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  • About
    • About Us
      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
    • About the Book
    • About the Data
    • About this Site
  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
    • Index of Names
    • Abbreviations and Glossary of Operations, Code Names, and Projects
    • Bibliography
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The QU-22 (Jun 1969)

One of the integral parts of the Igloo White surveillance system was the little QU-22, a unique aircraft in Southeast Asia in that it could be flown either with or without a pilot.  The QU-22 was a highly modified version of the Beech A36 Bonanza light aircraft under the Pave Eagle II programme.  Although the aircraft could be operated by remote control as a pilotless drone, it was usually flown with a pilot on board in Southeast Asia.  The aircraft was fitted with wingtip fuel tanks and a Continental IO-520-B engine with a special reduction gearbox to turn the propeller at a very low rpm to reduce the aircraft’s noise signature.  The aircraft was also fitted with avionics equipment that received the information transmitted by the acoustic and seismic sensors that littered the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  The information was retransmitted either to an orbiting EC-121R or direct to the Eagle White facility at Nakhon Phanom for analysis.  A total of six YQU-22As and 27 QU-22Bs were produced and the first aircraft arrived at Nakhon Phanom in March 1969.  Nine of the aircraft were lost during the war.  Many of the survivors were later converted back to a more standard configuration and sold to private owners in the USA.

 

 

 

 

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© Chris Hobson and David Lovelady. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
    • About the Book
    • About the Data
    • About this Site
  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
    • Index of Names
    • Abbreviations and Glossary of Operations, Code Names, and Projects
    • Bibliography
  • Searching the Database
    • Hints on How to Search
    • Notes and Caveats
    • Search Forms
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
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