Hey all,
Got some great news on the TOW Huey project that Ray (Rotorwash), Chris (Chief Snake) and I have been working on for a while now. We’ve been researching the Combat Aerial TOW Teams deployment to Vietnam in 1972 for about 3 years and thanks to the debates and input from this and the Finescale forum, we were able to determine the identities of the two NUH-1B aircraft that carried the XM26 TOW system in Vietnam. That, combined with photos that were posted of 60-3553 in the 80s confirmed that the XM26 system in the museum’s collection is the one that was carried by 62-12554 in Vietnam.
This site was the impetus for a lot of healthy discussion on the aircraft, their systems and their true identities. We thank you all for your input!
Chris and I were able to get over to see her and take a bunch of photos of her, including one through the slightly-ajar window that confirmed the radio call number on the control panel was 12554. So, I proceeded to make several phone calls over to Andrews to see who exactly was in charge of that helicopter. I got bounced from office to office, but informed them I was doing this with the blessing of the Army Aviation Museum (I was). After nearly a year of silence, Steve Maxham, USAAVNM’s director called me today to let me know that the USAFM is deaccessioning 554 and she will be returned to the USAAVNM for restoration to her original Vietnam appearance with the original XM26 system that she carried in combat.
This is 554 in May 1972 at Camp Holloway, Pleiku, RVN:
And this is as she stands today:
