Brandon Posted June 26, 2011 Share #1 Posted June 26, 2011 I was on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL reciently picking up an aircraft and got lost on the Arsenal. I rounded a bend and look who I found hiding in a parking lot!! :w00t: Hope yo enjoy it as much as I did. I thought this bird was at Rucker!! Brandon Link to post Share on other sites
Bud Posted October 16, 2011 Share #3 Posted October 16, 2011 When the 53ed Avn Det ("Guns-a-Go-Go") first arrived in Vietnam, they were assigned to my battalion, the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion, "Red Dog" at Phu loi about 20 miles north of Saigon. Phu loi was an old Hapanese Air Force airbase from WW2. The five aircraft including Easy Money operated with the 178th Assualt Support Helicopter Company for approximently six weeks before heading north and joining the Cav at the "Golf Course" (Plei Ku) Saw them flying everyday for the tiome they were down south Bud I believe many of today's social ills and political party bickering could be solved by the simple implementation of legalized dueling. Link to post Share on other sites
Jack's Son Posted October 17, 2011 Share #4 Posted October 17, 2011 The "Hovering" version of the Spooky ? **PLEASE NOTE: THIS COMMUNITY MEMBER HAS SADLY PASSED AWAY** http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/301020-robin-ray/ Link to post Share on other sites
Bud Posted October 17, 2011 Share #5 Posted October 17, 2011 The "Hovering" version of the Spooky ? They would actually make firing runs at targets / The aircraft commander and pilot fired the two sets of 19 2.75inch rocket pods on either side, plus the two 9one on each side)( for ward firing 20mm guns and the 40 mm grenade launcher mounted on the nose. There were various configurations of mounted M60 machine guns fired by door gunners (and the crew chief or flight enginer out to the either sides of the aircraft. They were primarily used for ground fire suppression. They did not last very long. They arrived in country in 1966 and I believe by the end of February, 1968 they were no longer operational.There was orignally five aircraft designated AH-47. One of them was destroyed in a landing zone during the 1968 Tet offense, one shot it's self down when one of the forweard firing 20mm vibrated loose, tilted up and shot the forward rotor blades to pieces. Bud I believe many of today's social ills and political party bickering could be solved by the simple implementation of legalized dueling. Link to post Share on other sites
Jack's Son Posted October 17, 2011 Share #6 Posted October 17, 2011 ......one shot it's self down when one of the forweard firing 20mm vibrated loose, tilted up and shot the forward rotor blades to pieces. WHOOPS... Thank you Bud, for the history of the craft. :thumbsup: **PLEASE NOTE: THIS COMMUNITY MEMBER HAS SADLY PASSED AWAY** http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/301020-robin-ray/ Link to post Share on other sites
Sabrejet Posted October 17, 2011 Share #7 Posted October 17, 2011 They would actually make firing runs at targets / The aircraft commander and pilot fired the two sets of 19 2.75inch rocket pods on either side, plus the two 9one on each side)( for ward firing 20mm guns and the 40 mm grenade launcher mounted on the nose. There were various configurations of mounted M60 machine guns fired by door gunners (and the crew chief or flight enginer out to the either sides of the aircraft. They were primarily used for ground fire suppression. They did not last very long. They arrived in country in 1966 and I believe by the end of February, 1968 they were no longer operational.There was orignally five aircraft designated AH-47. One of them was destroyed in a landing zone during the 1968 Tet offense, one shot itself down when one of the forweard firing 20mm vibrated loose, tilted up and shot the forward rotor blades to pieces. The ultimate "friendly fire"?! :w00t: "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!" Winston Churchill " Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." John Winston Lennon Link to post Share on other sites
Cobrahistorian Posted October 17, 2011 Share #8 Posted October 17, 2011 Guns a Go Go is one of those units that was really larger than life. I've got a small collection of original GoGo stuff, including two original patches and an original decal that went on the forward rotor pylon like the one you see on "Easy Money" above the windscreen. There were four birds total in the unit: Co$t of Living Stump Jumper Easy Money Birth Control Frank White, a fellow modeler and Guns a Go Go pilot has a great website here: http://gunsagogo.org/ Bud's right about "Co$t of Living's" accident. The retaining pins on one of the 20mms vibrated out on a strafing run on 5 May 1967. The gun tilted 90 degrees upwards and shot off the forward rotor. All aboard were killed. "Stump Jumper" was destroyed in a taxiing accident at Vung Tau in August 66 and "Birth Control" was destroyed by mortar fire after a forced landing supporting the 1st Cav outside of Hue in Feb 68. I'll see if I can get some pics of my GoGo collection. Ultimately, I want to display my artifacts with models of all 4 airplanes around them... Jon In memory of 1LT Julius C. Goldman, XO of F/330th, 83rd Infantry Division 1944-45. Looking for ETO/MTO P-47 and Tactical Reconnaissance Unit photographs and any items associated with WWII Jewish fighter pilots. Curator of Arms & Armor at the National Museum of the Marine Corps http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/usmfribbons/donation2009.gifhttp://www.usmilitariaforum.com/usmfribbons/donation2010.gifhttp://www.usmilitariaforum.com/usmfribbons/donation2011.gifhttp://www.usmilitariaforum.com/usmfribbons/donation2012.gifhttp://www.usmilitariaforum.com/usmfribbons/donation2013.gifhttp://www.usmilitariaforum.com/usmfribbons/donation2014.gif Link to post Share on other sites
cjohns Posted October 17, 2011 Share #9 Posted October 17, 2011 http://home.cobridge.tv/~ketchamj/ Link to post Share on other sites
snake36bravo Posted October 18, 2011 Share #10 Posted October 18, 2011 Lee Jackson got my Guns-a-go-go pocket patch in San Jose during a business trip but I kept this official 1st Cav photo. Fitting to share here again. ASMIC Member 4598 Link to post Share on other sites
Brandon Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted November 5, 2011 Awsome, glad you guys enjoyed the pics. Looks a whole lot meaner than the CH school busses we had in our battalion, lol. To think a bunch of us wanted to hang a stop sign from one in Iraq and warn to stop when lights are flashing, lol Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now