Thanks for the info. I just went with what was on the CD at the museum. I figured the person who donated it put the labels on. You mind me asking how you are so certain about the correct unit ID? Oh well, I’ll correct the post. man, I’m jealous that you are still there copying files!
Ray
Edit: Never mind, I get it. I think this paragraph from the Blue Maxx web site sums it up:
"There were only two ARA Battalions in the history of the Army that served in Vietnam.
The 1st Cav had the first ARA Battalion followed by the 101st AB.
Below are Col Nelson Mahone the 2/20th ARA Battalion commander and Major Roger Bartholomew who was the C Battery commander at the time this photo was taken and later became LTC and the BN commander of 4/77th 101st for his second tour. Col Nelson Mahone died 3/16/71 and was Posthumously inducted into Army Avn Hall of fame at Rucker. LTC Bartholomew was killed 11/27/68 on his second tour while attacking an enemy position North of Da Nang. There were several of the officers from 2/20th that either returned for a second tour in the ARA, some of which helped to form the 4/77th such as Col Bartholomew.
Major Roger Bartholomew and Col Nelson Mahone.[img]http://Photo taken 1965 or 1966, taken by C “Chip” W Parker who flew with Col Mahone
Because Col Nelson Mahone was the first BN Commander of 2/20th 1st Cav and Major Roger Bartholomew returned to Vietnam as a LTC and the first Bn Commander of the 4/77th 101st AB Division, this photo is important to the history of the ARA. F Btry 79th Artillery was just that, a Battery, activated in Vietnam and de-activated in Vietnam. Many of the former 2/20th Personnel and aircraft were used in this Battery. If you are looking for any of the Aerial Rocket Artillery (ARA) units, they are all here." Here’s the link to the Blue Maxx website:http://www.bluemax-ara-assoc.com/
No worries man! I’ve found several photos and labels that were incorrect in the Archives. I just correct them and move on. And I will say that the Blue Max guys are the absolute best! I have never worked with a better group of guys, ever. That goes from the beginnings of the unit through today. Blue Max continues on today as C Company, 3-3rd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd ID. My IP in flight school was a Blue Max guy, my mentor was a Blue Max guy and my two “Guardian Angels” are Blue Max guys. I’m working on a long-term project with one of them to tell the whole Blue Max history from beginning to the present. I think at this point we’ve got several volumes worth of history.
These guys from 2-20th ARA flew support in the Ia Drang Valley in 1965 and were the primary gunship CAS on station during the fight.
By the way, check out PN9528 in the photo files. Chief Snake helped me figure out her true identity and what unit she was with. I’m building my Charlie model in those markings!
I definitely think I’m going to do an ARA bird with the rocket/M22 missile system. That’s just a cool configuration, and its ARA to boot!!
Thanks for the great pics and info, It would be great to see the whole Blue Max history in print. Ive got a few 2/20 ARA huey pics here somewhere il try and dig them out. Heres a mean looking one to start with.
Great pic! I don’t know if you realize it or not, but it is very unusual to see the Maxwell system rigged with 18 rockets per side. All I have seen had the number of tubes reduced to 12 per side like the ARA bird I posted pics of above. Nice find!
I did a closeup inspection on the two TOW Hueys today. 553 is going to be put back in its original configuration and will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit in the museum. I’m working with Steve to make sure it is done 100% correct! Putting both 553 and 554 back into their original TOW configurations would be ideal, but they simply don’t have the space for it. In any case, 60-3553 (not 62-13553 as the VHPA reports) will be back on display by the end of the year in camo and with the proper accoutrements!
To be honest i havnt seen many pictures of hueys with the Maxwell system. Apart from the picture i posted above, the few i have seen all sport 12 rockets on each side like you said.
I hadnt seen enough shots of the system to realise 18 rockets was unusual, but im glad it is, so heres a side shot [;)].
I just posted this old link in another post, and thought it probably would fit into your thread nicely due to some of the pics. There are pictures of Marine UH-1Es with what was called a “Helicopter Trap” Bombs for want of a better word, full of welded rods that were dropped by parachute from a huey onto an LZ and would detonate and clear the area of anything over 4 inches high.
