both Vietnamese and Americans, resulted in a complete loss of any incentive for the Vietnamese crewmen to stay with the B-57, and from this point on there was very little Vietnamese activity in the B-57 program. On 20 April 1967, the VNAF B-57 operation was formally terminated. F-102 interceptors Flights of F-102 interceptors from the 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron began to deploy to Tan Son Nhut AB in March 1962 to provide air defense against the unlikely event that North Vietnamese aircraft would attack the South. They also deployed to Don Muang RTAFB near Bangkok, Thailand and began exchanging rotational duty with the 16th FIS based at Naha AB on Okinawa. In 1965, operating under the code-name "Project Stovepipe", 509th FIS F-102s used their heat sinking Falcon missiles to lock onto heat sources over the Ho Chi Minh Trail at night, often Viet Cong campfires. The F-102s soon switched to a day role, firing the 12 unguided FFAR rockets from the missile bays, using the optical sight. 618-day sorties were flown, the last one being flown at the end of 1965. The Air Defense Command 64th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was deployed from the 25th Air Division at Paine Field, Washington to Clark AB and assigned to the 405th on 10 June 1966 to supplement the F-102 mission in Southeast Asia as well as provide air defense for the Philippines. F-102s stood rotational alert at TDYs Bien Hoa and Da Nang Air Bases in South Vietnam and at Udorn and Don Muang Air Bases in Thailand. The F-102A was finally withdrawn from Southeast Asia in December 1969 with the phaseout of the aircraft from the USAF inventory, also the clear lack of need for a dedicated air defense interceptor over South Vietnam. The F-102A established an excellent safety record during its duty in Vietnam. In almost seven years of flying air defense and a few combat air patrols for SAC B-52s, only 15 F-102As were lost. C-130 Tactical Airlift In July 1968, the 315th Air Division reassigned the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing from Mactan Isle Airfield to Clark AB, and it became a tenant unit under the 405th. The 463d was responsible for operating a C-130 Hercules combat airlift support unit at Tan Son Nhut AB, South Vietnam, and also flew combat support missions within South Vietnam landing and dropping off supplies, equipment and personnel at forward locations throughout the country. It operated