While driving on Taiwan’s Highway No. 1 in early July, I spotted something different from ordinary vehicles and so I stepped on the pedal to get closer to it. Then I realized it was an ROC Marines AAV7 on a flatbed truck and asked my wife on the passenger seat to snap this picture. This is the first time in my life to see an ROC Marines armored vehicle, especially at such a peculiar place.
To see an armored vehicle on a public road nowadays takes luck. When you see it, often it is being transported by a flatbed. You are really lucky if you get to see it travel on its own power and tracks.
I remember when I was in middle school, there was a month-long island-wide military exercise. At night, I could hear armored vehicles transit through my hometown. I knew they were not ordinary vehicles because they had a distinctive noise. Besides, their tracks left clear marks on the road. One tank, I thought was an M41, broke down and got stuck in the town for about a week. Because the soldiers were separated from their unit, local residents provided food for them.
During the same period, about ten M42 self-propelled AAA sped into the center of the small town in an evening. I could immediately tell they were going the wrong way because the road led to nowhere. Finally they realized so and started to back up. You can imagine how difficult to back up ten “tanks” in a row. In the process, one M42 stopped right before the grocery store next to my home. I was excited that I could take a very good look at it. There were no base openhouses during that era. Everything about the military was labeled “Secret”.
The next time I saw armored vehicles on public roads was when I was a high school student. When I was waiting for the bus in early evening, more than ten V150 drove past me at high speed. Actually I was not sure they were V150 at that time because I was an airplane guy, not an armor guy. It was when I saw reports that Taiwan had V150 that I realized what I saw that day. But somehow I thought the vehicles I saw that morning had six wheels, although V150 had only four…
Also during my high school years, a jeep mounted with an M60 machine gun stopped next to me when I was walking past my elemtary school on a weekend morning. The officer onboard asked me for the direction of a highway bridge. Then, hours later, I saw the same jeep again. But this time it was the lead vehicle of a convoy of various military vehicles, including an M24 tank! At that moment, I had the weird thought that I should have given the officer a wrong direction…
When I went to an ROC Army openhouse last year, also for the first time in my life, I could not believe that things had changed so much over the years. Not only could I take unlimited pictures of the armored vehicles but my kids could also get into them and play with the gadget. For the school boy standing before the M42 at that cold night, it could only be in his dreams…
My closest military hardware encounter was at my elemtary school in Taipei, back when there were military parades. Since my school was close to the Presidential Palace, every time there’s a military parade, the ROCMC frogmen unit(amphibious recon?) would stayed in my school, taking up all the 1st floor classrooms. First floor classrooms belong to the 1st and 2nd graders. So, they had the “long vacation”. The ROCMC set up their mess hall next to the school’s “steamer”, ie where they steam and cooked the students’ lunch box the whole morning. So we got to talk to those frogmen whenever got the “kitchen duty”.
Didn’t see any hardware as sexy as Wei-bin saw, just jeeps with machine gun, few large trucks, and the inflatable boats those frogmen used. Plus got to hold either M-14 or Type 57 assult rifle. As with Wei-bin, I’m mostly airplanes and ships guy. Only thing I want to know about gun is that if it’s a gun, and if it’s pointing at my direction. So I just can’t tell if it’s M-14 or Type 57. The frogman did offered to exchange the gun for the candy. Others did showed their knife on request, plus the pineapple granades, that is, until the officers came up and stopped them “scaring the kids”.
Later in middle school, was twice called to “support” the 10-10 celebrations in those none military parades, by carrying banners, flags, marching, and other things. Had to wake up early in the morning, get to school on the supposed holiday(before all the roads be closed), do the walking/marching, listen to the hours long speeches, more marching, and only get home by about 2-3pm. Yes, we had to bring our own lunch….
But, the best part about the military parade, at least for me, was always the aircraft formation passing the Presidential Palace review stand. The way the flight path set up, those planes would show up above my house within 30-60 seconds. So, whenever I saw the formation passed over the review stand on the live TV, I could always looked out the windows, and saw those planes still in formation and gave me a private flyover.
Now in US, it’s totally different. Before 9/11/2001, I could always sneaked into US military bases without problems, including those with nuclear weapons stored(ie. those bases that got Marines guarding buildings). After 9/11, 2-3 sets of identifications are needed, and airshows always been cancelled due to units were deployed oversea…..
