1966: New Ship Christened
July 4, 1996, the USNS Gordon (T-AKR 296), was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia. USNS Gordon is named in honor of Army Aviation Hall of Fame inductee, MSG Gary I. Gordon, one of the USASOC snipers killed in action, October 3, 1993, in Mogadishu’s “Black Sea” district, to which MSG Gordon was awarded the Medal of Honor. USNS Gordon, T-AKR-296, one of the Navy’s 19 LMSR Roll-On/Roll-Off Strategic Sealift Vessels, named for MSG Gary I. Gordon, Army Aviation Hall of Fame inductee and Medal of Honor recipient, killed in action in Mogadishu, October 3, 1993. The Gordon was built...
Learn More1966: Book Release
Looking Back: The Smithsonian Institution Press has just published a book by Army Aviation pioneer, General Hamilton H. Howze (Ret.). It is titled, A Cavalryman’s Story: Memoirs of a Twentieth Century General. selection can be purchased for $24.95, from the Smithsonian Institution Press, P.O. Box 960, Herndon, Virginia, 22070-0960. Telephone is 800-782-4612. Source: “Briefing,” page 2, Army Aviation, Vol. 46, No. 5, Army Aviation Publications, Inc., Westport, Ct. May 31, 1996.
Learn More1966: 11th Armored Cavalry Reunion
Looking Back: The 11th Armored Cavalry veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia, the Blackhorse Regiment, will host a reunion in Louisville, Kentucky, August 1-4, 1996, at the Galt House Hotel. This gathering is to commemorate the unit’s 30th anniversary of its arrival in Vietnam, and, its 95th anniversary of its formation in 1901. The reunion is open to all personnel, military and civilian, assigned to the Blackhorse Regiment in Vietnam or to the 11th U.S. Cavalry from 1901 to the present. For information, contact Len McFarling, 317-687-6827, extension 124. Source: “Briefing,” page 3, Army Aviation, Vol. 45, Nos. 3 & 4, Army...
Learn More1st Marine Division, NCIS, Conduct Mass Arrest of Marines at Camp Pendleton
Camp Pendleton, Calif.—On the morning of July 25, 2019, officials from 1st Marine Division worked alongside the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to carry out the arrest of 16 Marines during a Battalion formation at Camp Pendleton, California. A Sikorsky S-60 Skycrane with submarine sweeping gear. “The 16 Marines were arrested for alleged involvement in various illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses. Information gained from a previous human smuggling investigation precipitated the arrests. “An additional 8 Marines were taken aside to be questioned on their involvement in alleged drug offenses unrelated to today’s arrests. “None of the...
Learn MoreFirst Woman to Assume Command of a U.S. Army Infantry Division.
Brigadier General Laura Yeager took command of the 40th Infantry Division of the California National Guard. Outgoing commander was the retiring Major General Mark Malanka. Ceremony to effect command change was at 11:00 AM, June 29, 2019, at the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California. General Yeager began her eight-year active duty career in May 1986, upon receiving her commission as a second lieutenant from the Reserve Officers Training Corps, California State University, Long Beach. By 1989, she completed helicopter training, becoming a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot assigned to medical evacuations. She concluded her active-duty career with the birth...
Learn MoreNew Helicopter for the Air Force, September 2018
The Air Force announced that it has awarded a $378 million order for four MH-139 helicopters. The MH-139 is to replace the UH-1N, the USAF version of the famed Huey. The four helicopters ordered are the first of some 84 machines to be procured within a $2.38 billion contract. According to Ms. Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, “strong competition drove down the costs for the program, resulting in a savings of $1.7 billion to the taxpayer.”[1] An MH-139 for the Air Force, to replace the UH-N1. MH-139 is a variant of the Leonardo AW-139 / Photo: courtesy Boeing...
Learn MoreKaman K-240 HTK-1-K Remotely Controlled Helicopter
Bloomfield, CT -1957: Kaman Aircraft senior project engineer, Robert C. Mack, flew, was is reputed to be, the first pilotless robot helicopter; adding to the growing interest in such efforts as drones, guided missiles, satellites. . . The K-240 HTK-1-K was directed by radio signals from the ground by Mr. Mack. The robot helicopter lifted off vertically, hovered, flew forward, backward, sidewards, then landed. The control element is based on simplicity, to the extent that the operator, like Robert Mack, does not have to be cockpit qualified. Kaman K-240 HTK-1-K robot or remotely controlled helicopter. Note there is no pilot...
Learn MoreFort Rucker Takes Novel Energy Crisis Action: It Salvages Crankcase Oil!
Looking Back – 1974 / Fort Rucker, Alabama: Army Aviation went out its way to help out in the energy crisis. First the standard actions: Shutting lights in unoccupied rooms; lowering thermostats to 68 degrees; reducing speed limits, as well as curbing unnecessary driving. However the Department of Facilities-Engineering (DFAE) decided to go the extra mile. Since DFAE personnel control base heating facilities they instituted energy-saving techniques that were quickly implemented. One solution they developed was to employ used crankcase oil from internal combustion engines in anything from helicopters to Jeeps to the general’s staff car. It was found that...
Learn MoreArab Ace in the Recent 20-Day War
According to Washington, the Israeli Air Force incurred the loss of 105 aircraft plus two helicopters during the recent Arab-Israeli conflict. Such losses were twice those incurred during the Six-Day War, June 1967. YOUR CAPTION HERE A telling aspect of the Yom Kippur War was that little more than ten percent of Israeli aircraft losses were the result of air combat; as opposed to the ninety percent lost due to anti-aircraft fire. The older anti-aircraft missile systems, SA-2 and SA-3 logged few kills. Not so SA-6 and SA-7 missile batteries, and, the ZSU-23-4 mobile multiple 23 mm AA mounts. The...
Learn MoreArab Ace in the Recent 20-Day War
According to Washington, the Israeli Air Force incurred the loss of 105 aircraft plus two helicopters during the recent Arab-Israeli conflict. Such losses were twice those incurred during the Six-Day War, June 1967 A telling aspect of the Yom Kippur War was that little more than ten percent of Israeli aircraft losses were the result of air combat; as opposed to the ninety percent lost due to anti-aircraft fire. The older anti-aircraft missile systems, SA-2 and SA-3 logged few kills. Not so SA-6 and SA-7 missile batteries, and, the ZSU-23-4 mobile multiple 23 mm AA mounts. The most potent, though,...
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