army aviation digest - oct 1965

8/12/2019 Army Aviation Digest - Oct 1965

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UNITE

DIRECTOR OF ARMY AVIATION ACSFORDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

Brig Gen George P Seneff Jr.

COMMANDANT U S ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLMaj Gen John J. Tolson III

ASST COMDT U. S ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLCol George W. Putnam Jr.

EDITORIAL STAFF

Capt Frank A. MarianoFred M . MontgomeryRichard K TierneyWilliam H SmithDiana G. Williams

GRAPHIC ART SUPPORT

H. G . linnH. A. PickelD l. CrowleyA. lofe

USABAAR EDUCATION AND LITERATURE DIV

Pierce l. WigginWilliam E CarterTed KontosCharles Mabius

RMY VI TION

1GESJOCTOBER 965 VOLUME II NUMBER 1

Letters

Professionalism, Lt Col John G. Cleveland 2

Additional Duty for Mohawk, Capt Bobby H. Freeman 6

Vietnam Dragonfly, PFC Richard Bu e 8

Shake Hands With Your Rescuer, Capt William R . Kaler 9

Bird Dog Missile, Capt Frank M. Powell 13

Sorry-You're Not Carrier Qualified, Capt Ro b ert B. James 15

Little Ole Watermaker Me Col Francis M. McCullar 18

Emergency Dut y 21

Hints For Snow Removal, William H . Smith 22

How Well You Are Prepared, Brig Gcn William W. Spruance 24

Limited War Laboratory , Richard K Tierney 29

Crash Sense 33

Mechanic's Creed In side Back Cover

10 Little Pilot Boys Back Cover

The mission of the u S. ARMY AVIATIO DIGE T is to provide information of an operationafunctional nature concerning afety and aircraft accident prevention, training, maintenance, operatresearch and development, aviation meoicine, and other related data.

The DIGEST is an official Depar tment of the Army periodical published monthly under the supervof the Commandant, U. S. Army Aviation School. Views expres ed herein are not necessarily thoseDepar tment of the Army or the U. . Army Aviation choo . Photos are U. . Army unless othespecified. Material may be r epr in ted provided credit is given to the DIGEST and to the author,otherwise indicat d.

Articles, photos, and items of in tere t on Army Aviation are invited. Direct communication s auized to: Editor.illChie/ U.S. Army Aviotion Digest Fort Rucker Alabama.

Use of funds for printing this publication has been approved by Headquar ters , Depar tment oArmy, 29 December 1961.

Active Army units receive dis t r ibut ion under the pinpoint distribution y tern as out l ined in AR 320 March 62, and DA Circular 31057, 14 March 63. Complete DA Form 124 and send directly toAG Publications Center, 2800 Eastern Boulevard, Baltimore, Md. 21220. For any change in distributiorequirements, merely initiat e a revi sed DA Form 124.

National Guard and Army Reserve units ubmit requirements through their state adjutants generalU. . Army Corp commander respectively.

For those not eligible for official di t r ibut ion or who e s i r ~personal copies o f the DIGE T, paidscriptions, 4.50 domestic and 5.50 overseas, are available from the Superintendent of Documents,Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 20402.


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x

Sir:Reference the article by Barney

Roth entitled Tilt (DIGEST,July 65) which we read with interest and found to be quite informative, since we encountermany grade A slopes here in Vietnam which would cause mostflight instructors' hair to stand onend.

We would like to cast disparaging remarks upon the pilot heused to demonstrate with however(pictures 2 3). Like man, that

cat ain't got no APH-5 on. Wemedical evacuation pilots love tosee pilots who fly without helmetsbecause when they crash, theirheads bounce around like a cue

ball and they normally sufferbeautiful lacerati ons, bruises, fractures, and concussions. Who couldask for more because the medicalaidmen tha t we ca r ryon boardour aircraft no longer have toread about these type injuries andpractice with moulage sets becausethey have a real live??? pilot towork on.

Just kidding, but we are tryingto make a point. We suggest thatsomeone contact that pilot onUHF, VHF, SSB, FM or by useof simple arm and hand signals.Inform him to set that aircraftdown at the nearest level spot andshut it down. Then go over andpolitely tell him to dismount andGO GET HIS DAMN APH-5.

PILOTS OF DUSTOFF

57th Med Det (Hel Amb)Saigon, South Vietnam

OCTOBER 1965

I

Sir:Weare fas t breeding a corps of

officers who use experiences fromVietnam as a basis for doctrine,tactics, and techniques. t is therefore frequently necessary to lookat the difference between howsomething works in Vietnam andhow i t should work. I refer tothat portion of Captain Lenderman's article on Airmobile Tactics and Techniques (Jan 65)that deals with fire support. Hestates that only coordinated closeair support combined with airmobile operations is of value.

Coordinated close air suppert sof great value, but it is only aportion of the immense value of

close coordination and use of allfire support means available to theforce commander. Fire support coordination for an airmobile operation is a trying task that will taxthe imagination and talents of anyfire support coordinator. But agood fire support coordinator,with the approval of the forcecommander, will evolve the bestplan of fire support for an airmobile operation, coordinating artillery fires wi thin range of theobjective area, airlifted artillerythat supports the operation (thesefirst two will normally be the primary means of fire support withother means augmenting thesefires), - armed helicopters, navalgunfire, and close air support.

The technique of coordinatingal l of these fires is a s tory wi thinitself. Let's not overlook the fact

I

that it should be done. There willbe times when only one fire support means is used or available(such as close air support) , butthis should be the exceptionra ther than the rule.

Sir:

M A J O R EDISON V. H O E YFort Sill, Okla.

Reference the July 1965 issue ofthe DIGEST, article Tilt, page42, column 2 lines 8-9 and 16.

t appears to me the thrust vector should be perpendicular tothe horizon, not parallel, if thehelicopter is to rise vertically fromthe slope. Is this in error or is mylimited understanding of aerodynamics incorrect?

Enjoyed the edition very much,as all other edi tions. Frozzleforth is a welcome addition; hishumor is so truthful it sometimeshurts. The Award Winner byMajor Clapp was well written, interesting and most deserving ofrecognition. Army Aviation needs

more assets with that type thinking machine.Keep up the good work.

M A J O R HAROLD O. B O U R N E13th Sig Bn,1st Cav Div (AM)Ft Benning, Ga. 31905

Oops Sorry about that. Youare absolutely correct. he wordshould have been uperpendicular."

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rofessionalislllLieutenant olonel John G Cleveland

ITH SO MANY aviationbattalions in or on their

way to combat in Vietnam, youmay think that this article shouldplace more emphasis on preparingfor combat, less on day-to-day garrison work. Operations won t evenbe mentioned. f your people aremotivated to do their jobs if theyhabitually keep their equipmentin a high state of operationalreadiness and if they fly well flyprecisely fly safely then your battalion will certainly operate effectively in combat.

First before taking over your

2

command, become familiar withthe table of organization andequipment and with the scenarioof your unit s annual training test.The former sets up your organization and states your unit mission

whilethe

latter describes typicalunit operations. Also look overchecklists used in preparing forannual inspector general and command maintenance managementinspections. These guidelines together with Army custom and doctrine will provide you with a solidfoundation upon which to baseyour many daily decisions. Study

these guidelines and accept themas facts of life.

Second using these guidelinesextract the really important objectives you wish to achieve. Statethese goals and use them to giveyour battalion direction, inspiration and incentive.

N ext identify the problemswhich stand in the way of reaching your goals. Get help from yourkey people not only in establishing your goals and identifying

ol Cleveland is with the irmo-bility Division} Office Chief ofResearch and Development} Wash-ington} D. C

U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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Motivated people, quality maintenance, low

accident rate, and effective training these

goals deserve most o f battalion commander s attention

your problems but also in findingsolutions to your problems. In anaviation battalion, the goals whichwill deserve most of your attention are motivated people, qualitymaintenance, a low accident rate,and effective training.

PEOPLE

People, your most precious commodity, need to be led and in

spired. You lead them by definingyour battalion's goals, identifyingthe problems which stand in theway, and seeking solutions to theproblems. You inspire them inthe way which best suits your ownpersonality. Here are a few helpful hints.

Set up your chain of command and use it. Make sure it ssolid all the way down to themechanic s helper. Be sure thechain of command is the loudesta nd clearest of all the communications channels that exist in youroutfit. Be particularly sure thatit s open from bottom up, andthat it is used this way almost asmuch as it is from top down . fsubordinates aren't talking totheir superiors frequently andeasily, then break open the channel by asking questions ratherthan giving directions.

Work constantly with your

commanders and key staff officers.Seek their advice. Point out theirproblems when they do not appearto see them. Give them guidancewhere necessary, but try to havethem set their own goals, identifytheir own problems, and establishtheir own tasks within the framework you have provided.

Ask soldier information.Start by asking your company

OCTOBER 1965

commanders. Have them ask theirplatoon leaders. The platoon leaders ask the section sergeants-andright on down to the bottom man.Soldier information includes chainof command, general orders, codeof conduct, unit mission, assignedduties, maintenance information,individual weapon information,and any special subjects such asCBR or emergency medical care

which you mightbe

pushing atthe time. Also ask the individualwhat his major problems are andhow he thinks they should besolved.