I want to know when and where the open houses and airshows are, how can i find out about them? As a foreigner do I need anything special (any special ID) to be able to go?
Thanks
Three aviation-related openhouses have been scheduled in October:
Oct. 25: Tainan AFB
Oct. 28: Taitung AFB
Oct. 28: Lungtan Army Aviation Base
Please note that the schedule is subject to change without prior notice. No special IDs are required. Many foreign friends of Taiwan have visited openhouses this year.
Emily, do you live in Taiwan?
Will come over to Taiwan in three weeks just to do the Taitung an Tainan open house. Anyone any advice about photography and flying program?
Thanks a lot,
Ton
Please read the post The Most Updated Aviation Openhouse Schedule for more information.
張大哥
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/a380
我的BLOG的版面變成了雷虎，請您去看看
漢嘉
Yes I do live in Taiwan. I live in Taipei, but can only travel about on weekends as I have to work. The show on the 25th would be nice, as that’s my birthday, but maybe I’ll be able to hit one of the others instead. Question, where exactly are these AFB’s? When I get to TaiDong or LungTan, how so I get to them?
Emily: I hope you have noticed that the Oct 25 openhouse has been re-scheduled to Oct 28. If not, please read the post The Most Updated Aviation Openhouse Schedule. Since you are living in Taipei,the easiest way to get to Lungtan is by car. Take Highway No. 3 and get off at Lungtan Interchange. The aviation base is not far from the interchange.
To go to TaiDong AFB, you can fly to TaiDong. But the civilian airport is different from the air base. So you will need to take a taxi or get a rental car to get there.
Like the administrator said the easiest show to reach is Lungtan. Also Tainan is easy to reach. There are direct flights from Sungshan Airport to Tainan. Or if you have a car you can drive there in about 5 hours.
I will go to Taitung because I want to see some of the F-5’s while they are still flying.
I haven’t a car, I have a scooter, but I don’t like to sit on it for more than an hour. I did see that they are all now on the 28th, thanks. Actually what I meant was, after I get to the town, how do I get from the town to the AFB? Whichever one….if I taxi it, will there be taxis there afterwards to take me back to the train station? And are these airshows just ones where the aircraft are sitting on the ground so you can walk around and look at them, or is there a fly-by style too?
Emily: I think if the weather permits, all three airshows will have flying display as well as static one.
As I mentioned previously, the easiest way to get to Lungtan is by car because there is no train station. Maybe you can take a highway bus to get to the town and taxt to the base. You’d better ask the driver for his phone number and call him when you want to come back.
To get to Taitung AFB, you do the same: Go the town. Take a cab. Ask for the driver’s phone number. Give him a call to pick you up.
If you fly to Tainan, you can simply walk to the AFB because the airport is just next to it (they share the runway). Or if you take a train, you can taxi to the base. There will be a lot of taxis around the base gate to take you back to the train station.
The following is a link to the satellite image of Lungtan Army Aviation Base. You can see how close it is to the Lungtan Interchange of Highway No. 3.
Lungtan Army Aviation Base
The followng link points to the image of Tainan Airport. Zoom out a bit and move up a little. You will see the gate the Tainan AFB.
Tainan Airport
The following link shows the image of Taitung area. The shorter runway on the lower left corner is the Taitung Fungnien Airport. Taitung AFB is the longer runway on the upper right corner. Unfortunately the high-resolution image is not available.
Taitung area
Hope this helps.
alright…well I’ll have to give this a shot then. Thanks much for all the help. Sorry to pester you with so many questions, but I am so excited. Been telliing all my friends, they think I’m nuts. But then again…I am! LOL
Thanks tons guys!
Emily
um, one more question: what time do these shows usually start and finish?
Thanks tons for all your help,
Emily
Ususally they start at 8:30 and end at 16:00. I hope you will be able to make it and have a good time there.
Emily: I think some people from Taipei will visit the airshows. Maybe it is possible to contact them and share a ride with them.
Not sure if this site is till active. I don’t see any posts after 2006. Anyway, the V150’s that you saw that night were from the Armored Military Police which is Battalion 239. this battalion is the ONLY armored military police with 80 to 90 V150’s. and these V150’s were manufactured in 1980’s by Cadillac.
Thank you very much for the information. I am not sure how you accessed this site. But this blog has no posts BEFORE 2006, not AFTER.