Brigadier-General Thao Ma (1931–1973) was a Laotian military and political figure of the Laotian Civil War and the Vietnam War (aka Second Indochina War). Thao Ma began his military career as a paratrooper in the French Union Army, when France administered the Kingdom of Laos. He switched to aviation, first as a transport pilot, then as a fighter-bomber pilot. From 1959 to 1966, Thao Ma was the commander of the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF), and was noted for his charisma and aggressiveness. However, his dedication to soldierly virtues put him at odds with other Laotian generals who were involved in the drug trade. As a result, he made three futile attempts to seize control of the Laotian military and the Royal Lao Government. During the last of these attempted coups, in 1973, he was executed without trial at age 42.
Early life
Thao Ma Manosith was born in 1931 at Salavan in the French Protectorate of Laos, of mixed Laotian and Vietnamese heritage. He became a Laotian patriot, initially opposed to any foreign intervention in Laos. His views changed as he became involved in the battle for Laotian independence.
Aviation service 1955-1966
Thao Ma's early training as an aviator took place under the French rule. A French military mission in Laos began training Laotian pilots in January 1955, with the aim of staffing the newly founded Laotian Aviation (French: Aviation Laotiènne), the air wing of the Laotian National Army (French: Armée Nationale du Laos – ANL). Thao Ma, already trained as a paratrooper in the ANL airborne forces, retrained as a transport pilot.
In 1959, Thao Ma was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of Laotian Aviation, which the following year became the Royal Lao Air Force (RLAF), with him remaining at its helm. At the same time, Col. Thao Ma continued to take advanced flight courses, which enabled him to master strike aircraft types such as the North American T-6G Texan, followed by the North American T-28D Trojan.
In 1964, as the air war in Laos intensified, Col. Thao Ma led the RLAF's T-28 attack squadron in the raids against the Ho Chi Minh Trail and in support of Major-General Vang Pao's SGU guerrilla forces in northeastern Laos. He devised an early version of the AC-47 gunship by using a few modified Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports as weapons platforms. He improvised removable machine-gun mounts to arm the transports with AN/M2 heavy machine-guns, and also had installed cargo rollers leading to the loading door; 250 lb bombs could be thus be rolled out the door while in-flight.
Although his personal involvement led to the rise of a high esprit de corps within the RLAF, Col. Thao Ma came into conflict with other Laotian generals, as his whole-hearted commitment of employing RLAF aircraft for military purposes stood in the way of their plans of using them for their own gold- and opium-smuggling operations. In February 1965, he refused to accept bribes from higher-ranking officers and categorically informed them that he would not allow his pilots to be coerced into drug smuggling. The generals' response was to move the RLAF headquarters from Wattay Air Base, near Vientiane, to Seno Air Base, near Savannakhet; most of the T-28 pilots stationed there were Thai mercenaries rather than Laotians. Later in the summer of 1965, a number of RLAF pilots were bribed to mutiny against their own commander. In response, Col. Thao Ma attempted a coup d'état on 4 June 1965.
By August 1965, the RLAF strike component had increased to 27 T-28s, with Thao Ma being promoted to brigadier-general. Brig. Gen. Thao Ma had not only successfully managed to increase the T-28s' combat sortie rate, but continued to personally fly many strike missions.