This technique of asking questions serves several purposes. tlets the individual know he s important. t ensures that everybodyknows his soldier information,thus demonstrating his professional knowledge and improvinghis soldierly qualities. I t opens thechannel for that all importantfeedback from the bottom of theline. And it forces you to establish or identify a chain of command in those cases where theTOE doesn't do it for you.

Give credit where credit isdue. Anything that's done well inyour unit reflects favorably on thewhole outfit. Give people creditfor doing things well, and you'llfind them looking for more areas

in which to excel. It's a snowballing process. Require spit and polish. A

neat crisp personal appearance,neat and business-like offices, andclean equipment not only makethe individual proud of himselfand his unit, but they also makethat all-important good first impression on anyone who comes tolook at your operation. This first

impression will be the most important factor in establishing yourunit's reputation.

Resist unnecessarily transferring people around. Already somuch personnel turmoil is forcedon you to meet so-called un programmed requirements ; hat youcan't fail to improve efficiency bykeeping people in their jobs longenough not only to learn them but

alsoto perform them

efficiently.QUALITY MAINTENANCE

An aviation battalion performsits mission by operating machines.Since it can fly only if aircraft andequipment are properly maintained, you must put a large partof your effort into the maintenance business. Attack t ~ maintenance problem on each of themajor fronts which contribute togood maintenance.

rained operators and m echan-ics See how many of your operators and mechanics are technicallyqualified for the slots they occupy.If they are not qualified, havethe S 3 send them to school orassure that they are given on-thejob training under qualified specialis ts to gain the skills they need.

f your battalion is short maintenance personnel, have your S-lprocure them for you.

Publications In a business astechnically complicated and so-phisticated as aviation, you mustinsist on maintenance by the book.Department of the Army has puta tremendous amount of effortand research into establishingeffective maintenance proceduresfor all your equipment. There isan operator's and organizationalmaintenance manual for every


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B T T ~ O N C O M M N D _ _ ____pIece of equipment and everytool set in your battalion. Thesemanuals must be in the hands ofthe people who need them.

Be sure that your operators ,crewchiefs, and mechanics havethese manuals and follow the written procedures. Perhaps evenmore important, be sure that yourcompany commanders, platoonleaders, and section sergeants haveand read their own personalcopies of the more important DApublications on main tenance .These include DA Pamphlet 750 1

Preventive Maintenance Indica-tors for Commanders, DA Pamphlet 750-2 Post Level Preventive Maintenance Course, DAPamphlet 750-38 The ArmyEquipment Record System, andPS Magazine

f any of these publicationsare missing o r in short sup-ply, have the S-1 obtain themthrough the new pinpoint dis-tr ibution system.

Tools Each operator, crewchief,and mechanic should have a com

plete set of toolsas

authorized inthe TOE. Make spot checks tosee that they have all their tools,keep them clean and in good condition, and use them properly.When you find deficiences, takecorrective action.

Spare parts For good mainte-nance you have to have the spareparts you need, on hand, in theright quantity, at the time youneed them. This is possible onlyif your spare parts clerks run theirprescribed load lists (PLL) theway higher headquarters says theyshould be run. Check your PLLto see that proper procedures are

being followed and that the supply cards accurately reflect whatis in hand and on order.

Supervis ion Personal intereston the part of the commander isprobably the greatest catalyst in aunit. Take the company commander with you and systematically spot check each type ofequipment in each company, platoon, and section. The many pre-ventive maintenance checklistsavailable will make it easy foryou to make these spot checks.

Another useful technique is torequire periodic reports on thestatus of all equipment which is

not fully operational: daily reports on the aircraft; weekly reports on vehicles and radios;monthly reports on items such aswea pons , gas masks, and typewriters which don't take so muchmaintenance effort. By keepingtrack of what equipment is down,why it is down, and what's beingdone about it, you will find thelists getting shorter each week.

Your active and personal interest in the condition of your unit 'sequipment is almost guaranteedto bring about immediate andnoticeable improvement.

LOW ACCIDENT RATE

The time you spend on an ac-tive accident prevention programwill pay dividends you didn'tbelieve possible. Your programshould stress healthy attitudes,healthy bodies, and accident prevention surveys.

ealthy attitudes The basicphilosophy of an accident prevention program is that in the finalanalysis accidents are caused by

Probably the gre test c t lystin a unit s the commander's

ersonal interest

human failure somewhere alongthe line. Potential failures can bedetected and corrected before theyhappen if each individual in yourbattalion is accident preventionconscious and anxious to correcthazardous situations.

You can instill this attitude inseveral ways. The simplest approach is to put out the directive

Do not have accidents. This,like hitting the mule over thehead with a baseball bat to get hisattention, is bound to impresspeople with the importance ofsafety.

A more reasoned approach is toestablish a high standard of excellence in all aspects of maintenanceand flying. Cultivate in yourpilots a healthy and positive atti-tude toward flying. Have eachpilot think of his flight in its various phases: briefing, flight plan(route, altitude, radio aides, check

points, landing areas), weathercheck, walk-a round, cockpit check,preflight check of all radios andsystems, inflight procedures, parking, shutdown and tiedown procedures, flight plan closure, and

final critique.He should perform each phase

so thoroughly and meticulouslythat he is subconsciously sur e thathe understands all aspects of theflight, will handle each aspectcompetently, and will use the correct procedures in case of emergency. Standardization, attentionto detail, planning, and executionaccording to checklists are marksof excellence.

A third approachis

to keep thesubject constantly before youraviators and mechanics. Use safetyposters and bulletin boards withfresh and interesting displays. Distribute material such as FlightSafety Foundation bulletins and(JSABAAR's Weekly Summary ofaircraft accidents and incidents.Each morning at the daily operational and weather briefing, have

4 U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

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someone presen t a cogent word onsafety. And make sure yourmonthly safety meetings are occasions to which all your aviatorslook forward.

Remember that anxiety, slipshod or careless procedures, halfbaked plans, lack of knowledge ordisregard of regulations, and ac-tion based on emotion rather thanjudgment are all evidence of improper attitudes which your safetyprogram can correct.

Healthy bodies Physical fitnesssharpens mental acumen and givesthe high muscle tone which isgood insurance against fatigueand weariness brought on by long,hard flying. f a tight schedule ofoperations and maintenance activities keeps you from having a firstrate athletic program during dutyhours, then encourage your peopleto undertake individual fitness programs on their own time.

The beauty of these programsis that each person, depending onhis own interests and abilities andusing whatever time and facilitiesare available, can choose his ownsport and his own set of daily

calisthenics. Swimming, golf, tennis, bowling, and hunting are allgood individual sports, whileei ther the Canadian Air Force5 BX program or the Army s Physical Fitness Program for Staff andSpecialist Personnel (DA Pamphlet 21-1) is good for dailyperiods of strenuous exercise athome.

Let your people know tha t ahealthy body needs not onlyexercise, but also good sleep, agood breakfast , and a balanceddiet.

ccident Prevention SurveysEach year USABAAR puts out anexcellent pamphlet on accidentprevention surveys. You will seethat this pamphlet is actually achecklist which goes to the verycore of your troop leading andmanagement procedures. It cuts

OCTOBER 1965

n unit tr ining st rt with the e synd simple nd progress to the more

diffi ult nd complic tedpretty well across the entire gamutof your responsibilities. Have yoursafety officer and other primarystaff officers conduct periodic surveys, using the sections of thepamphlet which cover their responsibilities. Check to see thatdeficiencies found during the surveys are corrected. f a checklistshows that your battalion has nodeficiencies, its aircraft accidentrecord is doubtlessly clear, andyou can be sure you have a first

class outfit.EFFECTIVE TRAINING

You may feel that trainingshould be included as part of yoursafety program, for no unit can flysafely if it is not well trained.Training, however, is so important that it deserves a separatesection as one of the four majorareas of concern to you.

Have a training program whichstresses fundamentals. The basicphases of the program might be:initial orientation and checkout,continuous standardization, nightflying, instrument work, and tactical work. While these phaseswill often be conducted concurrently, they should start with theeasy and simple and progress tothe more difficult and complicated.

Have all new aviators who report into your battalion thoroughly briefed on the local flight rules,

regulations, and conditions. Showthem how the companies briefaviators on their missions. Havethem become familiar with allflight planning, weather, and navigational and voice radio facilitieson the airfield. Then have an IPgive them a good solid checkoutin the local area in the type aircraft they will be flying.

This flight should be the first

of a number of periodic standard-iza tion rides designed to keeppilots sharp and thorough. Usefully-trained and standardized instructor pilots who stress the fundamental procedures and techniques taught at the U. S ArmyAviation School.

In your night flying training,start off with simple maneuvers,using full lights, on big easy strips.Progress to minimum lighted workfrom small confined areas. Try

allocating one night a week, from1600 hours to 0200 hours, fortraining, with compensatory timeoff the next day.

Your i n s t r u m e n t p r o g r a mshould stress as much actual instrument flight as your aircraft,the local weather conditions, andinstrument flight facilities permit.Again, use your best qualifiedaviators, preferably instrumentexaminers, as IPs.

In your tactical work, stressfundamentals and precision,progressing f rom condit ionswhich leave wide margins fo rerror to conditions which re -quire maximum performancefrom both ai rcraf t and aviator.This work should include operations out of confined areas, formation flying, low-level navigation,and special tactical missions whichyour unit is capable of performing,such as gunnery or photography.

