The Chinook gets its initiation in the Vietnam War

Transcription

America's "Happy Hooker," the CH-47 Chinook
America's "Happy Hooker," the CH-47
Chinook
December 13, 2006
Go!
The Chinook gets its initiation in the Vietnam War
Table of Contents
Introduction
Tandem rotor helicopters, a
brief history
CH-47 walk-around
This is aircraft 59-04986, a prototype YHC-1B, one of two surviving
prototypes, sitting on the Boeing ramp in Pennsylvania. It is one of two
surviving prototypes. Presented by chinook-helicopter.
Commencing in 1962, the CH-47A Chinooks
emerged from the production line. Initial
aircraft were assigned to the 11th Air Assault
Division (Test) at Ft. Benning, Georgia. If
you were to research the Chinook, you would
read in several places that she was "first
delivered for use in Vietnam in 1962." That
is a bit of a play on words. The aircraft was
intended for Vietnam, but it first had to go to
Ft. Benning, where it was received by the 11th Air Assault.
Indeed in 1962 the early aircraft were being tested all over the
US. As we'll describe soon, the CH-47 debuted in Vietnam
ready for work in 1966.
While the H-21 "Shawnees"
were busy writing air assault and
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The H-21, a tandem rotor
goes to fight in Vietnam
The Chinook gets its
initiation in the Vietnam
War
Fast forward to Afghanistan,
at war, and Pakistan, a
humanitarian role
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cargo lift rules by the seats of the
pilots' pants, the Army set up the
11th Air Assault Division at Ft.
Benning as a test division. The
11th was formed as the result of
work done by General Hamilton
H. Howze, who served as
Director of Army Aviation,
Department of the Army,
1955-58, and Chairman of the
Tactical Mobility Requirements Board in 1961. He is widely
recognized as the intellectual force behind developing and
converting airmobility theory to doctrine.
The 11th Air Assault Division's (Test) mission was to design
and test helicopter assault tactics. The 11th would employ a
variety of helicopters in its work.
Brigadier (later promoted to
major and lieutenant general)
General Harry Kinnard, at the
time, assistant division
commander, 101st Airborne
Division, took command of and
formed up the 11th. He started
with only 3,000 men, obtained
125 helicopters, including new
ones, the CH-47 Chinook and
UH-1 Iroquois, worked with
what they had already learned,
and built it all up from scratch.
The 11th's lineage traced back to the 11th Airborne Division
activated in 1943. The 11th was reactivated in 1963 at Ft.
Benning as the 11th Air Assault Division (Test). Reactivating
the 11th for this test and evaluation mission was an important
move for the Army. Everyone and his brother in the Army at
the time was trying to test and evaluate air mobile tactics and
doctrine. All this effort had to be concentrated. The notion of
conducting air mobile operations was as much a challenge for
the helicopter crews as it was for the infantry that would be
carried to and from battle by them. Helicopters would now
have to fly in formation, swoop in on an LZ, often taking
hostile fire, and the infantrymen aboard would have to get off
in a rapid but orderly way and often close with the enemy
almost as soon as they disembarked.
The 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB) was formed,
led by Lt. Colonel John B. Stockton, made up of one company
of UH-34s and two companies of UH-1Bs and Ds. This was
the first such battalion in the Army. A Chinook battalion was
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also formed, the 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion
(ASHB) led by Lt. Colonel Benjamin S. Silver, Jr. This was
the first CH-47 battalion. The 132nd Assault Support
Helicopter Co. (AHSC) was the first unit formed in the
battalion, commanded by Major Spotts. And, the 10th Air
Transport Brigade was formed under Colonel Delbert L.
Bristol.
The UH-1s and UH-34s concentrated on formation flying over
long distances through low weather. The Chinooks were brand
new, maintenance and spare parts were a challenge, but they
nonetheless concentrated on moving artillery and supplies.
The brigade combined C-7 Caribou fixed wing aircraft with
the new Chinooks to develop air lines of communication.
A pair of Sikorsky H–34 Chocktaw helicopters hovers above a landing zone
during an air assault operation at Fort Benning during the testing of the 11th
Air Assault Division. Presented by Army Logistican.
During its two years in this role, the division successfully
developed the procedures necessary to move one-third of the
division's infantry battalions and supporting units in one single
helicopter lift. Once done, in 1965, the division was moved
out of a test role and transformed into the 1st Cavalry Division
(Airmobile).
General Kinnard formed the 1st Cavalry
Division (Airmobile), the Army's first
air mobile division, the "First Team," in
1965. The 1st Cavalry Division traces its
lineage back to 1855. Following the
Korean War, it returned to Japan and in
1957 returned to Korea, where it
remained until 1965. It returned to the
US in 1965, was reorganized and
prepared for its new air mobile mission.