Anyway check out the site for a more detailed and interesting account of their use!!!
Any more info on their official name would be great.
Check out the bottom of the first and the second pages in this thread. That’s as much as I know about the Helicopter Trap Weapon (HTW). I finally downloaded ll the Echo pics from Popasmoke. Now I have some ammo on Marine birds!
Ray
EDIT: lots of info on Helicopter Trap Weapons on Dr. Google! I found this definition that might help:
“HELICOPTER TRAP WEAPON (HTW) MK 115 MOD 0 - RETARDED BOMB USED FOR CLEARING PROSPECTIVE HELICOPTER LANDING SITES. WHEN THE BOMB IMPACTS THE FUZE INSTANTANEOUSLY DETONATES THE WARHEAD, WHICH IN TURN REMOVES ANY VEGETATION FROM AN AREA LARGE ENOUGH TO LAND A HELICOPTER.”
That’s just like a Marine to use a RETARDED bomb! Go Army!!
I found this unusual Huey yesterday. I stopped at the USAF Armament Museum down at Eglin AFB and expected to see a UH-1F or P. Instead, I was treated to this sight.
If it were “just” another Huey, I may not be so miffed about it, but this is a combat vet and it was configured with the M-5 weapons system. The feed chute for the 40mm is still in the cabin, although the rest of it has been gutted. Apparently the Air Force got a hold of this one and converted it to a QUH-1M, but never used it as a target. So now its in some bogus markings, outside, exposed to the elements instead of in its original 114th or 175th AHC markings being preserved somewhere.
In any case, actually got some work done on my 1:48th UH-1C tonight. The Monogram kit needs a LOT of work, but the Cobra Co set has really helped it along quite a bit. I added a non-rotating swashplate, sealed the ammo slots in the fuselage, added an upper beacon housing, removed and filled in the rectangle on the underside of the bird and will re-build that area correctly. I cut both doors off as well and removed the ammo cans from the cockpit floor. I’m building mine as 65-09507 from the 174th AHC and she flew with a Chunker and 7-shot pods. Some incredible side art on her!
Nice pics of a poor bird. Imagine, to have lived your life as a Charlie model gunship slinging 40mm rounds at VC all day only to end up as an Air Force hood ornament! Sad, man. How about a few pics of your progress on the monogram Charlie?
Sure! Took these this morning. Still has a long way to go. I wanna do the interior properly, so its going to take me a bit. Started fabricating the map case on the back of the console with foil from the top of a wine bottle. Gonna re-do the panels a little more accurately and I’m scratch-building the 40mm ammo can installation. The bird I’m building didn’t have the drum magazine. Speaking of which, anyone know where I can find 20mm (yep, twenty millimeter) ammo cans in 48th scale? I’m leaving the rotor head alone for the most part. Just some minor touch ups here and there. Now to figure out the open rocket pods…
Looking good! Your a brave man to tackle the Monogram Hog. I think I am going make mine a Bravo model using the rotorhead and rotor from one of the 1/48 D models (with appropriate counterweights, of course). I have 5 of the blasted things so I can make a few mistakes!
By the way, my dad has mentioned several times to me that the soundproofing on the back cabin wall was almost always missing on their birds. Any idea how you would go about producing that effect with the molded soudproofing? would you just sand it down flat and fill any gaps or is it just not worth it? Maybe just scratchbuild the entire back of the cabin wall?
Since you’ve started taking pics early and documenting your progress, perhaps you should start a thread for all those poor souls that follow in your wake and wish to tame the savage beast that is the Monogram Hog. I know I would be happy for any assembly tips you had to offer!
I can get you some pics and measurements for the 20mm ammo can if you want to tackle scrachbuilding them. That is if the modern AF type is the same as the one your needing. I’ve got 2 sitting in the living room.
Anyway, let me know and I’ll see what I can do for you.