One final thought. Keep yourboss informed of your problemsand what you re doing aboutthem. Let him know your goalsand be sure you understand his.He, too, will no doubt want moti-vated professional soldiers, highquality maintenance, accident freeand precise tactical flying, and aresponsive, well trained, spit-andpolish organization.


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ddi t ion l dutyfor t he

m o h w k

MOHAWKS HAVE a new

typeof

missionin

Korea.In

addi tion to normal surveillancemissions the OV-Is are used as aflying fuel station. The logisticalproblem of supplying JP-4 fuel inKorea has left a void at many isolated airfields and heliports. Indirect support of Eighth ArmyHeadquarters and United Nations

Command the 55th Aviation Com-

6

aptain Bobby H Freeman

pany requires UH-I helicoptermissions over ex tended rangesaway from JP-4 refueling points.Before the arrival of the MohawkJP-4 had to be transported byvehicle and stored in 55-gallonfuel drums in advance of anyplanned UH-I flights into theseremote areas.

Today when a Huey mission isscheduled for a remote site aMohawk refueling mission is con-

currently scheduled with theAerial Surveillance and TargetAcquisition Platoon of the 55thAviation Company.

A refueling stop is less than 30minutes duration and requires nospecial equipment. A standardOV-l defueling hose with a refuel-

Capt Freeman is with the AerialSurveillance Platoon P r o v i s i o 55th viat ion Company A r m y

PO San Franc isco 96301



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ing nozzle attached is used totransfer fuel from the Mohawk tothe Huey. A leak-proof canvas bagis used to contain the hose and istransported in the baggage compartment. The only other itemneeded to accomplish the refueling mission is a grounding cable.

Actual refueling is accomplishedas follows:

With the number 2 right) engine shut down the OV-l taxisnext to the UH-I with the rightsides of the aircraft being adjacentor parallel to each other. Thenthe number 1 left) engine isshut down. The hose is connectedt.o the defueling point on theOV-l and, with the ground con

nected, the master defuel switchand the drop tanks defuelleft andrigh t switch are engaged. Fuelingis accomplished in a conventionalmanner. Airlocks are bled off byopening the valve on the centralpoint defueling hose connector.

After fuel flow has been established the drop tanks defuelswi tch is disengaged and fuel flowcontinues by gravity feeding. Another OV-l can be refueled in the

same manner as a UH-I, excepttha t the drop tanks defuel swi tchor the cockpit drop tanks pumpswitch must be left on to pressurize the main fuel cell for over

Standard Mohawk delueling hose andnozzle do the trick

the wing type refueling. This operation requires an external powersupply.

When the aircraft is fueled, themaster defuel switch is disengagedand the hose disconnected. Thehose is then drained of all fueland placed in the Mohawk baggage compartment, secured insidethe carrying bag.

Points to remember in this operation are few but vital to theaccomplishment of the mission.The Mohawk must be level withor higher than the UH 1. Also,the drop tanks defuel switch must

efu eling u ey fr om Mohawk require sa V 1 be level w ith or high er than i

be turned off after gravity feedingis established so the aircraft battery is not too weakened to provide a start.

The Mohawk s primary missionof securing vital combat informa

tion at medium ranges for Armycommanders has not changed.However, with this additionalcapability, operating ranges of theUH-I and OV-l aircraft have beengreatly extended. In this new rolethe Mohawk has once againproved itself valuable to the U. S.Army.


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Vietnam ragonflyW HILE MOST soldiers newly arrived in South Vietnam are still asleep in a tent-cityreception station , a pilot in a kindof gas-turbine dragonfly on anArmy Aviation company flightline not far away presses a starterbutton.

A hissing , whining sound eruptsfrom the insect's large

,' 1 : . , ~ blades be-

PFC ichard usse

Men awaken in the tent city.Some watch the rising lights as-sume more distinct form in the

brightening sky, impressed by thepower being displayed.

Minutes pass. The noise fades.The sun rises upon an empty stripof concrete and asphal t, blemishedby patches of grease and oil wherethe swift Hueys lifted off a littlewhile before. The sound of powerful engines is gone now. A weath-

is lighter now because much oftheir ammunition and most oftheir fuel is gone.

From a distance all machineslook normal intact unscathedbu t from a dis tance one cannot seethe small holes and dented metal.In those ships men bleed whereenemy groundfire has reachedthem. They and machineshave bee . the war

~ , ' ~ ' , . ' J A ~ t . . . a~' t ~ ~ f g j~ ered . ds rom a top

~ ~ hJ ' 1 \ : : l l l ~ ~ ~ ~ J fl a~ ~ W f I~ D J

perimeter.

Hueys , f~ i t i~ ~ i i ~ ~ f r f ~ ~~ ~ i M t ~ ~ ~ i 1with a Ie _ ,/ - . . /h

The f a lR : S ~ { > J ; l F J U ~ 4 f 1 j ~, \ _ ......: ta ' ' ~ --- \ __,'

ship 's armament : , ,~ o .~ g lr : = - ; . : . : f \J .. ..: J ( B J L q. U d l$-- hL \ \ \..

to know that their m '; l : t i ~~ ? :p S -- : : , , \ 'and rockets will be use -, . , 0 H:Ut e a;8t )morning. From the air they w~ = I ~ : J . 4 ~attack the Viet Cong guerrillaslow his offensive surprise tactIcsto a defensive stand -up fight inthe open. They will pick up andd eliver South Vietnamese troopsin hostile areas and provide armedcover for their operations. TheHueys' missions are routine. ances of scorc

Gunners sit in open side doors \Vherever thebehind their outward pointingweapons, silhouetted against darkinteriors. Pilots and copilots arevaguely discernible behind theirships' plexiglass faces.

Other shadowy dragonfly -likeforms tipped with red and greenblinking lights begin to ascendvertically, as their hissing grumblebecomes a sustained crescendo.More follow until the blinkinglights overlap in a cautious procession high above, which headsout across country as skillfulhands guide controls.

have been, thebetter. Hours p s.

Over anothe art of the countr y a flight of ab-green dragonflies form a 1 se wedge as they

head back toward that familiarrectangle of concrete and asphaltsomewhere ahead beneath a sodden mass of rain clouds. Oddlyenough the air up there can chilla man. Side doors are shut.

Each Huey burrows an invisibletunnel through the heavy airblades churning their way aroundformidable cumulus and otherareas of ominous blackness. Each

Every ship has come home settled, and quieted as their rotorblades free-wheel down to a slow

silent rotation long after theircrews have helped to evacuate thewounded and departed .

There will be another missiontomorrow morning for Army aircrews, if not another one today.Ma n y more will be needed afterth a t, because the day of this kindof w a rfare is s ill a full circle ofthe sun from being finished inVietnam.



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h a l ~ eands With

OCTOBER 1965

Your

escueraptain i l l iam R Kaler

I AM OUT OF the aircraftI ve checked myself for injuries.N ow what? How did those sur-viv a l phases go? Let s see life-saving, signaling, shelter and food

o r is it lifesaving, shel-ter and food, and signaling.Signaling That s it. As I

recall , they said to be readyto signal at all times. Better

check the aircraft radios. I coulduse the parachutes. From thelooks of this area I may end up'walking out.

The importance of signalingcannot be overemphasized; norcan the possibility of having tow lk out of an emergency situa-tion. These two survival elemen


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Shake ands With Your Rescuernormally receive less attentionthan fire-building, shelter-building, food, water, etc. I considersignaling the key to survival. r o ~ficiency in the use of standardsignals and signaling equipmentmay greatly reduce the time untilrescue. lore important is the ability to improvise in the absence ofequipment.

Our present signaling equipment is simple in construction andoperation. Very little training isrequired for its use. However, itis recommended tha t you familiarize yourself with this equipmentbefore an actual survival situa

tion. On the job training duringan actual situation could resultin failure to be rescued.

The radio is by far the bes tmeans of giving notice of an impending emergency. As soon asthe emergency is recognized, thefirst thing that should come tomind, other than normal emergency procedures, is to use theaircraft radio. Even in nap-of-theearth flying, time usually permitsemergency procedures and a few

hurried transmissions on your as-signed frequency.

You can see the danger in trying to make a frequency change tothe guard channel and attempt aforced landing at the same time.You may not accomplish eitherone. At altitudes above 1,500 feetabsolute a frequency change isthen advisable. Once on theground the use of radios will depend upon the damage sustainedto the aircraft or the availabilityof one of the small survival radios.

Presently we have the AN / URC-4 (see fig 1), AN / URC-II, andAN / URC-14; in the future we

will have the AN / URC-IO. All areissued on the basis of one per aircraft within an aviation unit.

The AN / URC-4 has the capability of transmitting and receiving both UHF ultra high frequency) and VHF (very highfrequency) with the radio normally preset to the guard frequencies. The frequency range is from120.0 to 130.0 mc VHF and 240.0to 260.0 mc UHF. In addition tovoice, a homing capability is also

TH NEE During the period 1 January 1962 through 21 December 1962

earches were initiated by Air Rescue Service for 254 aircraft, bothHitary and civilian. Participating in the search missions were the

arious military services and the Civil Air Patrol. The CAP is advilian organization utilizing member pilots and aircraft and als

tilizing other private pilots and their aircraft to conduct. searcI issions, at the request of the official SAR system.)

In an effort to locate the 254 downed aircraft, a total ofircraft sorties were flown a total of 25,974 flying hours. Of this totaearch effort, over 60% were flown by CAP. The cost in gasoline aloneor this CAP effort amounted to over 60,000.