To get it started, it integrated the 11th Air Assault Division
(Test), the 10th Air Transport brigade, and elements of the 2nd
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Infantry Division. The division was officially activated on July
1, 1965, and was ordered to Vietnam on July 28. It was the
first fully committed Army division of the Vietnam War.
The 11th Aviation Group was formed from the test division,
and all its assets were transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division
(Airmobile). The 11th Aviation Group controlled the 227th,
228th and 229th Aviation Battalions which formed the
helicopter core of the 1st Cav. Interestingly, none of these
battalions included the HU-21 Shawnee transportation
companies that had done such pioneering work in air assault.
An Khe airfield under construction in 1965 "on the hurry" by the 8th
Engineer Battalion. You can see the CH-47s lined up through the middle of
the photo, with UH-1s in the upper right. One lesson learned right away is
how important heavy lift was to the 8th Engineers to build runways quickly.
A lot of heavy equipment had to be moved around quickly. Presented by US
Army.
Almost as soon as it was formed,
the 1st Cav was ordered to Camp
Radcliffe, An Khe, Vietnam, in
July 1965. In this photo, you see
Lt. Colonel John "Bullwhip"
Stockton landing at the beach at
Qui Nhon on September 13,
1965 with the 1st Squadron, 9th
Cavalry. His dog, and the
squadron's mascot, Suzi, is
behind him.
As an uplifting aside, legend
surrounding Bullwhip is that he
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invented the Stetson cavalry hat
for the 1st Cav, some time during
1964. At the time, Stockton was commander, 3-17 Cavalry at
Ft. Benning. The idea was to increase espirit de corps in the
new cavalry and bring back the look of the 1876 pattern
campaign hat. This hat is now the trademark of people who
served in the Cav.
Lt. Colonel John "Bullwhip" Stockton, First Team. Photo courtesy of Master
Sergeant Mike Kelley. Presented by Cavhooah.com
The 1st Cav organized a 16,000 man division along the lines
of the 11th Air Assault Division with a total of 434
helicopters. Beyond the advanced parties, who flew to
Vietnam, the bulk of the troops and equipment arrived by
troop ships. It took six ships, four aircraft carriers and seven
cargo vessels to move them. The initial cadre of aircraft
included CH-47 Chinooks, CH-54 Flying Cranes, Mohawk
fixed wing OV-1s, UH-1 Iroquois Hueys and OH-13
observation craft. The men had to train aboard ship and
become acquainted with jungle warfare and survival there as
well.
The 1st Cav flew its first brigade-sized airmobile operation
against the enemy on October 10, 1965 in Operation "Shiny
Bayonet." Seeing the arriving force, the enemy chose to
withdraw and fight another day. This was understandable.
Three waves of B-52 bombers and persistent artillery
bombarded the enemy, making way for establishment of
landing zones (LZ). Then the 1st Cav and South Vietnamese
Army and Marines swept in by helicopter. Eight helicopters
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were hit, but the 1st Cav chased after a 500-man enemy force.
During the battle, Air Force forward air controllers (FAC)
coordinated fighter close air support attacks with ground force
commanders. This was indeed the beginning of a new style of
warfare.
The 228th Assault Support Helicopter
Battalion (ASHB) would become the
1st Cav's "Chinook Battalion." The
aircraft was fondly known as the
"Hook" and to at least one crew, "The
Happy Hooker."
The battalion had three companies, each
with 16 Hooks: Alpha Company Wild Cats, motto, "Sling the
world;" Bravo Company Longhorns; Charlie Company, motto,
"What more can we do?"
The Chinook played a major role in the Vietnam War, and the
men who flew and maintained her are among our many
American heroes. The 228th ASHB was not the only unit to
fly the "Happy Hooker."
Broadly speaking, there were four categories of Army aviation
units in Vietnam. The first was the Airmobile Division, like
the 1st Cav. There were only two of these, the other being the
101st Airborne Division which converted to airmobile status
while in Vietnam in 1968. Second, a regular infantry division
would have an organic aviation unit, usually one aviation
battalion with two companies and one Air Cavalry Troop.
Third, there were non-division aviation companies, which
eventually came under the control of aviation groups and
aviation brigades. The 1st Aviation Brigade is one such
example. Then fourth, we'll just say miscellaneous.
Our point is that you'll find many Chinook units that flew in
Vietnam, and many gallant crews that were with them.
