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Vietnam Helicopters


Rotorwash
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Snake36,

I was just looking at those pics on the 92nd website a few minutes ago! I already have some of them. In fact there were at least three units that used the beer can rocket pods: 92nd, 189th, and 335th. There were several different "brands". I see you posted Budweiser, Coors, and the 189th Black Label pods, but there was also the ultra rare 335 Schlitz pod (from their website):

 

335thfalcons69.jpg

 

OK, How about a couple of Nighthawks. These were UH-1D/H's equipped with a Xenon spotlight and usually a minigun in one door and a 50 Cal in the other. These images were donated to the Army Aviation Museum by the 162nd AHC:

 

JTibbets-Firefly.jpg

 

JTibbets-NighhawkMinigun.jpg

 

JTibbets-NightHawkMinigun.jpg

 

Keep em coming!

Ray

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Cobrahistorian
Some very low level outside Da Nang 1968

 

... suddenly hearing "Ride of the Valkyries"...

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I have an interesting piece of Viet-Nam helicopter memorabilia that you may want to see. I'm also attaching a modern photo of one of the helicopters on which it was mounted, so that everyone can see what they look like.

 

post-70-1239368790.jpg

This is a Sikorsky CH-37B Mojave

post-70-1239368817.jpg

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That thing is just so funny. If I remember correctly, they have one on display at the Ft. Rucker museum with a jeep in it.

 

Mike

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That thing is just so funny. If I remember correctly, they have one on display at the Ft. Rucker museum with a jeep in it.

 

Mike

 

Mike,

Check back on page 2 for a pics of Ch-37 including the Rucker bird with the jeep. Gunbarrel, thanks for the pics Keep em coming guys!

Ray

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Cobrahistorian
post-68-1239666244.jpg

 

Charlie

 

Smilin Tigers! Charlie, do you have a tail number for that bird?

 

Thanks!

 

Jon

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Charlie,

Thanks! Now that is a really nice snake! I'm gonna have to pull out something special after that one. Here's CONFICS (CObra Night Fighter Imaging Combat System). I think you'll agree this one is special. This one never flew in Vietnam as far as Jon and I know, but I'd love someone to prove us wrong!

Ray

 

5595.jpg

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Cobrahistorian
Charlie,

Thanks! Now that is a really nice snake! I'm gonna have to pull out something special after that one. Here's CONFICS (CObra Night Fighter Imaging Combat System). I think you'll agree this one is special. This one never flew in Vietnam as far as Jon and I know, but I'd love someone to prove us wrong!

Ray

 

5595.jpg

 

 

CONFICS was an offshoot of INFANT (Iroquois Night Fighter And Night Tracker) system, which made it in-country on the first UH-1Ms.

 

INFANT001.jpg

Infant1.jpg

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Time to revitalize this thread. One interesting aspect of Army Aviation in Vietnam was the nose art applied by many units to their helicopters. Here are a few to start with. Many are CH-47's and a few Hueys. I'd love to see any Vietnam nose art you guys have floating around out there. Enjoy.

Ray

 

nose_art.jpg

 

9a.jpg

 

7a.jpg

 

71-20955_Nose_Art_a.jpg

 

1cd4NoseArt.jpg

 

22a.jpg

 

66-00095_NA.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been a while since i updated this thread. We've been talking about the UH-1E on another thread so I thought I'd post a few Vietnam era Echo pics for you guys. Please keep the photos coming if you have any to share. I always learn something new when I see what you guys post.

Ray

 

Taken by Gary Zimmerman, August of 68 Phu Bai:

 

UH-1EHML-367PhuBaiAug68GaryZimmerma.jpg

 

UH-1E that transported Bob Hope for Christmas 1970 from HML-167:

 

UH-1EHOHOHopeHML-167Xmas1970Troy-1.jpg

 

UH-1EHOHOHopeHML-167Xmas1970TroyFul.jpg

 

Refueling at MAG-16, March 23 1969, VMO-2 Marble Mtn, Da Nang:

 

PICT9257.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
snake36bravo

How is this for weird. I have to admit that out of all the scouring I've done this is the first time I've seen this type of modification.

post-2582-1242960607.jpg

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How is this for weird. I have to admit that out of all the scouring I've done this is the first time I've seen this type of modification.