There were a total of 80 I persons on board the 254 lost aircraft.these g35 were found alive, 408 had perished, and 58 people were

ever located at all.Of the CAP personnel involved in searching, six additional lives

ere lost on actual search missions or on practice searches._L_I ;; H T SAFETY FOUNDATION INC.

incorporated into this radio. Special ADF equipment (normallyfound in aircraft assigned tosearch and rescue units) is required to net with this set. Thetransmission and reception rangedepends almost entirely upon theterrain, with an average range of10 to 12 miles.

The AN URC-II and ANURC-14 are single channel UHFand VHF radios respectively. Bothare preset to their respectiveguard channels and cannot bechanged to any other frequency.They have the same transmission and reception ranges as theAN / URC-4.

Past survival experience reports

have indicated that these radiosbecome inoperative with very little rough treatment. This has beenone reason for the production ofthe AN / URC-IO. This is a lightweight transistorized radio, UHFonly. I t does have the capabilitiesof transmitting and receivingmore than one frequency andhoming. The use of transistors hasmade this radio much more durable than the older models. Otherimprovements found with theURC-IO are a much improvedbattery life, from 24 to approximately 100 hours; weight is 3pounds, exactly half of theAN / URC-4; and the average transmission and reception range isapproximately 30 miles.

Use of the radio depends onvarious factors: whether assistanceis within reception range, batterypower available, type terrain. fassistance is within range, trans

mi t dis tress calls as necessary.Otherwise, to conserve batterypower for maximum usage, transmit at 30-minute intervals or on aschedule arranged before takeoff.

Another possible answer is anautomatic tumbling airfoil radio

Capt Kaler s now attending theArmor Officers Career Course) FtKnox Ky.

10 U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


13/52

. w

beacon-the Mk 200 Crash Position Indicator (CPI)' manufactured by Leigh InstrumentsLimited Ontario, Canada. It ismounted in a launcher or in thefuselage of the airplane. f the

plane should crash or suffer severestress the indicator flies into theair and starts broadcasting a distress signal.

It is shaped like an airfoilweighs 6 pounds and measures 20inches in diameter. Its design develops high lift and drag forcescausing it to curve up and awaya nd slow to a safe landing speed ofless than 6 miles per hour.

Inside the airfoil is a radiotransmitter complete with nickelcadmium batteries. Immediatelyupon release the transmitter begins to radiate an omni-directionaldistress signal with a range of approximately 40 miles.

The signal radiated is on a frequency of 243 me the standardemergency frequency and can be

See NCR Beacon AVIATION DIGEST June 1964.

OCTO ER 1965

~ - - ~ - . - - .

I

' -...... - -

Figure 1. Survival radio ANjURC 4 and signal mirror right)

either continuous wave or pulsed.f CW the output will last for

better than 48 hours. The pulsedoutput is primarily for use in remote or arctic areas and providessearch signals for a period of over

four days.Because of the planar antenna

configuration an omni-directionalsignal is transmitted regardless ofwhich side of the airfoi l is upright.Should by accident the airfoilcome to rest in a vertical positionan adequate pattern still will betransmitted.

The mechanism is completelywrapped in a shock absorbingfoam. Along with the inherent design which allows the airfoil todrift to the earth slowly this foamprotects the transmitter fromshock on a hard surface landing.I t also permi s the airfoil to remain on top of soft snow andother soft material and to float85 percent out of water.

The airfoil with its transmitteris mounted on the aircraft in alauncher or in the fuselage as far

aft and as high as possible. Thelauncher is an aluminum, permanently mounted spring unitwhich is either mechanically orelectrically triggered. The triggeror crash detector is located as far

forward on the fuselage as possible.Experiments by the National

Research Council of Canada haveshown that there are more than30 milliseconds from the time thenose of an airplane hits in a crashfrom the time the impact is fel tby the aft portion of the airplane.The crash detector takes only afew milliseconds to trigger thelauncher. Therefore, the indicatorhas time to clear the aircraft before it becomes involved in theaccident.

I t is thrown sufficiently faraway from the accident scene sothat it will not be subject to burning if a fire should start. At thesame time it is not thrown so faraway that it will lead the rescuersto the wrong position .

A small control unit is mountedin the aircraft cabin to permit

11


14/52

Shake ands With Your Rescuer

periodic tests of the transmitterand to provide manual operationof the unit should the aircraftmake a forced landing.

The Crash Position Indicatorseems to offer the answer to theold problem of locating a downedaircraft. Actual flight tests arebeing conducted to determine itseffectiveness. It is presently beingstudied by the military services forpossible use on various aircraft.

Following the radio in impor-tance as a signaling device is thesignal mirror see fig. I . Thesignal mirror, or a usable substi-tu

te, hasled

tomore

rescuesthan

any other single item of equip-ment. The mirror is a componentof individual survival kits. twould be an excellent item tohave on your person. Operationof the mirror is very simple. Nor-mally instructions are printed onthe back. The main point to re-member is that once contact isestablished, it must be maintained

by continually flashing the mirroron the contacted object aircraft,ship, etc.) .

In the absence of a mirror, a

shiny piece of metal would be agood substitute. Punch a hole inthe center of the metal, and use itthe same as a regular mirror. Longrange contact is very important;this is provided by the radio andthe mirror.

Sometimes failure to be rescuedresults because search and rescueunits are never able to establishyour position on the ground. Thisis where the flare, parachute,

panels,and similar

itemsof equip-

ment see fig. 2 are employed.They are designed primarily forindicating your exact location onthe ground. When using thisequipment, move to the nearestopen area to gain maximum effec-tiveness. This definitely makes foreasier identification from the air.

The dye marker see fig. 2 ,though primarily designed for

Figure2.

Flashlight flares dyem rker

are survival aids for land or water use

water survival, has several uses inconjunction with land survival.In snow areas, by scattering thecoloring compound on the snowyou have a usable signal. Alongthe seashore, you can color thesand during the time the tide isgoing out.

When there is an absence ofequipment the survivor must thenrevert to his own ingenuity inconstructing signals. Knowledge ofhow to improvise signals is prob-ably more important than the useof signaling equipment. Remem-ber, there is no guarantee thatyou will get out of the aircraftwith anything but yourself.

Improvising can be anythingfrom

tramping out an S.O.S. inthe snow to lining up rocks in thedesert. It depends entirely uponyour own ability and imagination.The point to remember here istha t you should be familiar wi ththe designs used as emergencysignals.

When do you stop signaling?The answer: when you can shakehands with your rescuer.

]2 U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


15/52

ird Dog MissileCaptain rank M Powell

SE THE 0-1 as a substitutefor a missile? Impossible Not

entirely-at least in a trainingsituation. In fact, at Fort Sill in] 959, the trusty 0-1 was used tosimulate the trajectory of theLacrosse missile in order to trainmissile guidance central personnel of the newly activated battalions. This unique story is beingretold here because it shows whatcan be done when initiative,imagination, and teamwork is

used in the employment of ArmyAviation.

Early in the Lacrosse program itwas planned to use tactical equipmen t for training personnel. Itwas apparent that guidance central personnel could be trained tomake the proper settings and opera te the equipment, but confidence could be achieved only

OCTOBER 1965

through actual missile firings.Due to the cost of the missiles,

the funding for training ammunition reached astronomical proportions. Therefore, some methodhad to be established to reducetraining costs. The Lacrosse missile trajectory simulator and otherassociated training devices wereborn through the efforts of personnel from the Artillery and Missile School and the Army Rocketand Guided Missile Agency V. S

Army Missile Command .To develop the trajectory simu

lator, an 0- lE was modified byadding a 100 ampere generator, acircuit breaker safety device, andremoving the rear sea t. A specialrack was constructed and installedon the rear seat supports. Therack provided a mount for theguidance components, transpond-

er, radio beacon, motor generator, and a junction box to connectthe equipment with the aircraftelectrical system. Location isshown below.

The operation of the simulatorwas simple. The radio beaconprovided a tracking signal for theground guidance equipment.From this equipment guidancesignals were transmitted to theairborne transponder. Here theywere converted to useable form

and applied to the course indicator on the pilot'S panel.

Nothing was new about this indicator. It was the standard omniILS instrument. The pilot thenflew the vertical needle just as ihe were tracking a preselectedomni course. At some point on the

Capt Powell s now serving nVietnam

13


16/52

simulated trajectory, the horizon-tal needle was deflected. The pilotinitiated a dive, keeping bothneedles centered, just as thoughhe were making a full ILS ap-proach. When a minimum safealtitude was reached, the pilotwould terminate the dive and re-turn to the initial point for an-other run.

The simplest way to show howeffecti ve this device was and howit operated is to describe a typicaltraining mission.

Usually, two guidance centralswere emplaced on the bluffs sur-rounding the Fort Sill range. Eachwould select a target in the im-pact area and prepare the ground

guidance equipment exactly asthough a missile were to be fired.The guidance section leader, orperson in charge of training,would select an altitude, heading(within 20 of the simulated

firing azimuth), and an IP (ini-tial point) for the trajectory simu-lator pilot.

When the ground equipmentwas properly prepared, the sectionleader would notify the pilot, byFM radio, to begin his trajectoryrun. The pilot then departed theIP on the assigned altitude andheading.

issile Trajectory imulator

Shortly after crossing the IP,the amber lamp on the pilot spanel would light, indicating yawtransfer. TIiis told the pilot thatthe ground equipment was trans-mitting directional control com-mands. These commands causedthe vertical needle to deflect ei-ther right or left. The pilot thenflew the aircraft on an interceptheading in exactly the same man-ner as intercepting an omni courseline.

