A Project Seamore patch

[Patchcollector]

Here's a Project Seamore patch from my collection.This little patch is probably one of the

toughest to find,as it was a very small,secret project to outfit OV-1's with special surveillance

equipment during the Vietnam War.Some of the material from this program is still classified!

BTW,there were only four planes used in this program,so not alot of patches exist.

[Patchcollector]

2

[Patchcollector]

Without flash

[Patchcollector]

Without flash back

[Patchcollector]

Here's some info I found from the web:

Project Seamore info site

[Bookie]

Cool patch! At night ,up North, we'd see stars black out and then quickly come into view again. You could barely hear those Mohawks go over. They were always headed West to "jump the fence". Cheers, Bookie

[Patchcollector]

Cool patch! At night ,up North, we'd see stars black out and then quickly come into view again. You could barely hear those Mohawks go over. They were always headed West to "jump the fence". Cheers, Bookie

 

Thanks Bookie!It's not much to look at compared to some patches,but it's a tough one to find.I think that the program

was hooking the Mohawks up with some super sophisticated(for it's time) equipment for surveillance missions,spotting

stuff on the ground,as you said,in Laos or Cambodia.4 planes were used in the program.As you can see,this patch was worn.

[Patchcollector]

Some interesting info I found,and a few pics:

 

In 1968 during the special SEAMORE Project some of the OV-1C Mohawk aircraft were fitted with highly classified reconnaissance equipment of unknown specification - the details of this activity of the OV-1C over the territory of Vietnam is still a military secret.

Its agility, ability to fly low, and its relatively quiet turboprop engines allowed it to sneak up on the enemy unannounced, and the enemy is said to have referred to it as the "Whispering Death". Its combat survivability was very good, and its reliability and maintainability were outstanding, with the highest availability rate of any Army aircraft.

 

The lack of serious offensive armament was troublesome to field commanders, however, because in many cases the Mohawks found concentrations of enemy troops who would be gone by the time strikes could be called in. The field commanders argued at length but in vain against the Air Force restriction on armed Army fixed-wing aircraft. In many cases, the Mohawks were armed anyway.

 

In 1966, one Mohawk reputedly shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-17 fighter with 70 millimeter unguided rockets. The North Vietnamese pilot made a pass at one of a pair of Mohawks, the other loosed a salvo of rockets at the fighter, and to the surprise of all, managed to hit the MiG. However, one Mohawk was shot down by a North Vietnamese MiG in 1969, evening the score. This was the only Army fixed-wing aircraft loss in air-to-air combat during the war.

 

A total of 27 Mohawks were lost in combat action in Vietnam, including one destroyed on the ground, and a further 36 were lost in accidents. There is a story that the crew of one shot-up Mohawk ejected, and the aircraft then obligingly crashed into a scrapyard.

[Patchcollector]

More info:

 

 

Mohawk Details

 

The Mohawk was developed by Grumman Aircraft as a photo observation and electronic reconnaissance airplane for the US Marines and the US Army. Due to budgetary constraints, the Marines bowed out early in the development cycle. The first Mohawk (YAO-1) prototype flew on April 14, 1959, and entered production in October 1959. It served the US Army standing watch in Europe, Korea, the Vietnam War, Central and South America, Alaska, and during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in the Middle East. The US Army retired it from service in September 1996. A total of 380 original OV-1 Mohawks were produced. All types were built between 1957 and 1969.

 

Four basic models of the OV-1 were produced, not counting the prototype or pre-production OF-1, YAO-1, and AO-1:

 

OV-1A This model was used for photo observation and reconnaissance and employed a forward-looking panoramic camera; 64 were built.

OV-1B This model was used to conduct electronic reconnaissance with a SLAR (side looking airborne radar) pod mounted under the fuselage; 101 were built.

OV-1C This model provided electronic reconnaissance by using an IR (infrared) imaging system; 133 were built.

OV-1D This model provided photo observation and gathered electronic intelligence with SLAR and IR; 37 examples were built.

 

Following are variations or conversions of the original production models:

 

JOV-1A This model featured XM-14 .50 calibre gun pods and 7- or 19-round 2.75 inch rocket pods; 27 of these were adapted from OV-1As.

 

JOV-1C These gunships were the same as the JOV-1A but began as an adapted short wing OV-1C with the IR gear removed.

 

OV-1 "Super C" These had an "A" fuselage, "B" wings, T53-L15A engines, nose and belly cameras, and IR gear. All "Super Cs" except the American Wings Air Museum's S/N 68-15936 which is pictured in flight on the front page and those lost in accidents or in Vietnam were later converted to "D" models.

 

OV-1 SEAMORE There were only a few Hawks converted in the SEAMORE project.

RV-1D The ELINT (ELectronic INTelligence) version of the OV-1D had all cameras, SLAR and IR gear removed and newer electronic surveillance equipment installed. OV-1Bs were later converted to "D" models and RV-1Ds.

 

OV-1E This model was an OV-1D with a "glass" cockpit. It was to be the next generation of Hawk with GPS (global positioning system) integrated flight system, 704 engines at 1800 SHP (shaft horsepower), new SLAR package, updated avionics, storm scope, with a corresponding gross weight increase. Two or three prototypes were flown. (Sperry Honeywell donated an OV-1E cockpit to the American Wings Air Museum.)

 

There were several one-of-a-kind Mohawks used in special applications by numerous agencies.... included the following: US Customs, US Geological Survey, US Navy Test Pilot School, NASA, US Army EPG, Israel Air Force, and others.

[Patchcollector]

General OV-1 Pics,no Seamore pics,could'nt find any.

[Patchcollector]

2

[Patchcollector]

3,firing rockets over Nam

[Patchcollector]

Here's a link to some youtube videos of the Mohawk,the last three are in Nam:

Mohawk video 4

[Patchcollector]

Just found this info online:

 

In 1967, Grumman modified two OV-1Bs and two OV-1Cs under the "Southeast Asia Mohawk Requirement (SEAMORE)" program with a substantially improved avionics suite, including improved sensors, navigation and targeting systems, and a radar warning receiver (RWR). They were flown over Southeast Asia during the last years of the Vietnam War, with one lost in action. The SEAMORE program remains a bit mysterious.

[chuckie]

Wow! Super nice patch! Wish I had that in my collection!

[itshistory]

Here's some info I found from the web:

Project Seamore info site

 

On this same website is an area called Boneyard. One of the SeaMore aircraft is pictured there.

 

IH

[Patchcollector]

On this same website is an area called Boneyard. One of the SeaMore aircraft is pictured there.

 

IH

 

Thanks IH,I did'nt see that!I'm glad that they rescued that bird!Here's the link to the page,if anyone's interested:

Seamore Project plane pics here

[Patchcollector]

Also the cover page and another page from the project:

[mohawkALSE]

Took a quick pic with my phone so sorry for the quality. I just recently picked up a bunch of Vietnam era Mohawk pubs and patches from a former Mohawk driver who flew in Vietnam 70-71. All patches are original from that era:

 

The SEAMORE patch patchcollector has as well as the one I have are the only 2 patches Ive ever seen for the SEAMORE project.

[itshistory]

Took a quick pic with my phone so sorry for the quality. I just recently picked up a bunch of Vietnam era Mohawk pubs and patches from a former Mohawk driver who flew in Vietnam 70-71. All patches are original from that era:

 

 

The SEAMORE patch patchcollector has as well as the one I have are the only 2 patches Ive ever seen for the SEAMORE project.

 

Well then, I'll raise your two with number three and I'll throw in the Civil Tech Rep patch from the support guys.

 

IH

[mohawkALSE]

Well then, I'll raise your two with number three and I'll throw in the Civil Tech Rep patch from the support guys.

 

IH

 

 

Excellent, maybe more people will start popping up with them and chiming in here. That tech rep patch is cool, I'm going to assume dealing with the C models IR systems. Any idea what the top text means on it? Where did you come across yours? Were you a tech rep?

 

A friend of mine said the SEAMORE program was done with the 131st Avn Co/SAC/MI Co solely and only a small number of those patches were handed out to pilots. I'm still waiting to hear more back from the pilot I got the patches from.

[JBFloyd]

From a facebook entry:

 

"HRB Systems Inc., formerly HRB Singer, now part of Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems, is/was a defense contractor located in State College, Pennsylvania. The company was started by three scientists: Haller, Raymond, and Brown. The company was part of E-Systems before Raytheon purchased it."

[itshistory]

Excellent, maybe more people will start popping up with them and chiming in here. That tech rep patch is cool, I'm going to assume dealing with the C models IR systems. Any idea what the top text means on it? Where did you come across yours? Were you a tech rep?

 

A friend of mine said the SEAMORE program was done with the 131st Avn Co/SAC/MI Co solely and only a small number of those patches were handed out to pilots. I'm still waiting to hear more back from the pilot I got the patches from.

 

The HRB Singer company produced the IR equipment that was selected for use in the SEAMORE project. I was not involved with the project or the units that deployed the SEAMORE system. Since I acquired the SEAMORE patch and the HRB SINGER patch as bequests from their owner my presumption was that he had something to do with the deployment and operation of the project. Other items he left to me were all related to his time flying/instructing/civil support of the OV-1. The SEAMORE items were a complete surprise to me because he had never mentioned them. He flew several tours in Vietnam, all with OV-1 units that included the 225th SAC, the 245th SAC and the 131st AVN/MI Company.

 

IH

[Patchcollector]

Yes,there cannot be too many of the Seamore patches out there,as it was a very limited project that required few personnel.

[Blaze1]

I found this thread after doing a Google search for the OV-1 & SEAMORE prompted by mohawkALSE described the mysterious nature of the SEAMORE project. Now the mention of HRB SInger got my attention, because they developed the HRB Singer Receiver Model 934-1B. This receiver was designed to provide SA-2 launch warnings by intercepting the L-band command guidance signal that was transmitted a launch and this was around the 1966 time-frame. I was wondering if the SEAMORE underbelly, teardrop, may have had ELINT capability? Having said that, the picture detailing the HRB Singer patch itshistory posted, hints at Infra Red capability not radio waves.