Thao Ma

Brigadier General Thao Ma was a Lao military and political figure of the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War). From 1959-1966, he was commander of the Royal Lao Air Force.

He personally commanded the RLAF single squadron of T-28 Trojan aircraft, which was bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail and provided close air support for Secret Army operations in the northeast of Laos.

He is erroneously credited with the invention of an early version of what later became the AC-47 gunship. He gave permission to one of his American advisors to build a rig which could be inserted into a C-47 in less than twenty minutes and which could carry up to twenty-six 100 pound (45 kg) general purpose aerial bombs. Usually six to eight of these bombs were loaded as well as flares. RLAF Lt Colonel Bounsoth, who flew the first night mission in the BC-47, suggested rigging a ground-mount .50 caliber machine gun in the side door. However the main purpose of the BC-47 ("Before Christ-47") was not intended to be a destructive weapon. Its sole purpose was to make noise and create a light show to frighten enemy soldiers - and which it did very well. Since the BC-47 could be converted back into a C-47 in less than half an hour it did not reduce the aircraft's logistic capacity or use as has been claimed by many unknowing and ignorant authors. The BC-47 did not put B/G Thao Ma in conflict with Generals Kouprasith Abhay and Ouane Rattikone of the high command, who pressured him to provide transport for their drug trade. Those two generals wanted ALL of the RLAF C-47s under their control for their use in smuggling gold and opium. They offered Ma $2,000 a week if he would immediately make two RLAF C-47's available for their smuggling. Ma turned them down. The two generals then maneuvered to oust him from his command position. The two generals had the tacit approval of the CIA station chief, Ted Shackley, to oust Ma. The CIA was of the opinion that loss of Ma was a cheap price to pay for the continued support of the two generals for their own project of supporting General Vang Pao in the so-called "CIA Secret War in Laos." Ambassador William Sullivan covered up the CIA decision by holding a "committee meeting" of American embassy officials at which it was "decided" that the Americans would no longer support Ma.

In the early morning of October 22, 1966, he launched a "revenge" aerial attack on General Kouprasith (also known as Fat K) when six of his T-28 fighters took off from his Savannakhet base to bomb General Kouprasith Abhay's office at general staff headquarters in Vientiane. The planes strafed and bombed the compound extensively and destroyed two munitions dumps at Wattay Airport. The planes also tried to bomb Kouprasith's home at Chinaimo army camp, but missed. More than 30 people were killed and dozens wounded. Kouprasith himself was unharmed.

After receiving numerous appeals from the American and British ambassadors, Gen. Thao Ma went into exile in Thailand. He returned to Laos in 1973 to attempt a 'coup d'état'. He failed, and he and 60 of his cohorts were executed by Kouprasith's forces. He was 42 years old. Fat K personally shot Ma twice, once in the head, with a .38 revolver, at which time Ma chided Fat K by saying, "You can't even do that right. You haven't killed me." Fat K then ordered one of his men to use a bayonet to cut open Ma's abdominal cavity. Ma was gutted, the cavity was stuffed with rocks and then tossed into the Mekong.