The 20mm can used for the last 25 years is the M548 and I’m sure it was used in Vietnam because we used to get rounds that were from that time frame. The dimensions are 18.6"L x 8.28"W x 14.6H"
My son is a crewchief on A-10s with the 188th here in Fort Smith. They have just started transitioning from F-16s. While clearing out the hangers and shops of F-16 parts and tools, they came across 3 of these cans and were going to throw them out. Like father, like son, he figured we could do SOMETHING with them. He kept one and gave the others to me.
I thought about filling one with .223 ammo and the other with .308. Then I thought, who is going to move those things around? [%-)] Oh well, I’ll figure out something.
I’ll post more pics when I get to the new LZ. We’re moving out Wednesday morning, so I doubt I’ll get more done on her in that time. The kit isn’t terrible. Actually, the fuselage halves went together pretty well and sanded up very nicely. It’ll need some bondo on the sinkholes on the underside, but other than that, its pretty nice. One thing it really needs is NOSE WEIGHT, otherwise you’ll have a heck of a tail sitter. Chief Snake advised me to use pennies under the floor. They work PERFECTLY and there’s room enough for four of em. That should be just enough weight to keep her on her skids.
Now I need to get a couple more of em. Ray, I like your idea about the D rotorhead. May have to do that once I get a couple D’s!
Happy trails, man. I hope the move doesn’t destroy your collection. I have heard some horror stories about moving models. They’re going to miss you around the Museum! I don’t suppose they would let you borrow a Huey to haul all your stuff?
Funny you mention that! My wife keeps asking why we don’t have a Chinook flying our stuff up to MD!
I’ve got everything pretty well packed. The model collection is going in my car, which will be on the trailer behind the truck. Should be fairly secure in there.
Now to start working as soon as I get up there so I can afford everything that Chief Snake is going to tempt me with!
Hello! I am new to FSM forums, though I’ve been following some threads for some time. I believe there are some of the best huey-oriented forums here! Greta job guys! But enough small talk, cause I got some pretty interesting and unusual Hueys to show
First a couple of images of a UH-1C in service with B troop 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry. This is one of the most heavily armed Hueys I’ve evere seen and the story behind this unique bird goes like this: she was one of the last two UH-1Cs in service with the B/1/9 weapons platoon, the rest were already AH-1Gs. It came to platoon in Hog configuration (two 19-shot rocket pods), but the crewmembers felt that M21 system offered more mission flexibility-howerever they didn’t have any M21s in stock, so they resorted to improvisation. They took two M129 40mm grenade launchers (complete with gun cradles and saddles) from AH-1G M28 armament subsystem and bolted them to Huey’s M156 mount rings (the fit was perfect), installed rotary 40mm ammo drums (which also doubled as gunner/crewchief seats) in the cabin, replaced 19-shot rocket pods with 7-shot M158s, connected the package to Huey’s electric system and voila, the mean 40mm gunship was born. Later they would replace left doorgun M60 with a M2HB .50 cal MG and briefly even experimented with a right door mounted minigun!!! Talk about firepower But I shall let the images speak for themselves:
Note the coolie hat kill marks in the last photo…
The next two images show a UH-1B equiped with a LLLTV night vision system in service with HA(L)-3 Seawolves; photos were taken at Nha Be Naval base, Vietnam in 1968. The LLLTV was integrated with the M16 armament subsystem, though the right flex twin M60s were later replaced with a door gun .50 cal. Not much is known about this system as it was tested secretly in 1968. I hope I will learn more about it from HA(L)-3 members.
The last two images were taken from 1969-70 191st AHC yearbook. They show a UH-1H Nighthawk, callsign ‘‘Half breed’’. What’s really interesting is the weapon mounted in the forward section of right side door. Believe it or not, it’s a mk19 mod 0 40mm automatic grenade launcher! It seems that 191st AHC guys did some trading with the brown water Navy units
Now you can’t post pics of a twin-chunker’d UH-1C and not give us hi-res shots of the nose art, tail number and other markings!!![:D] That is just waaaaay too cool!
This thread has got me thinking about a decal sheet that is waaaaaaaaaaaay overdue. Gonna start working on it.
Photo taken 1965 or 1966, taken by C “Chip” W Parker who flew with Col Mahone