Just before reaching the termi-nal phase of the trajectory, thegreen lamp would light, indicat-ing pitch transfer. This told thepilot that in approximately 15seconds pitch control would be

transmitted from the groundequipment. During the terminalphase, the pilot flew the omni-ILS indicator in the same manneras a full ILS approach, keepingclose tabs on his absolute altitudeand airspeed.

At a preselected absolute alti-tude the red lamp on the pilot'Spanel would light. This indicatedthat the warhead arming com-mand had been properly trans-mitted from the ground equip-ment. Upon receipt of this indi-cation, the pilot would recoverfrom the dive and return to the

Rack assemblyJ unction boxPilo t s panelGenerator

ME antenna

6. Transponder7. Radio beacon8. Motor generator9. Beacon antenna

IP for a simulated trajectory runfor the second guidance cen tral.

While number 2 central wasconducting the flight, number 1would select a new target and pre-pare for another simulated mis-sion. Working in this manner,each guidance central could con-duct an average of 2 simulatedfirings per hour, and have thesatisfaction of seeing the resultsof their efforts.

The Bird Dog missile was bornin the imagination of a group ofresourceful individuals who wereconvinced that a device could bedeveloped to eliminate the groundcommander s training problem.

Without a full understanding andappreciation of this problem theLacrosse trajectory simulatormight never have been developed.

Since Army Aviation's true roleis support of the ground com-manders during training as wellas combat, how well do you, theArmy Aviator, and your unit un-derstand the problems of the or-ganization you are supporting?

Can you and your unit rise to

the occasion and develop othersuch unique uses of Army Avi-ation?

4 U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


17/52

aptain Robert B ames

orry .' ' ' ~ ~ 'Y , : ~ o e ~0 tC

. ,:-:: ::',,_ t - ~ . ,- #

a r r l e r i ; : ; ~ ~ ; : ~ ./ 1 .. .

- '-

: : I ; : ~~ J j

IT WAS A typical muggymorning on 15 May 1965 in

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Captain Gick was flying aUH-IB on a courier mission tothe USS ox r , an aircraft carrier(N avy designa tion: LPH, Land-

ing Platform Helicopter) cruising somewhere off the shores ofSanto Domingo.

As was usual procedure hecalled, Buzzsaw Control, Feet

OCTOBER 1965

Wet from Army. This time, however, the reply was different. Instead of a vector and distance tothe ship, Buzzsaw stated theycould not take him aboard. Quickly the question went through thecrew's mind-why? After at leastsix trips to Navy ships, why wasthe pilot now told he couldn tland?

Could it be because an ArmyAviator tried to pull pitch while

he was chained down to a shipone day? Could it be because anaviator from another Army unithad landed against traffic whenfour CH-34 Marine helicopterswere carrying slingloads to SanIsidro Airfield, thus causing allfour to go around? Several possible reasons went through thecaptain s mind as he made hislanding at the main division pad.Immediately after he reported to

15

::...; . - ~ :-_ . :',: : . : - :


18/52

the battalion S 3 and the assistant division aVIatIOn officer(ADAO) , a check was initiated to

find out why our aviator was refused permission to land. Thereason given was that we were notaircraft carrier qualified according

to Navy standards and that wehad violated their ground ruleson different occasions.

The battalion commander theninitiated a request to the Navy tohave all his aviators given thenecessary training to become carrier qualified. Since an airmobilecompany from the 11 th Air As-sault Division was in the Dominican Republic at this time, arrangements were made to haveboth the 82d Avn Bn and the11 th AAD company take the necessary training.

On 21 May, the first group wasflown to the USS Boxer by theU. S. Marines stationed on theship. We received a very friendlywelcome from the operations offi-cer and were taken to the wardroom for coffee and sweet rolls.This was the first food that didnot come out of a can that we hadreceived since we had arrived inDominican Republic, and it wascertainly a welcome sight to theaviators.

We then had a demonstrationby the :Marines on launching anentire flight. Later we found outthat this was not a normal launching but a 50,000 accident-free hourflyby which we had observed. Imust admit that many hours offormation flying were evident atthis time.

We then toured the ship untillunch time, when we enjoyed somegood Navy chow. This was followed by a thorough briefing bythe deck officer of all signals, traffic patterns, Navy commo, forma-

Capt James is S 17 Hq 82d AvnBn 82d Airborne Division FtBragg N C.

J6

tions, and assault waves usedaboard ship. I t is amazing howeven a short briefing can bring outso many differences in SOP.

After the classroom briefing, theMarines again demonstrated allthe maneuvers taught so that we

might see them in actual practice.We then asked questions aboutanything we did not understand,had a cup of coffee, and departedto shore.

The next two days, other groupshad a similar experience, exceptfor the 50,000 hour flyby of course.

On 24 May, we were brokendown into groups of four, UH-IBor D model helicopters, with twopilots aboard each. In the morning

fouraircraft

wentto

the USSBoxer and four to the USS Oki-nawa a smaller aircraft carrieroperating with the fleet.

That afternoon and each morning and afternoon thereafter until27 May, Army aircraft broke thepeace over the ocean to advanceinto a new experience which maybe beneficial to us in the future.

Training that usually takesweeks was completed in days. Thecarriers were cruising at distancesfrom 1 mile to 20 miles offshoreat all times and Buzzsaw Controlwould always give us a vector anddistance to the ship. Upon arrivalwe were given a Delta patterncommand. This means we wereto circle the ship with left handturns above 500 feet and generallywere given assigned altitude due toa delay. We flew this Delta pattern for approximately 10 minuteswhen we were given a PREP

CHARLIE prepare to land andgiven spot number on ship) .

At this time letdown is made to400 feet turning crosswind, 300feet turning downwind, and 200feet and 60 knots prior to reaching 180 mark. Upon reaching the180 0 mark (a point just forwardof touchdown point and approximately 300 feet off to side of ship),

a relatively steep turn and descentis begun and a call at 180 pointis made. f we are cleared to land,we then receive a CHARLIE.Upon reaching the 90 point, theturn should be completed so theaircraft is parallel to the path of

the ship. At this time you are actually flying sideways and slippingtoward the ship, which is ger:erally moving 17 knots into thewind.

Since the landing spot is 60 feetoff the water, particular attentionmust be made not to get too low.You should clear the side of theship by 10 feet and slow sufficiently to come to a 3-foot hoverover your spot. A man in a yellowT-shirt called the LSE LandingSignal Enlisted) gives all your signals. ,Careful attention must bepaid to him because he gives twomandatory signals. One is waveoff(go around) and the other is holdwhen on the deck) . All other sig

nals such as slow down, speed up,go left, right, or rearward, land,pick up to hover, and takeoff aregiven but pilot discretion is used.

f the copilot is at the controlson any approach, the pilot musthold his arm out the window sothe LSE can move into the copilot S sight.

The most important differencebetween landing on land and onshipboard is that you shouldnever watch the water. Vertigowill set in, and this could ruinyour whole day.

From the 90 0 point watch theLSE and your touchdown pointonly. With this in mind, you will

find no more problem landing asyou would on a large footballfield.

After landing on designatedlanding spot, the usual procedurefor individual aircraft is for twodeck men in purple shirts to attach four chains to the helicopterprior to its going to ground idle.The LSE will then give y l ~a cut

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


19/52

signal and a thumbs up or down.You reply on aircraft status andthen cut engine.

In case of a wave landing twoor more aircraft in formationbreak , a LSE will be in front ofeach parking slot.

When preparing to take off,the LSE will give the start signal.After you have reached takeoffrpm, he will give a tiedown re-move signal to the tiedown man.These men will come in front ofaircraft holding two chains eachin the air. You acknowledge byholding up four fingers. This is

OCTOBER 1965

strictly a safety factor. You thenget a hover signal followed by asignal to take off, usually on sideof ship you are parked closest to.You must go to the side ratherthan front in case of engine fail-ure. The carrier usually outweighsthe aircraft and you could get theworse part of the ram.

The requirement to become air-craft carrier qualified calls for 6day landings initially and 2 daylandings every 6 months to staycurrent. Night qualific ation is also6 night landings plus 3 night land-ings every 6 months.

N ow we are aircraft carrierqualified and can perform a newtype mission for the Army. Al-though the carriers and Marineshave moved out of DominicanRepublic, we know that some day,for some reason, i we should haveto work with the U. S. Navy againor i we are told we have an as-sault wave to a combat zone froman aircraft carrier, we have afeather in our cap. CurreQt? Ohyes it will probably be a problemto stay current with the lack ofaircraft carriers in the AviationBattalion TOE.

17


20/52

Little Ole W t e r l l l Colonel Francis M. McCullar

Director Dept of Maintenance USAAVNS t Rucker Ala.

T o BE LOST in the desertwithout water is certainly aserious situation. But i you relucky (or smart) enough to havea piece of clear plastic along, youdon't have to worry about who isgoing to buy your next drink.In 30 minutes, or less, you can

build your own private still andthen sit back like a little olewatermaker and watch it producedistilled water right out of thedesert floor.

Two research physicists, Drs.Roy D. Jackson and CorneliusH. M. van Bevel of the U. S.