 

I assume you mean the armor over the top of the seats. That is a bit strange. Where'd you find it?

Ray

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From 1-9 circa 1968.

 

Here is another.

 

C Troop 1/9 had yellow circles but the pic you posted above looks to be a 2/20th ARA UH-1B with the M-3 armament system. I can't remember which 2/20th platoon had the red circles though. Help me out Jon.

Ray

Here's some 2/20th pics. I think I may have posted these earlier.

 

008.jpg

 

348.jpg

 

346.jpg

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Cobrahistorian
C Troop 1/9 had yellow circles but the pic you posted above looks to be a 2/20th ARA UH-1B with the M-3 armament system. I can't remember which 2/20th platoon had the red circles though. Help me out Jon.

Ray

Here's some 2/20th pics. I think I may have posted these earlier.

 

008.jpg

 

348.jpg

 

346.jpg

 

 

Ray,

 

The triangle, square, circle was pretty common throughout Army Aviation at that time. Triangle was A Company/Battery/Troop, Square was B and circle was C. I believe the X on the UH-1B above was a bird assigned to Headquarters Battery 2/20th ARA. It is also possible that it was assigned to D Battery, which would have been the maintenance battery, although D Company/Battery/Troop designator was usually a diamond later in the war.

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Thanks Jon. I can never keep all those unit designators straight. I know that circles, squares, triangles, etc. were used by multiple units, but weren't the colors of the symbols unit specific?

Ray

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Most of the recognition devices you are discussing came from the 1st Cav Div (Airmobile). It was the most simplified/easy to use aircraft recognition system used by Army aviation during the Vietnam War. Operating in a division AO (where you were likely to encounter hundreds of aircraft), it was very, very easy to tell what outfit somebody was with. Others, such as the 17th Avn Grp (4ID), were far less user friendly. The 17th Grp had the unit designation (abbreviated) painted on the orange portion (of the top side) of the horizontal stabilizer. Unless you were flying right on top of the tail of another A/C; it was very difficult to identify the unit.

 

1st Cav Div Recognition Devices

 

A Co - triangle

B Co - square (resting on flat side)

C Co - circle

D Co - square (standing on its point)

E Co - 5 pointed star

F Co - pentagon

 

Device Color

 

226th Avn Bn (Mohawk) - unk

227th Assault Hel Bn - green

228th Assault Support Hel Bn (Chinook) - black

229th Assault Hel Bn - blue

1/9 Cav - yellow

2/20 ARA - red

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WO1 John Black (Scout Plat, B Trp, 1/9 Cav), about to commute to the office for a hard day's work. In reality, the recognition devices didn't always match the SOP. ;) This photo was taken at LZ 2 Bits (Bong Son) during Oct 1967. Nice M-2 skid gun rig; and that's a pretty impressive ding on the left fuel cell. "Safety officer? Who cares!!! We got Bad Guys to whack!!" You can just barely make out the huge 1 Cav Div patch on the mountain top in the background. Army aviation trivia...... 1/9 Cav OH-13S pilots flew the A/C from the left seat, with the observer in the right seat.

 

post-1580-1243116147.jpg

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Capt Cav,

Thanks for the info. I was pretty sure color was key to unit recognition, but it's always nice to get confirmation of that. Personally, I always considered the "square (standing on it's point)" to be a diamond. Is it officially described as a "square resting on it's point" somewhere? I like to be as precise as possible so if that's the correct description please let me know.

 

The OH-13 shot is very nice, Thanks for posting that. I like the M-2 armament system on her.

Ray

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