In late 1978, aboard the the USS Enterprise, an American fighter plane—RA-5C Vigilante, BuNo 156627, modex NK610, RVAH-1 “Smokin’ Tigers,”—lost its brakes and nose-wheel steering. Fortunately, it was saved even after catching fire. It remained in use until it was phased out and struck off the list on March 26, 1979, and was left at Cubi Point, overlooking the Subic Bay. It became a fixture at the park—and a popular piece for vandals and psychedelic art works.
When the Americans left Subic Bay in 1992, the aircraft was left behind. Then-mayor Dick Gordon decided to rehabilitate the plane and move it to Marikit Park, in the city center of Olongapo. Now, it is a prominent landmark in the city that, for almost a century, hosted the biggest U.S. naval installation in the world outside of the United States, serving as a reminder to the long and storied history of the city with its American tenant.
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