Strana 91
BUILT
F-104C-5-LO, 56-0886, 476th TFS, 479th TFW, Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, April 1965
In 1965 Starfighter serial number 56-0886 flew
out of Da Nang airbase in the South Vietnam.
Its nose was decorated with the red inscription
Fannie and it was one of few 479th TFW planes
that had their nicknames painted on the
fuselage. In April 1965, the 479th TFW dispatched
28 F-104C to Da Nang airbase. They flew the
combat patrols over the bay of Tonkin to protect
EC-121 Warning Star nicknamed College Eye or
Disco. The effect of the F-104 deployment on the
North Vietnamese and Chinese MiG operations
was immediate. The Vietnam Peoples Republic‘s
pilots learned very soon to avoid any contact
with EC-121 airplanes which were escorted by
F-104. During the whole 479th TFW deployment
in 1965 only two brief encounters between
F-104C and MiGs took place.
INFO Eduard
91
January 2025