A GREAT DAY for the ARMY and The 101st!
Historical Perspective / By General John R. Gutherie, Commander, USA Materiel Development and Readiness Command: Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen and members of “D” Company, 158th Aviation Battalion. This is, indeed, a great day for the Army, for American industry and for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). It is also, for me, a personal and professional pleasure and honor to participate in another ceremony marking the achievement of a major milestone in the fielding of one of the “Big Five,” and to represent not one but two Chiefs of Staff of the Army who would, except for pressing duties,...
Learn MoreRapid Combat Photography, 1955
By Mark Albertson: A humble, radio-controlled, camera-equipped drone, has now been added to the photographic aerial combat potential of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The RP-71 Falconer unmanned aerial vehicle was readied at the Army Electronic Proving Ground, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. U.S. Army RP-71/SD-1/MQM-57 Falconer reconnaissance drone. Note wooden propeller and jet-assisted takeoff pods / Radio Combat Photography, 1955 courtesy of the National Museum of the United States Air Force The RP-71 has a speed of 228 miles-per-hour and a rate-of-climb of 3,060 feet-per-minute.[1] The pilotless propeller-driven aircraft features a gasoline engine; yet, defies gravity with a jet-assisted takeoff. The...
Learn More1955: Landing Atop Pikes Peak
By Mark Albertson: Jack Zimmerman, chief test pilot for Cessna, flew a Cessna CH-1 to the top of Pikes Peak. He successfully completed hovering tests at 14,110 feet prior to landing. Such was the first time an aircraft of any type set down atop the mountain. Time: 7:00 AM. Date: September 13, 1955. Cessna CH-1 helicopter; or, by the Army designation, YH-41 Seneca. Zimmerman’s hovering demonstrations were effected with a Captain Knowles from Fort Carson aboard. Then . . . . . . Zimmerman took on a second passenger and hovered atop the peak. This was followed by Major General Van...
Learn MoreEnd of Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Looking Back 1989 / By Mark Albertson: . . . history repeats itself. What happened in the 19th century to the invading British would also be the fate of the Soviet invaders. Philosophically the Soviets believed that history is not directional, progressive and does not repeat itself. History did repeat itself and we did prevail. — General Abdul Rahim Wardak.[1] Soviet soldiers aboard a BMD, an air-portable APC. February 15, 1989, the last Soviet soldier crossed the Amu Darya River, ending the ill-fated Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A defeat that will help lead a sequence of events resulting in...
Learn MoreVietnam—The Seed
By CW4 Robert E. Howard (Ret.) / October 31, 1993: This is an edited version of an effort which appeared in the October 31, 1993 issue of ARMY AVITIION magazine. The author spent 21 years on active duty, in particular, in the field of Aviation. He retired in 1975 as a CW4 Aircraft Maintenance Technician, on his way to a management position with Bell Helicopter International in Iran. Following this, he worked as an Aviation Logistics Management Specialist in the Combat Developments Directorate at the Aviation Logistics School at Fort Eustis, Virginia. In 1988, he assumed the position of the Directorate’s Deputy...
Learn MoreThe Challenge to the AAAA! Build Citizen Support!
Looking Back, December 2018 / By Mark Albertson: . . . therefore, the interests of the army and the people are one and the same. We must always take care to strengthen the monolithic solidarity between the army and the people. [1] Secretary of the Army, John O. Marsh, presented the keynote address at the 1981 AAAA National Convention in Washington, D.C. The underlying aspect of the Secretary’s address was the fostering of citizen support. Which in today’s America presents a dilemma. Sure, many will saunter up to a uniform and offer a cheery “Thank you for your service.” But how...
Learn MoreFreed from Terrain
By Mark Alberston: On the 50th anniversary of the release of the Howze Board findings, Army Aviation offers a glimpse at the genesis of Airmobility.2 U.S. Troops board CH-47 Chinooks and UH-1 Huey’s during Operation Crazy Horse, Republic of vietnam, 1965. / US Army photo The helicopter may be used as a supplement to or as a substitute for, slower surface transportation. Commanders employing helicopters may maneuver reserves rapidly to envelop critical terrain features, circumvent stubborn centers of resistance, and counter hostile threats to attack. Maneuver is possible over and around hill masses, across water barriers, and into areas lacking...
Learn MoreUSNS Corpus Christi Bay Returns after Six-Year Tour in USARV
The USNS Corpus Christi Bay, the Army’s only Floating Aircraft Maintenance Facility (FAMF) and home of the First Transportation Corps Battalion (Aircraft Maintenance Depot) (Seaborne), arrived at the Port of Corpus Christi December 19 after spending more than six years in waters off the Republic of Vietnam. USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1) in floating drydock The ship and the officers and men of the First Transportation Corps Battalion were honored in “Welcome home!” ceremonies where Army, Navy and local dignitaries were on hand to greet the Vietnam returnees. Appropriate ceremonies Attending and speaking at the ceremonies were U.S. Representative John...
Learn More44-yr. Aviator Mike Novosel Honored with Post Parade on his Retirement
CONGRESSIONAL Medal of Honor recipient, Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, ended 44 years of military service on November 30 at Ft. Rucker. AL. CW4 Novosel was honored by more than 1,000 participating troops, ten Medal of Honor winners, his family and friends, and a host of dignitaries at his retirement ceremony at the Center Parade Field. A Hall of FamerHighlighting the occasion, MG Bobby J. Maddox, Ft. Rucker’s Commanding General, announced that the street in front of post headquarters, known as Headquarters Road, had been renamed Novosel Street in honor of his multitude of contributions. Maddox also presented Novosel the...
Learn MoreMerry Christmas and a Happy New Year—33rd Division Aviation
Army Aviation, page 32, 1958 issue / Editied by Mark Albertson: The article below was contributed by Lieutenant Colonel Frank O. Grey, Jr., Aviation Officer, 33rd Infantry Division. “I thought that Army Aviation readers might be interested in the accompanying photo. Knowing the editor’s fondness for reducing the large photo to the small and the small to the microscopic, I’ll decipher the white ink scrawl in the lower center of the photo. It says, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year—33rd Division Aviation. “Taken in 1927, it proves that Army aviation is much older than we thought. In order to...
Learn More
