Ngo Quoc Phong, deputy director of the provincial museum, said the aircraft was transported from Dong Nai Province to Ta Con Airfield using specialised vehicles.
Technical teams are assembling and restoring the aircraft’s exterior to its original appearance before placing it on a display platform.
The addition is expected to enrich the site’s collection and help recreate the atmosphere of a former military airfield. Ta Con was a key US military base during 1966-1968 and later became a symbol of victory for the Vietnam People’s Army during the war.
The C-119, used by US forces during the war, operated along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, including in Quang Tri. The aircraft was allocated to the province by the Ministry of Defence in 2016, but restoration and transport plans were delayed for years due to funding constraints.
In late 2024, Ho Chi Minh City authorities approved VND 4 billion (USD 152,000) to support the aircraft’s restoration, dismantling and transport from Dong Nai to Ta Con.
The Ta Con Airfield site already displays a range of large outdoor artefacts, including C-130, CH-47 Chinook and UH-1A aircraft, M48 and M41 tanks, M113 armoured vehicles and 155mm artillery pieces. Among the most prominent exhibits is a C-130 transport aircraft delivered in 2012, which previously operated in the Khe Sanh-Ta Con area.