We have decided to tell their stories through some
photography gleaned from the internet sites run by these proud
Americans. Not only will you see what life was like with the
Chinook in Vietnam, but you'll be introduced to some great
web sites which presented the photography.
The photos below come from a variety of sources, and are
intended to show you a little of what it was like to be the
"Hook" in Vietnam. We have searched around for stories that
seem relevant to the photo and attached it to the photo to add
even more flavor.
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The "Hook's Headquarters," the cockpit. Photo credit: Zeke Ressler.
Presented by 147th ASHC Hillclimbers.
Having read hundreds of Chinook-in-Vietnam stories, it is
mind-numbing to try to describe what went on on this cabin.
While many pilots tell you their mission began as routine,
many will admit that they seldom were routine. Bullets
crashing through the aircraft, radios and intercomms buzzing
with traffic, caution and warning lights blinking, pilots
fighting to maintain control, struggling to get through the
weather to get their supplies and troops to the right
destinations, implementing the pages and pages of training
manuals they had committed to memory, going in at all costs
to rescue colleagues, searching for places to set their crippled
aircraft down, life-and-death decisions about how to handle
their slings, whether to try to make it back to home base, tense
coordination with the guys four feet below trying to hook their
loads, and making this huge truck dance around the skies like
Peter Pan. Most of the pilots were under 25 years of age, many
were not yet of drinking age, some were enlisted men pushed
into the job because pilots were sorely needed, and all had
their varying views of the war. The deal they made then is the
same deal they make today: "You call, we haul. We fly
anything, anytime, anywhere." Their callsigns ranged from
Freight Train, to Box Car, Innkeeper, Muleskinner, Warrior,
Wild Cat, we wish we could list them all.
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An Khe observation post atop Hon Konh Mountain. This post overlooked the
entire 1st Cav base camp at An Khe. Wild Cat 915 is in the air. Photo credit:
Boeing Corp. Presented by 228th ASHB.
The CH-47s flew a lot, and their crews start a lot of their
stories something like Clifford J. Morley , C/228th ASHB,
started his: "The day began routine enough, flying missions to
landing zones (LZs) and hauling the standard stuff." They flew
low and as fast as the Hook could go, almost at tree top level,
in and out of fog and mist. They then broke out over a large
clearing "when all hell broke loose." Right and left gunners
firing, incoming bullets bouncing all over, flight controls under
the pilot's seat hit, left gunner hit but kept firing, left fuel pod
hit, rounds through the ramp, the wounded left gunner killed
six enemy, the pilot kept her under control, returned safely and
filed a "Army Combat Incident Report." Just another day at
the office.
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Troops testing the assault ladder in a hovering CH-47, somewhere in
Vietnam. Presented by the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
So, imagine being a soldier aboard this Chinook. You are
sitting aboard knowing that you're going to have to soon
deplane, in this case climb down the assault ladder hoping you
won't be shot on the way down, and, if you make it, go to
work. Felipe Delgado Aguillon would eventually rise to the
rank of First Sergeant in the Army, but first as a young man,
18 years old, he went to Vietnam. He was a "60 gunner" for
the M60 machine gun, assigned to a weapons platoon. He
went on "a lot of missions...on recons, on ambushes, on
assaults...You name it, we did it. We did search and destroy,
clean up. Once we had our helicopter and it was shot down
and we had to go secure it and we ended up saving two pilots.
It depends on what day your mission was for the day. You
never knew what you were going to be doing the next day, but
you were always ready to, to do any of the things they wanted
you to do."
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Then, he tells what he terms a "really funny story, well, it's a
funny story now." It was his first mission, and he was being
carried to battle by a Chinook. "My first mission, they put me
on the back of this thing called the Chinook helicopter and of
course, this was my first time I was going out and stuff, I was
really, really nervous about what I was going to do and
how...you know, you get all this training and stuff and you
don't know how you're gonna, how you're gonna react to
different things. If you're gonna be afraid, if you'll be able to
do what you were trained to do, whatever. So, anyway, we got
in this helicopter and were going to land on this area called
Tin City. And as we landed, I just got so scared that I threw up
all over myself. Well, needless to say, there was nowhere
where you can go shower and clean up or whatever. And you
see that no one wants to be around you and once we landed,
we got out and we set up a perimeter." He then went to work,
and did his job.
Standing on the aft ramp looking forward to the cockpit. Photo credit: Zeke
Ressler. Presented by 147th ASHC Hillclimbers.