Water Conservation Laboratory,Tempe, Ariz., came up with theidea for a desert survival still lastyear, and it met with immediatesuccess.

A number of experimental stillswere built in various sections ofthe Arizona desert. T4e lowest

water output- in a particularlydry area-was just about of apint a day. Other desert areasproduced over 3Y pints a day.. The still is easy to build. Just

dig a hole about 3 feet in diameterand 3 feet deep. Place a container(preferably plastic) in the bot-

Photo story on constructing desert water still. 1) Place containe r n p t ,.

tom of the hole and spread a plastic sheet .across the top. Push downthe cen ter of the plas tic to form acone sloping 25 40 from horizontal and aimed directly at thecontainer (see fig. I) . Secure the

2) spread plastic across top, (J) depress ce


21/52

Me A water still made with a sheet o clear plastic cansave your life in a desert survival situation It distillsup to three pints o water a day out o hot desert sands

sides of the plastic wi th rocks ordirt. f available, a tube can betaped to the inside of the bucketand run to the surface. This enables drinking directly from thebucket without disturbing the still.

Once the still is built, you ll bepleasantly surprised to see moisture forming on the underside ofthe plastic as the sun evaporates

w ~ t rin the ground-even in thedesert. As air under the plasticgets hot, moisture from the groundevaporates and then condenses onthe underside of the cooler plastic. In one or two hours enoughwater condenses to form drops.These run down the plastic andthen drip off the point of the coneinto the container.

In addition to being a survivaldevice, the still has other militaryapplications. Frequently, units deployed in the field find it difficultto obtain distilled water neededfor battery powered equipment.One unit improvised-building afull-fledged still with copper

tubing, a 5-gallon can, a wastebasket, i n g e n u i ~ yand presumably a manmade heat source. Thesame results (at least as far as distilled water is concerned) can beobtained with the sheet of plastic.

Department of Tactics at theU. S Army Aviation School, FortRucker, Ala., is running experiments with the plastic still. Planscall for including techniques forconstructing i t in the School'ssurvival POI. Also, appropriateArmy research agencies have expressed keen interest in the still,and there is a strong possibilitythat components for a plastic stillwill be included in standardizedsurvival kits in the near future.

Consideration is being given tothe type of container to includein the survival kit. Perhaps thealuminum container housing thesurvival kit may be satisfactory.Other considerations are waterbags, the plastic sheet itself, aluminum foil or other waterproofmaterial formed into a containerover rocks and / or dirt in the bottom of the still.

5) Plastic tu e allows drinking without distur ing still construction

19


22/52

W TERM KER

container.

20

In the first experiment stills 1and 2 were in loam soil with an

1 I i C ~ n ~ t e rcontent of about 18t. T ey produced an aver

.6 and 2.9 pints of waterr five days. The others were in desert soil conto 8 percent water. Stills

were l o c ~ted . n wash or

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~r imentusingert lon, six stillswere place desert sand withan initi ater content of 3 per-

. . , . , ~ i c 1 ( ~ ~ ) F ~ t m ~ ~ f ' f t ' 1 ~ := c ~ ~ ~ v e ra five day period the~ cholla cactus averaged

drinking water.Drs. Jackson a

conducted ex permine wa ter yiel types of soil as acut up desert vmenting the sour .

t of water a day; sa2.5 pints; creosote

bush .33 of pint; prickly pearcactus 3.1 pin . barrel cactus 3.4pints; and soil 0 YJ .36 of a pint.

Before being cu up the barreland saguaro cacti e about 40em tall and 20 cm i diameter.Vegetation in each of the otherstills should fill the pit but notcrowd the container nor touch theplastic sheet. In both tests, afterfive days water yields decreased.This is easily adjusted by movingthe still. r

The size of the still in figureis considered the most practical.Larger sheets of plastic and largerholes would yield more water, butmaking several holes instead ofone large one would be mucheasier.

A secondary survival use of thestills should be noted. Small animals can crawl onto the top ofthe plastic sheet and find it tooslippery to crawl back off. Whenyou re starving, barbequed lizardmay look pretty good. . . . . . .



23/52

rom Vietnam comes a story t rmy viationflexibility

e lergeneyuty

N THE EARLY morning briefing members of the 197th Avia

tion Company's Playboy armedhelicopter platoon learned thatViet Cong elements had ambushedan AR VN battalion and overruna small town.

The platoon's mission was tofly armed escort to the slicks

(helicopters without rockets andmachineguns) which were goingto evacuate the dead and wounded.

The platoon got on stationshortly before 0900 and Vietnamese planes were dropping bombsall over. They did not receivemuch fire because they went inon the deck-low and fast. A57mm recoilless rifle was firinginto the town and the VCs had atleast three .50 cal machinegunsset up in the hamlet.

Calls for med-evacs had beencoming in all morning, and anAmerican advisor was reportedstill missing in the area. A securelanding zone could not be established for the ships.

lVIeanwhile, forward elements ofthe 2d Battalion, 7th Regiment,Fifth AR VN Division arrived ona road clearing mission to secure

OCTOBER 1965

the way for a large convoy. As thetroops m.oved into town heavymortar ,and automatic weapons fire rained down upon them fromViet Cong positions on three sidesof the village.

The mortars started blastingus recalled one Army advisor,

they knocked out our communi

cations; we couldn't make contactwith our rear elements. We sentan interpreter to get the wordthrough, but the VCs stoppedhim.

As the town was overrun, allbut two of the American advisorsmanaged to escape the ambushand call for assistance.

Playboy platoon accepted thisadditional mission of medicalevacuation. After a few passesover the town, one Army pilotrecalled, we dropped in by several burned out armored personnel carriers.

I hadn't expected so manywounded friendly soldiers, addedanother platoon aviator, and'Playboys' aren't built for evacuat ions-or so we thought.

Into his ship came four ARVNwounded, loaded with weapons

and combat gear. Then appearedthe American advisor who hadbeen given up as lost. Just as theship was about to leave station,another advisor turned up. Thecasualties made quite a load sothe spent rocket pods were jettisoned. Rising slowly, the Hueyedged around smoldering APC

and took off.Another UH-IB pilot with a

load of seven AR VN wounded,along with their equipment, tookadvantage of the northerly windbeing funneled toward his copterby the converging forest walls.Dodging the APC in his way, thepilot made a running takeoff andsuccessfully evacuated the batteredsoldiers to a receiving station.

Applauding the help of the197 th, one of the rescued advisorstold his side of the tale. Weescaped this morning to Lai Khe,about 5 miles to the south, anarea noted for its support to theViet Cong, and we feared theworst. But shortly after a radiocall for help, the choppers cameand evacuated us. There was barely enough light to see by, but thosepilots did a darned good job.

2


24/52

22

ints or

Snow RemovalWilliam H Smith

IVILIAN AND military air-ports in northern United

States Canada and Alaska haveone common enemy-snow. Whenthe beautiful white fluff decides tosettle down it plays no favorites.It will blanket all fields alike re-gardless of kind shape or sizecovering runways and lights and



25/52

making operations downright dan-gerous.

Large civilian and military air-fields have al l sorts of fancy equip-men t for snow removal. Thisequipment is usually so efficientthat the whole field area can be

cleared, allowing aircraft to landand take off in safety and comfort.

OCTOBER 1965

But smaller airports, and thisincludes many Army airfields, donot have specialized machines andcannot clear large areas easily.Heavy snowfalls may call formuch backbreaking work with im-P ovised equipment. Thus only

absolutely necessary areas are gen-erally Cleared.

The Air Transport Associationof America has attempted to as-sist the smaller civil ian airfields intheir snow problem by publishinga handbook'*' on snow removal.Along with handy hints, the book-let gives the pertinent measure-ments of individual airline air-craft. The association feels themeasurements have an importantbearing on clearances needed forsnow, ice, and other objects onthe ground.

The handbook gives a diagramwhich is a generalization of theheight of snowbanks acceptablefor airline aircraft operations.

f the cleared area is narrow oroperational conditions such thataircraft are expected to movealong the very edge of the clearedarea, the bank height must beless than given in the handbook.

Also if the aircraft are using wingtanks, the banks must be evenlower. Another reason to reducethe height of the bank is to per-mit heavily loaded aircraft whichsit lower to the ground to clearsnowbanks and drifts.

The association recommendsthat snow removal crews beginwork when dry snow reaches 2inches and wet snow 1/ 2 inch.Continue clearing un til the snow-fall stops. When clearing is fin-ished, not more than inch of dryand 1/ 2 inch of wet snow shouldremain on the runway.

Runways should be cleared first.

Air Transport Association of America;1000 Connecticut Ave., N. W., Wash-ington D. C.; Snow Removal AircraftGround Clearance Measurements andOther Information September 1962.

They should be cleared to a widthof 150 feet for daytime use andfull width between runway lightsfor night operations.

f it's impossible to clear to therunway lights, alternate means ofrunway lighting should be pro-

vided, such as flare pots or flash-ing battery powered lights. Port-able runway lights may be placedon top snowbanks provided theyare visible at cockpit height.

Taxiways are next on the prior-ity for clearing, and ramps andaprons follow. Taxiways shouldbe cleared full width for day andnight operations.

Heliports are not mentioned inthe Air Transport handbook.

Army personnel faced with theproblem of helicopters ahd snowcan follow the same general rulesmentibned above in clearing pads.Clear helipads at least 20 feetwider than the rotor diameter ofthe larges t helicopter using thepad.

