Miles Takeshi Tanimoto

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Cpt Miles T. Tanimoto
TANIMOTO-Miles-T-USAF.jpg

Military Service


Missions

25 Jul 1966 - Maj Duke and Cpt Tanimoto were flying aircraft #64-17643 when their plane experienced mechanical trouble during landing operations at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base. The plane crashed with the wheels down, but the nose gear stuck into the ground and slammed the nose and cockpit area into a raised berm, killing both men.

We have not seen the official accident report for this incident yet. Most sources attribute this accident to fuel starvation. It seems unlikely to us that experienced aviators would misjudge their fuel levels so badly. We offer a second, unconfirmed, hypothesis. The planes in Thailand suffered from many of the same problems that the planes in the Congo were plagued with - high heat and humidity, which adversely impacted the air-cooled engines, resulting in overheating. Engineers in the Congo devised a solution, a larger, scoop-style air intake on top of the engine - dubbed the "Congo Cowl" by air crews. This in-field modifcation allowed the engines to cool better. The plane that crashed in this incident was one of the first ones sent to Southeast Asia, and as such did not receive this modification. Being summer in Thailand, the environmental conditions there could have caused the engines to overheat and shut off, resulting in loss of airspeed and altitude. Again, this is speculation on our part and purely a hypothesis that must be tested. However, it seems more likely to us than an experienced aircrew running out of fuel.

Citations & Awards

  • Air Medal
  • Air Force Presidential Unit Citation
  • National Defense Service Medal
  • Vietnam Service Medal
  • Air Force Longevity Award
  • Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
  • Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal



Planes

64-17643

Crew

George Glenn Duke


Disposition

  • KIA 25 Jul 1966


He is listed on the Vietnam Wall, Panel 9E, Line 76.

Personal Life

Miles Takeshi Tanimoto was born 20 Jul 1936 in Lawai, Kauai County, HI.

Family

Images

TANIMOTO-Miles-T-USAF.jpg Tanimoto.jpg

Records and Personnel Information

Personnel Data on these pages came from the following sources:

Because we are not direct kin to this service member the Office of Personnel Management and the National Archives charge us between $75-150 to request the official military records for this member. We do not have the budget to purchase those records for every service member. If you are a family member of this person and you have additional records or information you can share with us, please contact us so that we can update our files. If you are a direct kin (parent, sibling, or child) and you would like to request this service members records from OPM, contact us and we can help walk you through the process. (OPM does not charge a fee to provide records for next of kin).