Whatever you can imagine being carried in this CH-47 cabin
has probably been in there. Former US Army Captain Kirby
Smith, part of the 2-8th Cav in Vietnam served under the late
Major General George Casey's 1st Cav Division. Yes, this
General Casey was the father of our current commander in
Iraq, General George Casey. In any event, Smith commanded
an infantry company that uncovered the largest medical cache
inside Cambodia. It was so large, it took 32 Chinook loads to
haul it back to the RVN. It turns out this cache was part of an
incredible enemy cache of food, medical supplies, vehicle
spares, ammunition and weapons, and communications
equipment, all stored in what the North Vietnamese thought
was a safe-haven near the RVN border. The 2-8 Cav
nicknamed it "Picatinny East" after the major US arsenal. The
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2-8 Cav reported the medical supplies carried out by the
Chinooks this way. "The Picatinny East group of caches
included the K30 hospital which was operated by the 70th
Rear Service Group. This major medical facility had an
operating room, laboratories, and kitchens. It consisted of 150
bunkers varying in size from 12 to 15 feet to 6 by 6 feet all
with 2 1/2 foot overhead cover. The hospital was also a
training center with classrooms and books. Among the
medical supplies found were hypodermic needles, medical
kits, drug bottles and test tubes. Ten kilometers away the
battalion discovered a medical store house which contained
37,040 lbs of medical supplies including vitamin tablets,
chloramimium B, sulfa antibiotics and chloraquinine as well
as bandages, gauze and first aid kits." The Chinooks took it all
out of there.
Charlie Co., 1-50 Infantry (Mech), 1sr Cav Div (Airmobile) unload supplies
from a CH-47 at a a LZ somewhere in Vietnam. Presented by wikipedia.
Bob Segar has written about the 25th Infantry Division
constructing patrol bases "out in the middle of nowhere,
generally close to an enemy concentration." Generally, they'd
be located on a hill so the defenders could look down on the
enemy. UH-1s from the 25th Aviation Battalion's "Little
Bears" would first bring in an infantry company from the 27th
Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds" supported by UH-1 gunships
from the 25th Aviation Battalion's "Diamondheads" flying
above, waiting to pounce on any threatening enemy force.
Then in came CH-47s from the 242nd ASHC "Muleskinners"
delivering the heavy duty stuff like heavy equipment and
combat engineers to go with it. The "Chinooks would fly in
with huge cargo nets dangling beneath them carrying supplies
to construct the fire support base. Another Chinook arrived
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carrying a bulldozer. The combat engineers arrived and
proceeded to carve out the support base. It wasn't necessary to
bulldoze any fields of fire as there were no trees around, so the
bulldozer scraped a large circle on the ground. Good guys on
the inside and the enemy on the outside." Once that was done,
more Chinooks came in carrying howitzers on their slings, a
Chinook would land and artillerymen would jump off and
scramble over to help place the howitzers into their firing
positions. Throughout the day more Chinooks would come in
and out carrying ammunition, artillery shells, barbed wire,
claymore mines and all that. Within a few days, Patrol Base
Diamond was fully operational, and the forces there awaited
enemy attack, which is what they wanted, a frontal assault
where the full weight of the division's firepower could be
unleashed against them.
As a related comment, retired CWO3 Leland Komich, who
flew Chinooks for the 1st Cav in 1968, says: “We could bring
in 105mm howitzers. They could complete a fire mission. And
we could pull them out before the enemy could shoot back.”
CH-47 Chinook brings in sling load of artillery ammunition during
Operation Bolling. Presented by US Army.
Mike Maloy, with C Co., 159 ASHB, 101st Airborne Division,
was a CH-47 pilot on February 10, 1969, aircraft commander
was Capt. Kelly Williams. They had been flying combat
resupply missions all day long into LZ Erskine at the north
end of the Ashau Valley in I Corps, "Marine country." They
thought their day was about close out, they stopped at Dong
Ha for fuel, and then intended to go to Phu Bai for the night.
But the Marines at Erskine called for one more load of 105
mm howitzer shells and had four Marines who needed to get
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to Erskine as well. So they picked up the four Marines and
10,000 lbs of 105 mm shells in a sling load. On final approach,
the LZ started taking mortars so they had to go around. On the
second approach, Maloy set the load down on the ground to be
unhooked, but the Marines needed it in a different location. So
Williams took the controls to move the load. He lifted upward
and made a tight 360 degree pattern circle to come back to the
LZ. Now on their third approach they had a "beep failure on
No. 1," which means that the normal engine trim system
failed, which means that system could not control the rotor
rpms (revolutions per minute). This in turn meant he was
going to lose airspeed. So Williams decided to take the aircraft
down the side of a mountain to try to gain airspeed and save
the load. To make a long story short, they kept losing rpms,
the system designed to punch off the load did not work, and
the aircraft was in such turbulence from low rotor rpms that
the flight engineer could not get to the manual hook release
handle. They crashed in the trees upside down, about 300
yards down the mountain from the LZ. A partner CH-47 tried
to get in for a rescue but the jungle was too dense. Remember
now, the downed Chinook still has 10,000 lbs of 105 mm
ammo and is filled with fuel. Three of the four Marine
passengers were killed, but everyone else, though injured,
could still work. A squad of Marines sped down the hill, set up
security, and kept the bad guys away. A Marine CH-46 came
in, rescued everyone and recovered the KIAs. Not sure what
happened to the ammo, but we suspect the Marines climbed
down and retrieved it all.
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The view straight down from the cargo winch of a CH-47 Chinook
helicopter. The hedge rows visible on the ground provide good concealment
for trenches and bunkers. Photo credit: Ray Mendez, 3/B/1-6 Inf 1970-71.
Presented by 1-6 Infantry, USA
A CH-47 drops off a load at an LZ in 1970. The rotor wash produced
tremendous winds on the LZ/PZ that could knock a man down if he stood
upright without bracing himself. A small LZ/PZ sometimes was left in
shambles as boxes, tents, etc. were blown away when the aircraft departed.
Photo credit: Ray Tyndall, 3/B/1-6 Infantry, 1970-71. Presented by 1-6
Infantry, USA
Firebase Ripcord was one of a string of firebases along the
eastern perimeter of the A Shau Valley. It was used as a
jumping off point for operations in the valley. Former Army
First Sergeant John Schuelke recalls in a fairly colorful way
being at Firebase Ripcord when a Chinook came in. "Just
before dusk a Chinook came in. It was really blowing a lot of
stuff around. You may recall we called them 'Shithooks' for
that reason. I was down behind the steps of a shelter they built
for us in case we were mortared. Apparently static electricity
detonated a round and one of the Arty (artillery) people
working with the sling apparatus was wounded. Although
there was a lot of blood the wound was minor. At about the
same time Paul Guimond, who was briefly attached to one of
the units pulling security around Ripcord, almost got wiped
out by one of those 55 gallon drum halves we used for
crappers. It went flying down the hill in flames and barely
missed him. Paul came up at that point and said, 'I sure would
hate to see that telegram. Telling my folks I got hit by half a
drum of shit.'"
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Pinnacle aft-gear landing at LZ Tiger while delivering cargo. Submitted by
Matt Dossey. Presented by Chinook Crews.
This photo is of a tactic that is not so much a landing as it is to
set down the aft ramp to either take on passengers or supplies
or drop them off on a hill. This is done when the LZ is
particularly small or the hostile fire is so bad it's the only place
the crew could find to get its job done. It's known as a pinnacle
landing.
John R. Fox, a CH-47 pilot with the A Co., 228th ASHC, 1st
Cav, tells a most harrowing story about operations in the A
Shau Valley. Andy Dular was his co-pilot. The date was April
24, 1968. They received a tactical emergency mission to
resupply a 105 howitzer firebase southeast of LZ Tiger. The
Americans there were in danger of being overrun. They took
an external load of 105 mm ammo and internally they loaded
some classified ammo and troops. They departed Camp Evans
for the A Shau and were to rendezvous with two Huey
gunships that would escort them through a hole in heavy
clouds to the valley.
They were close to the Laos border, so they executed a rapid
spiral descent into the valley. During their approach to the
hilltop firebase, they saw five UH-1s destroyed around the
firebase and within 50 ft of touchdown they received hostile
fire from directly below. The radio compartment was seriously
damaged and the number one hydraulic system was hit,
causing a loss of pressure. The left waist gunner was shot and
killed.
Fox and Dular decided they could not land, so they dropped
their sling load. They then "moved forward to the edge of the
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pad touching down our aft wheels, then lowering the rear
ramp to unload ammo and the troops." They did this
successfully, and began their ascent with a complete loss of
their #1 hydraulic system. They were able to get high enough
to skim clear of the mountains and out. They made it back.
One other wounded crewman died.
Among all her other jobs, the Hook became a leader in recovering downed
aircraft and getting them back to the pen to be repaired and flown again.
Estimates are the Hook saved about $3 billion in aircraft. In this photo, a
Hook is carrying a recovered UH-1 Huey. Presented by Pegasus Operations.
The American taxpayer would be flabbergasted and filled with
awe to learn what our Army aircrews did to save aircraft shot
down or forced to land in enemy territory. As a general rule,
recoveries of downed aircraft were made during daylight
hours. On February 26, 1966, however, the 147th
Transportation Co., later to become B Co., 214th Aviation
Regiment "Hillclimbers," made the unit's first night recovery
of a downed UH-1 Huey. The mission was tagged as urgent. If
the 147th could not get the Huey, the order was to destroy it.
