The Korean War – Part III: Fixed Wing
Historical Perspective / By Mark Albertson: Editor’s Note: This is the third and final article commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. ALL PHOTOS AAPI FILE PHOTO V-J-Day, September 2, 1945, the Air OPs boasted 2,630 pilots, 2,252 mechanics and 1,600 aircraft. Before the year was out, only 200 aircraft remained. The Air Observation Post was not only facing irrelevance, but outright extinction. Yet with the National Defense Act of 1947, the United States Army Air Forces became the United States Air Force. It was imperative, then, that the Ground Forces have a capability – no matter how rudimentary...
Learn MoreTurbine-Powered HOK
Army Aviation History / May 1957: Since September 28, 1956, Kaman Aircraft has been operating a new gas turbine-powered version of its successful HOK type helicopter. Utilizing the Lycoming T-53 gas turbine in place of the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 piston engine presently installed in the HOK helicopters, Kaman looks upon the turbine-powered HOK as an “in being” helicopter as it is basically a standard HOK adapted to gas turbine power. Turbine-Powered HOK The T-53 turbine-powered HOK features greatly increased cabin area (see fig. 1) higher performance, and a wider range of utility applications (see figures 2, 3 and 4). These...
Learn MoreNot Just Another “Black Hawk Down”
Army Aviation History / March 2002: The release of the motion picture, “Black Hawk Down,” has made the struggle and sacrifices that occurred in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3, 1993, almost common knowledge to Americans. CW3 Perry Alliman (left) and CW3 Dale Shrader (CW2 at time of photo) were Black Hawk pilots flying a reconnaissance mission over Mogadishu, Somalia, when they were shot down. Three crewmembers died in the crash and Allison and Shrader barely escaped with their lives. For CW3 Perry Alliman, the story of “Black Hawk Down” is only a fragment of a larger story, a story that ended...
Learn MoreThe Korean War – The Helicopter
Historical Perspective / By Mark Albertson: Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of three articles commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. On June 25, 1950, the Army began the Korean War with only 56 helicopters.1 Yet Air Force helicopters were among the first to see action. Third Air Rescue Squadron, based in Japan, was sent packing for Korea. The original intent was to pick up downed air crews; but, evacuation of wounded quickly gained priority. By the end of August, Third Air Rescue helicopters had airlifted 83 severely wounded soldiers to field hospitals. And as...
Learn More70th Anniversary of the Korean War: A Brief Look at Army Aviation, Fixed Wing Aircraft.
Looking Back / By Mark Albertson: On June 25, 1950, the U.S. Army began the Korean War with 1,211 fixed wing aircraft.[1] Many of these were holdover L-4s and L-5s from the global conflict. Just prior to the opening guns, the Cessna 305 emerged the winner from a competition held by the Army to upgrade its cooperation aircraft. To the Army it will be known as the L-19 Bird Dog. An O-1 (L-19) Bird Dog; a derivative of the Cessna 305, replaced the L-4 Cub and Stinson L-5 as the Army Ground Forces’ cooperation aircraft. Known as the Bird Dog, it would...
Learn MoreWe Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident. . .
This month marks, as it does annually, the observance of the Nation’s founding with a document known popularly as, The Declaration of Independence. The correct title is: The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.[1] Thomas Jefferson, consider final author of ‘The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.’ With regards to revolution, Jefferson once observed, ‘. . . the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. The spelling is as it appears; but, of greater significance, the implications. Thirteen autonomous...
Learn MoreWilliam Wallace Ford and the CCC
At the outset of the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency, the CCC or Civilian Conservation Corps was established, March 31, 1933. CCC was one of those alphabet-soup of government programs promulgated to get the nation out of the Great Depression that had been ravaging the global economy. CCC was to put men back to work, in an economy with a 25% unemployment rate. And for the next nine years, 1933 to 1942, some 3,000,000 men would take part in this highly successful and highly popular program. CCC workers constructing a road in Utah, November 1936 / Photo taken by a CCC...
Learn MoreEnforcing the Monroe Doctrine
The War Between the States provides an intriguing window into an aspect that is generally relegated to irrelevance: American foreign policy and Europe. For instance, one of the biggest boosters of Lincoln and the Northern states was Czarist Russia. For despite the Civil War, America was coming on as an industrialized state, hence a growing power in the Age of the Industrial Revolution. Manifest Destiny, that quest to erect a contiguous empire was proceeding unabated; as it was with Czarist Russia. St. Petersburg had been pursuing a program of Manifest Destiny on the Eurasian land mass, just as America had...
Learn MoreUtility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company
Okinawa, July 25, 1962, the first Army-operated armed helicopter company was formed; a carry-forward from Colonel Jay Vanderpool’s earlier effort, the Aerial Reconnaissance Company. The new unit became known as the Utility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company or UTT. The name itself did not betray what the unit’s mission actually was, so as not to arouse Air Force concerns as to the Army’s intent of muscling in on USAF responsibility for tactical air support; or what it really amounted to, close air support. Because in the end, this is where it was going to go. UH-1 Huey featuring 2.75-inch rocket pods....
Learn MoreWar and Peace in the Space Age
Book Review: By Lieutenant General James M. Gavin: You were born to be free. You were also born with a responsibility to contribute to our common defense. For as long as a trace of avarice exists in the hearts of men, there will be a need for the defense of men and their established institutions. . . James M. Gavin[1] * * * * * The quote above showcases General Gavin’s understanding of human nature: He from the perspective of war; Madison from the view of political theory. Though 170 years separates their writings, the concurrence of thought must be appreciated: That...
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