![]() ![]() These Units operated outside of any main Unit and are difficult to find official information for, the following information is contributed by those who served with these Bastard Units.ġst Flight Platoon 2nd Flight Platoon 3rd Flight Platoon 4th Flight Platoon 5th Flight PlatoonĪrea of operation - Da Nang Mission - Provide support to the Marines Gunship support/assistance Support the Special Forces camps in the I Corp area. ![]() These units often found it difficult to get support and had to improvise in order to stay operational. They were located and operated hundreds of miles away from their main unit. Or also known as the 7th flight platoon.These units were not assigned to a specific Company or Battalion. After June 1966 only known active unit was the 46th. Most of these units were formed in 1963, 1964. This section is under construction as of.To read about the Battle of Ap Bac from the perspective of helicopter company personnel involved you can read "A STORY OF AP BAC: January 2, 1963" by Charlie Ostick available here at the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association website.ĭowned CH-21 Shawnee Helicopters at Ap Bac January 1963. It was time to rethink the way troop lifts and armed escorts were being conducted. The events at Ap Bac were the first sign that the VC had been planning and were now losing their fear of the helicopters as they devised ways to fight back. 30 caliber machine gun, but the design of the helicopter greatly limited the effectiveness of the. The fact that the CH-21 Shawnee helicopter was only a single engine, tandem rotor helicopter that was under powered for its size and not easily maneuvered didn't help the situation at Ap Bac. The incident underscored the fact that armed helicopter escorts simply were not an adequate substitute for a fixed wing escort when facing a determined entrenched enemy. It was deemed a win, but many would probably consider it a defeat. On Januthe first real disaster occurred at the Battle of Ap Bac. The new armored helicopter company proved to be effective enough in the role of armored escort that US Marine H-34 crews at Da Nang even began to request Army armored helicopter escorts. The new Huey UH-1B model boasted a more powerful engine, 4 M-60 machine guns and a new mount for 16 2.75 inch rockets. In November UTTCO received 11 of the first new Huey UH-1B helicopters. It served as an armed escort to the 33rd, 57th and 93rd Transportation Companies at Tan Son Nhut. 30 caliber machine guns and 16 2.75 inch rockets. This new Company was made up of 15 Huey UH-1As, each armed with two. The Army's CH-21 Shawnee was not suited to the higher altitudes in the northern parts of Vietnam so the Army's CH-21 companies were relocated to the lower elevations of the Mekong Delta.ġ962 also saw the arrival of the new Utility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company (UTTCO or UTT). The Marine squadron was initially stationed at Soc Trang, but after only two months it was relocated to Da Nang to trade places with one of the Army helicopter companies there. April 1962 saw the arrival of the first Marine helicopter squadron equipped with the Sikorski H-34 helicopter. Sikorsky HUS-1 (UH-34D) Seahorse, HMM-362 in Vietnam, 1962.īut the US Army was not the only American Military Service to send helicopters to Vietnam. Right after the 8th and 57th Transportation companies arrived in Vietnam the, 57th Medical Detachment (also known as "The Original Dust Off") arrived, bringing with it some of the first Huey UH-1 helicopters to be used in Vietnam. Over 1,000 ARVN who were accompanied by US Advisors were successfully airlifted into a suspected enemy base. The first troop lift was dubbed Operation Chopper and it took place 12 days after the helicopter companies first arrived. The rest of the Battalion's Companies arrived in Vietnam from January 1962 through September 1962. The first two of the 45th Transportation Battalion's Companies, the 8th Transportation Company and the 57th Transportation Company, arrived in December 1961. In December 1961 the USS Core, arrived in Saigon carrying the first American helicopter units consisting of 33 CH-21 Shawnee helicopters (nicknamed the "Flying Bannana") and 400 air and ground crewmen to operate and maintain them. ![]()
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