First Lieutenant Robert Kibler and CWO2 Robert Sword
understood that hovering above the Huey at night in total
darkness would make hookup very hard, if not impossible. A
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rigging team from the 56tth Maintenance Co. was lifted in to
prepare the Huey for hookup and ready a searchlight. At 2000
hours, Kibler and Sword took their Hook in, the ground team
turned on the searchlight, exposing everyone to hostile fire,
and the CH-47 maneuvered over the Huey. But the Hook's
skipper decided there was not enough light. Another
helicopter orbiting the area landed and directed his lights at
the site. That was good enough. Specialist 5 James Stutteville
directed the Hook in and the riggers latched them up.
Everyone including the CH-47 turned off their lights, another
risky trick with so many aircraft flying in the area, but
necessary to avoid detection of their direction of flight, and
they sped away escorted by two UH-1B gunships. Mission
completed.
Of course, the Hook itself sometimes needed to be recovered. A CH-54
Flying Crane is carrying Chinook 069, known as "War Wagon," damaged
while in routine maintenance at LZ Sharron by two 122 mm rockets. Two
maintenance men working inside were hurt, but survived. Note how a drogue
chute is strung up to the aft end of the Hook to help stabilize her for her
"flight" to Danang for repair. Also note the rotors have been removed. Photo
credit: Bill McClain. Presented by 228th ASHB.
John LeCates tells an astounding story about how far a
Chinook maintenance man will go to avoid having his bird
carried home by a CH-54 "Skycrane." In April 1969, Boxcar
458 was on a normal resupply mission northwest of Chu Lai
went hit by hostile fire and forced down. A round had
apparently gone through the transmission. The crew survived.
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A report came into 178th ASHC that the aircraft was down
and could not be recovered by a Skycrane until the next day.
So, Lt. William R. Thibeault and Chief Warrant Officer
(CWO) Alfred J. Romaszowski, both maintenance men,
decided to go to the disabled aircraft. Once on site, they
decided the aircraft was out in the open and was vulnerable to
hostile fire seeking to destroy it through the night, even though
there were a few security troops there to protect it.
Romaszowski knew the aircraft had a history of front
transmission chip detector false alarm problems, and decided
to take a chance that the interior of the transmission was not
badly damaged. He carved a wooden plug for the hole in the
transmission, filled it with oil, persuaded two specialists to fly
as crew, and together with the lieutenant decided to try to fly
her out. They started the engines, the two specialists held the
wooden plug in place, and the the lieutenant and the chief flew
Box 458 home. We have no idea whether they were flight
qualified. The two specialists suffered some burns from
holding the plug but Boxcar 458 was home to fly another day.
These guys were simply not going to let that Huey lie at risk
and they were going to beat the Skycrane to the job.
Hook #143 in her sandbag revetment at LZ Sharron. A frontal view.
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This is a side view of Hook #093 in the same kind of sandbag revetment.
Presented by 228th ASHB.
We do not know whether the aircraft has its rotors turning to
be parked in this kind of stable, or whether it is pushed in by
tractor. But we have found some interesting commentary by
"Greybeard" about the grace and fragility of these enormous
rotors:
"Different helicopters come with different types of
Rotor Systems: Rigid, Semi-Rigid, Fully Articulated,
and hybrids of the above. As you might expect, each of
these systems has advantages and disadvantages.
"The U.S. Army's big Chinook has a fully articulated
rotor system. This rotor can be compared to the
connection of your arm to your shoulder.......the
individual rotors can move fore and aft, up and down,
all at the same time, similar to your arms moving
independently.
"The fully articulated system is a complicated one, with
many moving parts, but when properly balanced and
tracked, it provides a 'Cadillac on the boulevard' ride.
"One of the disadvantages of this system is that if you
shock it with a hard bump on landing or takeoff, the
rotor can get dramatically out of balance, and that
unbalanced condition can amplify and worsen
catastrophically."
He then sends you to a video of a Hook experiencing what the
professionals call, "Ground Resonance," which shows what
happens to the aircraft when the rotors are out of balance. We
commend it to you.
19 of 27
This is a photo of a famous ACH-47 gunship working out on enemy targets
in the Bong Song area. This gunship was from the 53rd Aviation Field
Evaluation Detachment (Provisional), known as "Guns-a-Go-Go," later
redesignated 1st Aviation Detachment (Provisional). Only four CH-47 were
outfitted with heavy-duty guns. They flew in Vietnam as a six month test.
