|
|
|
|
this one arrived at Hal-3 in Sept 70 ----- we have that information under aircraft on our website ---- but we are looking for the tail number that it was assigned ----- anybody have it on their flight records or some other source ?
Mike Dobson (ROH)
|
|
Administrator
|
Got nothing Mike, other than it was assigned to us 09/12/1970 - 08/11/1971, with 846 Total Flt Hours.
Side numbers are a bear to find, unless they happened to be mentioned in the '69-'71 Squadron History Reports (the only 3 years we can find) as having an accident or something.
Have found no records of BuNo's to Side#'s kept, and each BuNo could have had more than one Side# if assigned to different Dets...
So unless there are Flight Logbooks showing BuNo and Side# together, it's hard to say.
|
|
|
I knew it was a hard line to trace ------- I doubt seriously that a different det assignment ever changed a tail number ------ they stood alone with no duplications in the squadron at the same time .... at least in the latter years of the squadron, birds were only "lent" to a Det & swapped for another so the Det could stay up . some of the hueys may well have made it to all the dets if they were lucky----- number duplication was strictly avoided so that should be a gimmes to avoid possible false reporting of a bird down -------- I can, however, see how a bird could have had dual tail numbers assigned if it were damaged and sent back to a stateside repair facility and made it back to the squadron ------ it is unlikely during repairs that a new paint job wasn't done --- and the tail number would not be an item of importance in the states ------ by the time a bird made it back, it's old number was likely in service on a different tail ------- hence, a second number assigned --------- I don't know if it happened, but it would fit ------- still hoping to find the tail number for 13980
Mike Dobson (ROH)
|
|
Administrator
|
If that's true, then the Tail# would not be specific to a Det, but specific to a BuNo.
I show some BuNo's with a Tail# on different Dets, on different dates, but too not far apart:
Here's two examples:
62-02034 - Det 6, Det 5, Det 7, Det 2, with Side# 321
10/1970 - 01/1972 Det 6, damaged by engine failure at Song Ong Doc, 12/16/70. Assigned Det 5, 3/71. Det 7, damaged by ground fire 7/27/71. Det 2, cabin damaged by paraflare ignition 12/7/71. Struck by Navy H-46 while parked, ripped large section of main rotor blade off and had to be airlifted out of Chau Doc 8/24/1971.
62-02038 - Det 2, Det 6, Det 3, Det 1, with Side# 316
06/1969 - 02/1971 Det 6, engine failure at Ca Mau 11/11/70. Det 3, damaged in hard landing at Nam Can 12/16/70. Det 1, damaged by ground fire, two .50 Cal hits through main rotor and tail pylon 12/26/70. Windshield shattered by ground fire, pilots slightly wounded, 1/8/71.
The reference for these two examples and others were taken from "A History of HELATKLTRON THREE The Seawolves" by James D. Sprinkle
(Originally published in: THE JOURNAL - American Aviation Historical Society, Winter 1988)
---If that sounds familiar to you, it's because it can be purchased on your Merchandise Form, so you can look that up on the next to the last page (309).
Dan
|
|
|
.. I do not have skills to enlarge this photo,,it is a shot of 321 after losing the engine (As Dan made reference to) and coming down in this paddy by old Song-Ong-Doc..The Bird had just lifted off and was moving out when the engine went,,just missing a huge concrete block,,I recall stripping the Bird, as well as killing a cobra snake that was crawling about the grass... dang snakes anyway..
|
|
|
If I'm reading that post right Dan, there is a Det 1 hard landing report in mid Dec 70 ------- I have no recollection of any of our birds being damaged by hard landing ----- if it were, I would think it might be really fast to get it back in the air so soon for the next incident ----- I DO, However, recall getting the hydraulics shot out and doing a running landing on the strip ---- possibly in that time period ------ we would have fixed a shot out hose on site and gone again -------as any of the Dets would have ------- we also have to add in possible misinterpretation of damage at the squadron end upon initial contact and who wrote it up --------- I recall no landing damage on Det 1 during the June 70 - April 71 time period ------ shot down yes, landed in the Bo De after engine failure yes,(pilot error here but it was not the landing that damaged it --- it was where --- in the river --- totaled) ....... but never a hard landing ...... interesting sequence ------- are any of the paint boys on board to comment on this ?
Mike Dobson (ROH)
|
|
|
oops --- the hard landing was credited to Det 3 AT Solid Anchor ----- it might narrowly slip into a time window of having gone into BT from Det 3, done a gear fix and check out, and we got her on a time swap only to get the rotors shot right away by the 50 ----- I do remember us swapping blades and the BT gang coming down to do it ---- that would have let us still have her on the 8th of Jan ------ I sure would like to see the inside of that conex box that has all our info
Mike Dobson (ROH)
|
|
|
dets keep them for 100 hrs and then took them back home for a phase and picked up another one they tried to keep the two det birds 50 hrs apart it took home about 2 or 3 days to do the phase depending on which one it was a,b,c,d think that d was the long one it had the most to do
|
|
|
good info on the time it took to get a bird through a 100 hr . I know it was impossible to keep the time on the birds even . most of the time it worked, but when the fuel and ammo shuttle started, or a breakdown happened, then it went out the door. I gotta find my flight log
Mike Dobson (ROH)
|
|
|
Mike Melendez confirms 316 was shot at Det 1 on the date listed in Jan 71 -- he was on it === they got it back, but it was a hook out ---- the main windshield support was shot through by the 50
Mike Dobson (ROH)
|
|
Locked