Loose snow is particularl ytroublesome. The downdraft pro-duced by the helicopter rotorpicks up the snow and visibilitydeteriorates. Sometimes loose snowmay be blown away with a he i-copter, but Army personnel reportlimited success with this method.

Helicopters can touch down ona snow blanket; however, there isdanger of the gear sinking to dif-ferent depths, causing banking.To eliminate this danger logsmay be used as a pad when thesnow is too deep to clear. Criss-cross two layers of medium sizedlogs and tie them securely with

rope. Be sure the logs are aboutthe same thickness and make alevel pad.

These are only a few sugges-tions for clearing snow from air-ports. Airport personnel responsi-ble for removing snow should takeinto account local factors whichnecessitate variations from thesesuggestions.

3


26/52


27/52

This vivid personal survival experienceis adapted from a two-hour safetyaddress delivered by GeneralSpruance at NORAD, Ent AFB Colo.It was published by I N T R ~ P T O

magazine in t he ] uly 1965 issue.Per.mission has been granted to reprint~ . J . . eaccount for DIGEST readers.

~ l\~ i nto get a hiplash. This a y result in a spineinjury or as in case it may tear the helmet offY Ut head. This re I ve just talked aboutWas a i tle exercise used to go through befo e

takeoff. /


28/52

HOW WELL YOU RE PREP RED

first I thought of fire. Later I found out it wasnothing but a redout when my head was snappedforward. There was a deceleration force estimatedbetween 9 and 13 g's. My helmet went right off myhead in spite of the fact that it was well adjustedand on tight. The plexiglass of the canopy just fractured and came completely out of the frame. Myhelmet was actually outside the cockpit.

The seat belt and shoulder harness kept me tightin the seat. f you guys don't have seat belts inyour cars, there isn't much I can say for you. Anybody who doesn't have a seat belt and wear it allthe time, in my estimation, is an idiot. When I getin a car which doesn't have a seat belt in it, I sitbehind the driver. When the guy says, What areyou doing back there? I say , When you gothrough the windshield, I want you to make agood clean hole so that when I go through, I won'tget cut. Why, i f my kids get in the car with thedoor shut and no seat belts on, it costs them a buck.Not tomorrow, but right now. They either getout of the car and get a buck or they have to workit off. I charge them a buck on the spot and it reallypays off.

Back to the auger. Just before I lost sight becauseof the redout, I looked at the instrument panel andsaw 125 knots on the airspeed indicator. All became red and I passed out. When I started to cometo, the first sensation I had was a feeling of warmth.

I felt like everything was great, a sense of wellbeing.I t was the kind of sensation that you get in thepressure chamber when you take your mask off.That's the feeling I had, and from my pressurechamber training, this was a danger sign that something was wrong.

The next thing I thought of was I had to get outof here, or I wouldn ' t get back to any cocktail hourswith my wife and kids. When I was in GeneralPatton's Second Armored Division early in the war,one of the things that he trained us to do was thatwhen you are in a bind or any kind of shock situa

tion, do something-even though it may be wrong.The chances of your doing something wrong and

Gloves I had my gloves onduring the crash nyone

who flies without glovesis another plain idiot

26

having it actually hurt you are a helluva lot lessthan the chances are i you just sit there, freezein terror , and do nothing.

So I was motivated to do something right away.I was trained to be able to react automatically,because I had gone over in my mind many timeswhat needed to be done in any situation. In spiteof the fact that when I woke up with this warmsensation, and completely on fire (there was amass of flames all around me and I could hear myhair burning on my head just like a crackling grassfire-looking down both sides of the cockpit waslike looking into two afterburners) , I reached downinto one of these ABs to put the pins in the seat.

About then my logic took over and said, Jeez,what the blazes am I doing fooling with thesethings when those dynamite caps are going to cookoff and launch me into the boondocks withinseconds. I started to undo my seat belt, and myhands were so badly burned that I permanently injured my little finger trying to take hold of themetal. But still according to standard procedure,though I was burning like a torch, I was just ascareful as I could be about getting out of the seatwithout those pins in place. And I remember taking the chute with me so that I could use the canopyto wrap up in and put the fire out.

So I got up with the chute hanging onto me andlooked around. On the left side I could see noth-

ote unburned r e round wrist where overl pping {lightsuit sleeve and glo ve prevented serious injury



29/52

braced myself as soon as l1eardthe f irst whap on the bottom o f the

fuselage. The next thing that rememberwas everything went red.

ing but a mass of flames, the front and the cockpitwere full of fire and I could see McCallister doubledup and completely flat with his head down in thebottom of the cockpit. There was no motion fromhim. (Later I learned that he had been killed onimpact.) Over on the right side I saw a creek andthat the water was carrying the fuel off downstream.I turned around and sa t on the edge of the canopyrail. This was my first sensation of pain. t was sohot that I got a first degree burn on my tail. I

rolled over and sorta half dived and half fell intothe water (you just don't execute any point winninghalfgainer with a parachute on you and you areon fire). I hit the water and went to the bottomlike a rock (we were in about six feet of water) .

The next sensation was pain. I reached up andcould feel a fair sized hole in the back of my headwhere it had struck the seat s headrest on the rebound. I came to the surface and began wallowingaround doing the butterfly breast stroke to keep theburning fuel on top of the water away from me.Down to the bottom again. I discovered since Ididn't have adequate religious connections to walk

A lthough General Spruance s h nd nd rm were badlybu rn ed, th e y were resto r ed to full use through themiracl e of m ode r n medicin e nd tre tment

OCTOBER 1965

on top of the wa ter, the nex t bes t thing was to walkon the bottom and go uphill. That 's the techniqueI used in this instance and made my way up onthe bank.

There I started to pull the T handle on thechute to dump the canopy. That's the sorriest rigI've ever seen. I didn't have enough strength ormobility left in my fingers to get hold and pull it.The old DOl ring would have been no sweat. As itwas I wasn't on fire because of that swim I just had,

and really didn't need the canopy to roll around in.While I was yanking at this T handle and notable to get it out, a bunch of civilians arrived atthe scene. I figured that the aircraft might blow upany minute so I began shouting at them to get awayfrom the fire. That's how they found me. Theycame over and I asked them to get the chute off me.Just try to explain how to take hold of the catch onthe leg strap while in a state of shock. You've gotone helluva problem. I asked a medic to cut theharness off me. They finally found my knife, cutthe chute off, and got me in the ambulance. Istarted getting cold so they gave me some shots andI don't remember much of the ride. Later I foundout that on the way to the hospital the chaplainadministered the last rites of the Catholic chutch.That 's probably the reason I survived, because I 'ma Presbyterian, and the Catholic rites wouldn't take.

Over the nex t two years I wen t through over 30surgery procedures to get patched up. I 'm still notA Number One, but I 'm good enough to get myFAA private pilot's ticket. Many things have enabled me to be in the relatively good shape that I 'min today. Gloves. I had my gloves on during thecrash. Anyone who flies around without gloves inmy estimation is another plain idiot. Any of thoseold wives tales that they give you about glovesgetting soaked with kerosene, crinkled up and areno good, is nonsense. Mine had just about as muchJP-4 as yours. f I hadn't had those gloves on, Iwould be a double arm amputee-that is, if I hadsurvived at all. So it really behooves you to wearthose things.

Now the reason I wore gloves was that one timedown in Savannah our outfit was flying F-86s. One

27


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HOW WELL YOU RE PREP RED

28

of our young second johns taxied down the ramp,middle of summer and hotter than the hinges ofhell, with his sleeves rolled up, elbows on thecanopy rail, and no gloves. General Milliken re-marks to me, Well, I don't usually beef at other

people's troops, but this guy needs tolearn. So this second john gets

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ r ; ~ ~ ~ ; ; I ~ b ~out of the cockpit and. the general approaches

him with a storyabout when he was

in the RAF. He re-lated that when they

brought back the firstcasualties of the Battle of Britain they showed thestumps of the arms of guys who had been burnedand were not wearing gloves. They showed the legs

and stumps of those who had not been wearingboots. From then on he started wearing gloves andexpected everyone else to do so.

I was so impressed by this that I started wearinggloves. I hadn't worn gloves all through WW II.I figured gloves were for the wintertime to keephands warm. I started wearing gloves because ofwhat General Milliken said to this second balloon.This points out the importance of all of us mak-ing sure everyone uses his personal equipment andnot being afraid to sound off when we see some-thing amiss.

Next is boots fI had low cuts instead

ofboots,I would be a double leg ampu tee. Low cu ts in a

bailout or any kind of fire situation are a completewaste of time. I had my boots on, and thank God Idid. I would have burned off both my legs if itweren't for them.

Finally, I can't say enough for the treatment theAir Force gives at their hospital in San Antonioand the help from the Army burn center. Therethey have, without doubt, the greatest concentra-tion of knowledge on burns in the whole world.They were able to save my arms and hands aftermany experts said it couldn't be done.

Then there is always the will to live . When thingslook real dark, it's easy to throw in the towel andcall it quits. But the human body is a remarkablething that can come back from over the brink andrecover. It can and will, if you have the propermental attitude and the guts to stick it out. Thedoctors, chaplains, and our medical technologistscan perform miracles if you let them. In the finalanalysis, it's up to you-what you wear, and howwell you are prepared.



