 Its primary mission after the move to Nakhon Phanom RTAFB was interdiction along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, but its pilots and planes also flew cover for pilot rescue missions, and it continued to fly close air support missions for U.S. and Vietnamese ground forces.It also trained Vietnamese Air Force pilots in counterinsurgency operations, from July 1963 – November 1972.Aircraft flown by the 1st were the B-26 (1963–1964); North American T-28 Trojan (1963–1964); Helio U-10 Courier (1963–1966); Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1963–1966); RB–26 (1963–1964); A–1 (1964–1972); FC-47 (1964–1965); AC-47 (1965); and the C (later MC)-130 beginning in 1972.