In September 2002, Pedro Fuster visited the People's Air Force Museum (VPAF Museum) in Hanoi, Vietnam, and noted remains of a Firebee on display. Displayed on a table were the easily recognisable radome, a camera window frame that looks roughly identical in layout as on this AQM-34N, some kind of cast metal camera mounting with shock mountings, and some black boxes. The black-brown semicircular shape behind the window frame is a roll of film. The explanatory text only mentioned the shooting down of a reconnaissance aircraft.
Dave Matthews (see USAF bio) supplied the following comments:"The pictures show what is obviously a Doppler nose [second photo]. The framework [third photo] appears to be the horn antennas from an electronic snooping package, but if it is, it is before my time. The small box with exposed inner workings [fourth photo, lower right] is a mechanical programmer, so the vehicle was either a 147H (AQM-34N) or 147T (AQM-34P)."
Craig Kaston identified one of the other main parts seen in the fourth photo: "I had always wondered what the cylinder with the 45 degree cap on it in the Hanoi wreckage was. I thought that perhaps it was an antenna mount and cover... After looking at the Cameras page I now realize that this is the front end of the HR-233 camera! How cool is that?"
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In 2005, Pedro visited the Air Defense Museum in Hanoi. It had previously been off-limits to the general public, but because the People's Air Force Museum is undergoing renovations and closed, the Air Defense Museum is now open for public. Central to the outdoor exhibition is a pile of American aircraft and helicopter wrecks from the SEA conflict. Predominant amongst them the almost intact Navy F-4 Phantom II with BuNo 153001, that was shot down on 14 May 1967. Crawling from under other bits and pieces and on top of the scrap piles, at least two Teledyne-Ryan Firebee fuselages can be identified. Pedro kindly supplied the following photos.
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