Each had its own name: Cost of Living, Stump Jumper, Birth Control, and
Easy Money. Easy Money was the only Hook to make it out of Vietnam
alive. There is terrific photography of these birds and their crews at
gunsagogo.org. Above photo from B. Hester, sent by W. Sullivan. Presented
by flying-circus.org
During the Battle of Hue, the city known as the "Citadel," on
February 22, 1968, the weather had prohibited fixed wing
support so helicopter gunships were used. Two ACH-47s,
Go-Go 4 and 9, joined with other Huey gunships to provide
needed support to the troops on the ground.
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Aircraft 64-13154, "Birth Control," in the RVN, callsign Go-Go-4. Presented
by Chinook Helicopter.
Go-Go-4, better known as "Birth Control," was hit. Multiple
system failures occurred as a result. He broke off and looked
for a place to land. His wingman, Go-Go-9, "Easy Money,"
provided suppressive fire as Go-Go-4 landed. Unfortunately,
the landing site was visible to the enemy and he drew intense
fire. Go-Go-9 decided to land near to his comrade for a rescue.
Seven crew members from Go-Go-4 jumped aboard Go-Go-9
while the gunners fired their 40 mm grenade launcher and 50
mm machine guns at the enemy. Go-Go-9 lifted off. The pilots
intended to stick around the area and secure the area around
the downed Hook with their suppressive fire. But Go-Go-4
took a direct hit and exploded, completely destroyed. Go-Go-9
and the Go-Go-4 crew returned to base, several wounded in
the battle, but all souls alive. Incidentally, there has been some
controversy surrounding the use of these four CH-47s as
gunships. We have seen one former Guns-A-Go-Go crewman
say with certain pride that they destroyed every target
assigned, regardless of their experiencing other problems.
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At LZ Roy, on the Gulf of Tonkin, a CH-47 Chinook in 1969 shares the real
estate with a GMD-1 radar that is protected with sand bags. Just remember
the pilots had a postage stamp there on which to land. Presented by Army
Meteorologists and Vietnam, by Paul A. Roales and others.
Picture of 073, 147th AHSC "Hillclimbers" working somewhere in Vietnam
pre-September of 1967 (No engine FOD screens). It looks like he's slinging
22 of 27
in fuel tanks. Photo credit: George Miller. Presented by 147th Hill
Climbers.
Here you see an interesting photo of a CH-47 retrieving UH-1 Huey 65-1717
from a rice paddy. Sgt. Keener was the "hookup man", he has just hooked
her, and is high-tailing it out of the rotor wash. The Huey crew, we believe,
"battened down the hatches" for their Huey prior to retrieval, which included
tying down the rotor to the skids such that the rotor ran the length of the
Huey, all to avoid the rotor from turning while being retrieved. Photo credit:
B. Medsker. Presented by fly-circus.org.
Bob Shine was a Huey driver in Vietnam flying a "Vulture"
Command and Control (C&C) ship with one more Vulture
UH-1 "Slick" and two "Copperhead" UH-1 gunships, all from
the 162nd Assault Helicopter Co. Shine's Huey had been shot
down the previous day, all souls rescued and key radio gear
recovered, but the enemy proceeded to destroy the aircraft.
Shine and the others went back the next day to hunt down
these guys and let them know they ought not to do that.
During this mission, a Vulture gunship was hit by hostile fire,
but managed to land in a clearing. Shine went in and rescued
the crew and got the radios and guns. The downed Huey
looked to be in pretty good shape, with only a few holes in it,
so Shine took control of the situation and called for help to
pull this aircraft out of there, get her fixed and back up in the
air.
Five slick Hueys with infantry aboard came in to secure the
aircraft. They were accompanied by Cobra gunships and one
of Shine's partner gunships was still on station. Then a
Chinook came in. Shine would comment, "and since these
aircraft (CH-47s) are very expensive, more gunships came in
to help keep things calm." His point was that he was flying the
C&C ship, and there were many aircraft in the area working to
save this downed Huey. Shine would go on to say he was just
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a CWO2, only 20 years old, not old enough to drink back
home, and yet, here he found he was in charge of 100 men and
14 aircraft lifting out one UH-1. He did it. They did it.
