April 8, 200917 yr Author #106 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): 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: Keep em coming! Ray
April 9, 200917 yr #107 Some very low level outside Da Nang 1968 ... suddenly hearing "Ride of the Valkyries"...
April 10, 200917 yr #108 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. This is a Sikorsky CH-37B Mojave
April 10, 200917 yr #109 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
April 10, 200917 yr Author #110 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
April 13, 200917 yr #112 Charlie Smilin Tigers! Charlie, do you have a tail number for that bird? Thanks! Jon
April 14, 200917 yr Author #113 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
April 14, 200917 yr #114 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 CONFICS was an offshoot of INFANT (Iroquois Night Fighter And Night Tracker) system, which made it in-country on the first UH-1Ms.
April 19, 200917 yr Author #115 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
May 10, 200917 yr Author #116 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-1E that transported Bob Hope for Christmas 1970 from HML-167: Refueling at MAG-16, March 23 1969, VMO-2 Marble Mtn, Da Nang:
May 22, 200917 yr #117 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.
May 22, 200917 yr Author #118 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
May 22, 200917 yr Author #120 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.
May 22, 200917 yr #121 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. 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.
May 23, 200917 yr Author #122 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
May 23, 200917 yr #123 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
May 23, 200917 yr #124 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.
May 23, 200917 yr Author #125 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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