a guess, but there is probably one F/W Army pilot for every 10 R/W. Was not like that prior to Vietnam. Modern Army aviation actually started at Ft. Sill, OK supporting the Artillery. Little known fact.

 

[CQB27]

I have a little time flying the C-12C and RC-12 D/H/N.

Pic from The C-12 Transition, L to R...Me, IP CW4 Buddy Ligginstoffer (sp), CW4 John Dickenson. That's a C-12C in the background.

The RC-12N. Lots of antennas and a glass cockpit. At the time the glass cockpit was pretty high speed for a military recon or transport plane, even in the other branches.

 

[Retired W4]

That's really cool. Buddy looks familiar.

 

[Darkenfast]

Retired Navy, but spent a lot of my career on Army and Air Force bases. I believe I flew on one of these several times during a year in Sinop, Turkey. The tail rings a bell. Later flew on the Navy 200 version out of Misawa Air Base, Japan to go on a short-fused deployment. Nice planes. Fun for us non-pilot types to get to watch the cockpit action.

 

[Retired W4]

I'll post more Army planes and people at Oh dark 30. Too whooped now. I love group pictures. U-8s, C-12s, UC-35s.

 

[CQB27]

That's really cool. Buddy looks familiar.

He was a 20 something year old Huey driver in Vietnam and spent years at Rucker as an IP. That pic was taken in 1991 at Cairns AAF.

 

[CQB27]

I see that some models were 'modified for military use'. Some are used for reconnaissance. Seems like a really odd choice for anything besides transport. Drop bombs? Fire missiles? Ground attack?

The RCs were used to collect intelligence, COMINT, SIGINT and ELINT. That was passed on to ground commanders at theater level and other airborne elements who could go in for the kill, so to speak. The motto of the RC-12 fleet was “Break Squelch and Die”

 

[REM 3200]

The King Air 100 was a transitional model between the 90 and the 200. They were not really rare in the civilian market but the Army only had five, designated U-21F. They were scattered around the world, causing logistic problems. Our TO&E at NAS Dallas called for 5 F/W aircraft so we ended up with all 5. Very similar to the C-12 (BE-200) but without the T-tail.

One of the five King Air 100s owned by the U.S. Army.

When stationed in Germany (Heidelberg) 1982-86, I was assigned to an IG inspection team.
We used the get a C-12 (King Air 200) to haul us around on some of the longer trips.
Used to fly out of Heidelberg or Sandhoffen (Mannheim) to Nordholz
(a German Navy airfield just North of Bremerhaven) and one of my favorites, to Sinop, Turkey.
Some how it always seemed that that we had to lay over in Istanbul for crew rest. Don't know how that happened??
The C-12 is a really nice way to get around Europe and Southwest Asia.

 

[REM 3200]

I have a little time flying the C-12C and RC-12 D/H/N. The RC-12N. Lots of antennas and a glass cockpit.
At the time the glass cockpit was pretty high speed for a military recon or transport plane, even in the other branches.

Did the glass cockpit model still have the little gauge that vibrates a small disk if the engines aren't synchronized?

 

[Jessie]

I always used my ears for that.

 

[CQB27]

Did the glass cockpit model still have the little gauge that vibrates a small disk if the engines aren't synchronized?

Yes, in the photo of the cockpit it's just below the back-up attitude indicator which is just right of the left seat pilots yoke. It's the small black circle with the white maltese cross.

We always synchronized the props by ear, just a small twisting motion of the prop levers, then checked the synchro indicator to verify. With a little practice the "by ear" adjustment was always much quicker and a little more precise than chasing the indicator.

 

[Retired W4]

What you don't see in that cockpit photo is ALL THE STUFF in the back, and the operator.

 

[CQB27]

 

[Retired W4]

Your motto is so true! And the guys on the ground don't even have to pop smoke, except to mark their own location, as the fire rains down.