A word about the men who came in to secure a downed
helicopter in Vietnam. Specialist 5 Harold "Light Bulb"
Bryant, a combat engineer, tells that in the latter part of 1966,
he was called on to go in to Cambodia to help retrieve a
downed helicopter. He says that they figured the helo was hit
in Vietnam, but ended up crash landing inside Cambodia,
since our forces were not allowed in Cambodia at the time. In
any event, the job of his squad of engineers was to cut around
the shaft of the downed aircraft so the Chinook could come in,
hook up, and get out. His squad didn't get to the scene until
early evening, the Chinook couldn't come in, so they had to
stay there all night. Light Bulb says the downed aircraft "had
one door gunner and two pilots, and they were all dead." He
says when darkness fell, they could see a fire about a half mile
away and determined it to be enemy. In the dark of a jungle,
you hear a lot of things, and all night they were sure they
heard enemy movement toward their position. He says, "We
were so quiet that none of us moved all night. Matter of fact,
one of the guy's hair turned stone gray. Because of the fear. He
was just 19. He was a blond-headed kid when the sun went
down, and when the sunlight came up, his hair was white. We
didn't find out they were monkeys until that morning."
A CH-47 from the 271st ASHC "Innkeepers" ran out of gas and the pilot "set
her down" with a bit of a crunch in a rice paddy. Another CH-47 came in to
retrieve her. This is a nice shot because you see one rigger forward of the
downed CH-47 hooking a sling to the hovering CH-47, while a second rigger
stands in front of the aft engine waiting to attach a second sling line.
Remember the prop wash, hope the pilot has his baby under full control, and
hope the enemy doesn't attack. Presented by Gemini65.
George Arzent talks about the teams of men who did most of
the work preparing a downed aircraft for recovery. The
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recovery guys were with the 520th Transportation Battalion,
34th General Support Group, and were known as the
"Pipesmoke" recovery teams. They took care of most
extractions in Military Region 3 in southern RVN. He explains
that the 34th would provide the Chinook to do the lifting and
the 520th would provide the Pipesmoke riggers and
maintainers. They handled routine maintenance evacuations
where an aircraft had to be moved from one base to another
base to be repaired. For these, usually both ends of the flight
were secure. A field extraction, though, retrieved an aircraft
forced down beyond the safety of base camp perimeters. For
this extraction, immediate action is almost always essential so
the enemy does not have a chance to destroy the aircraft or
obtain any encryption devices and radios. Arzent talks with
considerable pride about how a Pipesmoke team recovered a
fully equipped Chinook by using another Chinook and
airlifted it from Phu Loi to Saigon. He says this was the "first
time a Chinook had been recovered in Vietnam without having
been stripped of all detachable components ... demonstrating
that the valuable helicopter could be moved out of danger
much faster than was ever thought possible." Arzent adds,
"The 'Pipesmoke' crew members are briefed on the mission
and prepare the necessary rigging gear and once on the scene,
the recovery is made swiftly and carefully. Each man has a
specific job, and in coordination with other members of the
team, performs with long-practiced skill."
Hillclimber #68-15842, on the fantail of Resupply Ship USS Jennings
County LST 846. Ship's Motto was, "We can handle it." Photo by Len
Swiatly. Presented by 147th Hill Climbers.
25 of 27
In the top photo, a CH-47 from the 228th Aviation Battalion is placing a
"telephone pole" into a hole dug for it going up the side of Hong Cong
Mountain. The second photo shows another CH-47 from the same unit
"stringing the wire" on the poles, with a "gentle touch on the cyclic and
delicate thrust lever control, combined with adept crew chiefs and flight
engineers ... up the mountain they went." Presented by the 362nd Aviation
Co.
26 of 27
Some enterprising airmen and their colleagues decided to get into the hootch
moving business in the Bong Song area You just gotta love GIs. Photo credit:
B. Medsker. Presented by flying-circus.org
Darrell Bain tells a whopper that might have some relevance
to this photo. In 1966, he was an Army staff sergeant teaching
small arms in Germany. While there, and quite by accident, he
took a flight school aptitude test, passed, applied for flight
school, and made it through. A CWO in Vietnam, if we read
him right, he flew a Huey gunship and claims he was so bad
they promoted him to 2nd Lt. He ten came back to Vietnam as
a commissioned officer and they transitioned him to the
Chinook. He tells the rest this way. "Now I've got something
really big I can't fly and I'm going to have to do it for the 101st
Airborne in Phu Bai. I discover I don't like Chinooks. They're
big, they leak, they smell bad and they don't have rocket pods
and they want you to fly until your buns ache. Their only
socially redeeming quality is now you can steal big things like
jeeps, 20,000 gallon water storage tanks, kitchen equipment
and such. So, in the grand scheme of things, being a hook pilot
wasn't all that bad after all."
Fast forward to the Afghanistan War and Pakistan earthquake
27 of 27

The Chinook gets its initiation in the Vietnam War

Transcription

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