100 Baggage Drills ?????

[QED4]

Can anyone explain the meaning of this patch? It is sewn to the top of one of those Thailand made souvenir cowboy hats, or what ever you want to call them, with a U-TAOAO tab on one side and a THAILAND tab on the other. Just what is a Baggage Drill, my first thought was a Supply or Cargo run but in a B-52? Is it a euphemism for a Bombing Mission? Drills usually imply training but would someone make a patch for that? Anyone have any idea what it means? Also as a side note what is the word U-TAPAO, I know it is a base in Thailand but where dose the word come from, is it a Thai word or an acronym or an abbreviation for some thing. I want the etymology of the word not the history of the place. Thanks.

[Randy]

Can anyone explain the meaning of this patch? It is sewn to the top of one of those Thailand made souvenir cowboy hats, or what ever you want to call them, with a U-TAOAO tab on one side and a THAILAND tab on the other. Just what is a Baggage Drill, my first thought was a Supply or Cargo run but in a B-52? Is it a euphemism for a Bombing Mission? Drills usually imply training but would someone make a patch for that? Anyone have any idea what it means? Also as a side note what is the word U-TAPAO, I know it is a base in Thailand but where dose the word come from, is it a Thai word or an acronym or an abbreviation for some thing. I want the etymology of the word not the history of the place. Thanks.

They refer to the amount of practices for deployments. Also known as bag drags. It was normal from the 50s into the 1990s to get that dreaded 3 am call, after which you had an hour to get to work with deployment bag ready to go. 99% of the time they did a bag inspection to ensure you had the mandatory items, and you went home. However, on 3 occasions for me I found myself going places. The was also one time at Bitburg we boarded a C-130, flew in a circle for 2 hours, and landed at base X...Bitburg! We were told we were deployed for the next 3 days and were kept in our own guarded area. Never knew what that one proved! Can't help you with what U-Tapao means. My dad flew on B-52s and spent a lot of time there in the early 70s.

Randy

[all-bull]

U-tapao is an air base in Thailand that we used during the VN war for B-52s. Nice patch.

[Randy]

U-tapao is an air base in Thailand that we used during the VN war for B-52s. Nice patch.

[/quote

Yes, that was stated in the original post. He wants to know the meaning (translation) of the word U-Tapao.

Randy

[elbertson]

As a soldier who served in Thailand, I can safely say I never once thought of asking about the meaning of the name. If I did, I guess, I'd probably have a tough time deciding when to stop.

[itshistory]

The nearest English translation is "Cradle of the Trade Winds".

 

IH

[QED4]

OK, so it is actually a Thai word, I guess I just have too much time on my hands to wonder about such things. Thanks for the information.

[buff086]

I was a B-52 Crew Chief at U-Tapao 1969-70 and the term Baggage Drill or Bag Drag was used when and aircraft would crapout during a mission preflight or after engine start. The aircrew would shutdown and secure the acft and move to one of the waiting spares to complete the required aircraft tasked for that mission. Baggage Drill and Bag Drag novelty patches were commonly worn by the aircrews .

[QED4]

I guess that explains it all, many thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer.

[all-bull]

Here's another one you guys might be interested in seeing.

[gwb123]

I was a B-52 Crew Chief at U-Tapao 1969-70 and the term Baggage Drill or Bag Drag was used when and aircraft would crapout during a mission preflight or after engine start. The aircrew would shutdown and secure the acft and move to one of the waiting spares to complete the required aircraft tasked for that mission. Baggage Drill and Bag Drag novelty patches were commonly worn by the aircrews .

 

Thank you! That explains a lot.

 

Prevously I'd only seen the term "Baggage Drill" had been on MAC patches, which actually made sense in terms of loading passenger bags. It didn't make sense in reference to B-52's. Thanks for sharing, and Welcome to the Forum!

[nguoi tien su]

The patch shown by All-Bull should be about passenger bags ?

That's a B-4 bag on it and there were no B-52s in VN, except the on that made an emergency landing at DNG AB in 1972.