The war-era aircraft, deployed along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, features a distinctive twin-boom tail and measures about 26 metres in length, more than 8 metres in height and 33 metres across the wingspan.
The C-119 will add to Ta Con Airfield’s collection, helping recreate the wartime setting of the former US base that played a key role in the 1966-1968 Khe Sanh campaign.
The Ministry of Defence allocated the aircraft to Quang Tri in 2016, but budget constraints delayed the plan until late 2024, when Ho Chi Minh City provided VND 4 billion (about USD 152,000) for its restoration and transport from Dong Nai.
Technicians from the Air Defence-Air Force Service’s A41 Factory dismantled and transported the aircraft over two days and nights before reassembling and repainting it. Installation is now more than 90 per cent complete.
The C-119 is displayed alongside a C-130 heavy transport aircraft, which was transferred to the site in 2012.
Once a major US military base, Ta Con Airfield now hosts an open-air collection of helicopters, tanks, artillery and unexploded ordnance, making it one of Quang Tri’s key historical attractions.
