Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. It was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon. The airlift resulted in a number of enduring images.
US Air Force HH-53 helicopters on the deck of USS Midway during Operation Frequent Wind, April 1975
Ships of TF 76 wait off Vũng Tàu for the start of the operation
RVNAF C-130A burns at Tan Son Nhut after rocket attack on 29 April
Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1950 to 1976. It supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, including providing support for drug smuggling in Laos.
Air America Bell 205 helicopter leaving a Hmong fire support base in the Laotian Plain of Jars, c. 1969
Air America U-10D Helio Courier aircraft in Laos on a covert mountaintop landing strip (LS) "Lima site"
An Air America Pilatus PC-6 Porter
Air America Bell 205s being evacuated aboard USS Hancock, in 1975