31/52

Increased commitments in the Republic of Vietnam call for anintensified program to support the limited type war being

waged to halt communist aggression. The U. S ArmyLimited War Laboratory at Aberdeen

Proving Ground, Md., respondswith its built-in, quick

reaction researchcapability.

illlited Waraboratory

ichard K Tierney

H Al WHEN ANYONE tooka shot at me, I knew it "Many an Army Aviator back

from the Republic of Vietnamhas echoed these words. But during a recent test t was provedthat Army heEcopter pilots wereaware of only 10 percent of thesmall arms fire directed a t them.To find a way to detect the other90 percent-and the direction fromwhich it is coming-the Armyturned to its Limited War Laboratory, which boasts a built-inquick reaction capability.

Established at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., in 1962, the

laboratory reports directly to theChief of Research and Development. The lab is loaded withscientists and engineers, and italso has military personnel whoare veterans of the limited typewar being waged in SoutheastAsia.

Limited War Lab projects areexpected to be completed in 18months or less. Thus basic research is skipped and lab personnel conduct applied research, usually with off-the-shelf hardware.Much of this research is accomplished with assistance from laboratories organic to the Army

Figure J Small arms fire detector installed on the UH-J

Materiel Command, which alsoprovides housekeeping type su pport.

For detection of small arms fire,Limited War Lab personnel areworking with a detector shapedsomewhat like a huge plate weighing less than 20 pounds fig. 1).Current plans call for installationonly on Hueys.

The detector will warn the pilotof small arms fire with both audioand visual indications, the latterbeing either a steady or flashinglight. Direction of fire will be indicated by a light in an instru-

Figure 2. Battery operated electroluminescent tape comes in five colors.Enough tape to illuminate a 2,000 footrunway a taxiway, and a helipadweighs about 50 pounds.


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men t on the panel. I t is hoped thedetector will be in the hands ofthe troops in about 18 months.

ILLUMIN TION

Three illumination systems arebeing studied at the Limited WarLab and should be made availablein about 12 months. One is electroluminescent tape incheswide (fig. 2). The battery operated tapes come in 36-inch strips,each containing one of five colored miniature lights (green, blue,white, yellow, and red).

t is probable that a 2,000-footrunway lighting system can becontained in a kit weighing 50pounds or less. The kit would con

tain 40 strips-20 for use on therunway, 10 for taxiways, and theres t for a heli port. Ba tteriesweighing less than 1/ 2 poundeach may light each 30 inch sec-tion, or one larger battery ma ytake care of the whole system.

In a typical mission, a pathfinder could jump into an areawith eight strips-enough to bringin an aviation unit which couldset up additional belts as neededfor taxiways, heliports, and parking areas.

Another illumination system isthe chemiluminescent panel. Thisconsists of a chemical compoundsealed in a 10 x 10 panel. Whenadmitted through a valve or tearstrip, air causes the compound toglow brightly for about 45 min

utes. Each panel is designed tobe visible from 500 feet at a slantrange of 2 miles, but during evaluations at the Limited War Labhas been seen from up to 5 miles.

The third illumination systemis also a compound that glows forabout 45 minutes when exposedto air. Known as a beer canpanel it is a small disk ~ o u tthesame circumference as a beer can.It has an adhesive back and iseasily stuck to a tree, truck, helmet, etc.

SMOKE

An adaptor for the XM-3 rocketkit enables a helicopter to lay adense smoke screen 1,000 meterslong (fig. 3 and 4). The entiresystem weighs l l8 pounds andholds 168 smoke grenades on eachside of the aircraft (144 if thegrenades include p a r a c h u t e s ) .This adaptor already has beenused in the Republic of Vietnam.

Figure J. n adaptor to the XMJ rocket kit converts it into a smok e dispensingunit Each adaptor holds 168 smoke grenades

Signal smoke markers with parachutes have been developed atSpecial War Lab and are now inuse in Vietnam. Each markerweighs about 7Y pounds and contains three AN-M8 grenades whichignite in sequence (when markers

are attached together they alsoignite in sequence) .

Smoke markers can be launchedby hand from aircraft flying atspeeds up to 250 knots and at altitudes of at least 100 feet or froma dispenser that can be mountedon UH-ls or 0-IAs (fig. 5 and 6 .

Grenades function satisfactorilyon any type of terrain and providewhite smoke for at least 5 minutes.Red, green and yellow markersare under development.

Still under study is a tinythumbnail size can whose cop

tents will burn for about 13 seconds and give off billowing cloudsof red smoke, capable of beingseen at 1,000 feet and at a slantrange of 1,500 meters. Each can,or cartridge, weighs about 1.1ounce and contains a pelletwrapped in .001 aluminum foil(fig. 7 . t is ignited by a scratchblock or ignitor pellet. Yellow,

green and white cartridges areunder development.

Figure 4. The adaptor enables a helicopter to y a dense smoke screen



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Figure 5. Long burning smoke markersused to mark targets of opportunitycan be launched by hand

In the navigation field, LimitedWar Lab personnel are participating in a tri-service Army, Marine and Air Force) test of adrop zone beacon PRT-7) weighing aboQt 17 pounds. Evaluatorshave had no difficulty locking onto

Figure 6. An electrically operated tube type dispenser for the smoke markercan be mounted on UH-1 and O fA aircraft

Figure 7 The thumbnail smoke cartridge comes in a can smaller t.han 35 film can yet itputs out enough smoke to be seen by an aircraft at 1 000 feet

OCTOBER 1965 31


34/52

LIMITED W R L BS

Figure 8. A safe cq rgo/personf1 el1Q Wer :ing device has been developed for usefrom hovering helicopters

the beacon at 500 feet and 25miles. t has both automatic andmanual key capabilities.

A line descent system to lowerpersonnel from a hovering helicopter (fig. 8) is under study. Designed to handle 500 pounds ofcargo, the 7%-pound system includes 150 feet of nylon rope,personnel harness, governor andgovernor hook, rope hook andcarrying case.

One man can operate the sys-tem, controlling the rate of descent by applying a small amountof pressure to the rope. A personalso can be lift( d up if the helicopter is equipped with a powerhoist.

An air-tr ansportabl e service platform which rests on the centerarea also has been tested with thissystem (fig. 9). t weighs 250pounds and provides a hoist forraising personnel and/or equipment from the ground. Initial

s rire system indicateit ~ s a great potential.

Figure 9 A service platform also comes with the system t provides morestable support for heavier equipment

One of the most interestingprojects studied at the LimitedWar Lab is the canopy platformfor landing on trees. Two net-like

blankets of 1/4 inch stainlesssteel cable are rolled up on separate reels that can be sling loadedunder a helicopter. Each blanketis equipped with hooks on theends to catch the trees and allowunreeling of the net into a strip200' x 20' (fig. 10) . The center ofeach strip consists of about 60feet of 6 inch -mesh while the extremities are 2 foot mesh.

The two strips of net are laidon the treetops one across theother to form a cross. The centerarea where helicopters load and

off load is 18 feet in diameter.The Army's Limited War Laboratory is far from limited inability or capability. It has already demonstrated that it canquickly analyze problems ouraqned forces are encountering inlimited type wars and quicklycome up with the a n s w e r

Figure 10 aying out canopy platformf r tree landings


35/52

View f rom east side of river showing powerline towers nd imp ct point

AT APPROXIMATELY 1410 hours the dis-

patcher at an Army airfield received a callfrom a county patrolman that a helicopter hadcrashed in a river just south of the reservation.The secondary crash alert system was activated andthe tower requested helicopters flying in the areato assist in locating the wreckage. Medical evacua-tion helicopter was alerted and departed for thegeneral area. The operations officer and aviationsafety officer were notified. They departed for thecrash site immediately. Dragging operations werestarted and concentrated in an area downstreamfrom broken powerlines where an oil slick couldbe seen ri sing. The investigation board was flown

to the site by helicopter arriving at approximately

1600 hours.The pilot of the crashed helicopter called thetower for takeoff instructions and was cleared forhover and takeoff to the south at 1329 hours. Hisprobable route of flight was downstream along theriver. At approximately 1340 hours he was seencircling low over some fishermen. He then pro-ceeded downstream and hit and broke a sevenstrand high tension power cable suspended approxi-mately 120 feet above the river. The aircraft struckthe water upright slightly nose low in a shallowleft bank. Pieces of the rotor blade were foundunder the powerline on the west bank. The re-mainder of the wreckage was found on the river

s nsP R E P R E D B Y T H E U S R M Y B O R D F O R A V I A T I O N C e I D E N T RES E R C H

OCTOBER 1965 33


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cr sh sense

oast Guard buoytender raised m in

body of wreckage fromriver bottom

bottom oppositea

markerbuoy.There were no surviving direct witnesses to the

accident. Immediately before the accident severalpeople saw the helicopter flying low and circlingupstream. They then heard two loud noises.

Positive identification of the aircraft was notmade until the following day. However by night-fall it was apparent that the crashed helicopterwas the one that had departed the airfield at 1329hours. Aboard were the pilot and one passenger.Recovery operations were seriously hampered bypoor visibility in the muddy river. The wreckagewas located in about 45 feet of water at midstream.Attempts to raise it proved unsuccessful. At 0200hours a diver from the county rescue squad secureda line and buoy to the wreckage. But the diverswere running out of compressed air and operationswere suspended until daylight.

On the following morning additional divers froman Army SCUBA club helped attach lines to thewreckage. The severed tail boom provided positiveaircraft identification. Further attempts