"Lady Ace 9" Still Serving the Corps Today, The Re-Dedication of CH-46E BuNo 154803 By Dan "Spyke" Meador
On December 1, 2001 aboard NAS Norfolk, VA, I attended a very special ceremony. H-46 154803 was being re-dedicated. Its mission with the Marine Corps would not change, it is still a medium lift helicopter in the Marine Corps arsenal, but it would now become a living, working piece of Marine Corps history. As I sat there thumbing through the program, my eyes were opened to the legacy that the CH-46 has created over the years. Maybe the most shocking fact is that the last H-46 to be delivered to the Marine Corps was delivered five years before I was born! But this specific bird, now serving with the Marines of HMM-774, MAG-42, Det B, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, flying out of NAS Norfolk, has a special story to tell and will forever be part of one of the greatest moments in Marine Aviation.
(H-46 A/C 411 as it looks today.)
My great friend, LtCol Mark "Mule" Vanous, USMC, took command of MAG-42, Det B in August of 2001 and told me about this historic bird. It had come to the attention of the squadron, and the Boeing site representative, that one of their thirteen aircraft was the infamous "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger" bird, piloted by MCAA member Col Gerry Berry (then Captain Berry) that flew the Ambassador out of Saigon in April of 1975. Something had to be done to bring attention to this historic event. After many "theories" and a lot of research it was determined that H-46, 154803, A/C 411 was in fact the bird they were looking for.
After some hard work by Boeing to figure out the exact color scheme, and what paint to use, and a trip down to the Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot, A/C 411 now sports its old "field green" paint scheme of the Vietnam eras opposed to the gray-on-gray scheme used by all active/reserve Marine H-46 squadrons today. Nothing has changed about its mission with the Marine Corps. It will still perform its daily duties as a Medium Lift Helicopter in the Marine Corps arsenal.
In order to tie in the history of this aircraft, and the mission it performs today, I felt it would be important to lay out the events in Vietnam during 1975, give a brief history of "Operation Frequent Wind," the history of A/C 411 and the future for the CH-46 so you can truly see how amazing this aircraft, and the CH-46 in general, really is.
"Historical Perspective of Operation Frequent Wind"
In January of 1975, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) commenced probing attacks on many major South Vietnamese cities. Throughout March the NVA attacks multiplied as main-force units over-ran the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The continuing defeat of the ARVN units throughout the country caused planning for the humanitarian evacuation of American, foreign nationals, Vietnamese citizens and their officials from Saigon.
During April the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (MAB) with PROVMAG-39, (consisting of HMM's-164 and 165 (27 H-46's), HMH's-464 (16 H-53's) 463 (16 H-53's), HML-367 and HMA-369), were activated for the evacuation. The USS Midway (CVA-41) had an additional contingent of 6 USAF CH-53's (special ops) and 4 USAF HH-53's (rescue). On 10 April, the 9th MAB arrived off of Saigon. On 12 April officials visited the US Embassy and the Defense Attaché Office (DAO) to determine where the evacuation LZ would be. BGen Richard E. Carey (9th MAB CG, would retire as a LtGen) and Col Alfred M. Gray (33rd Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) Commander, eventually the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps) made a personal visit on 13 April to further assess the situation.
On 12 April "Operation Eagle Pull", consisting of H-53's from HMH's-462 and 463, commenced the evacuation of Phnom Pehn before the fall to the communist Khmer Rouge. At this point the NVA attacks stalled due to supply problems, but within a few days the attacks renewed and on 21 April the South Vietnamese President, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigned.
At 1420 on 29 April, "Operation Frequent Wind" commenced. A total of thirty-four CH-53's, twenty-seven CH-46's, six UH-1E's and eight AH-1J's were committed and flew some 682 sorties between first light on 29 April and 0753 on 30 April. At 0458, Capt Gerry Berry, USMC of HMM-165 in "Lady Ace 9" (designated YW 09) lifted the US Ambassador to safety and the much awaited "tiger, tiger, tiger" call was given notifying everyone involved that the Ambassador had been evacuated. The last personnel to be evacuated were Marines of the combined security force. They were evacuated at 0753 on 30 April aboard "Swift 2", an H-46 from HMM-164. During the operation a total of
6, 968 persons had been airlifted out of Saigon. Flight crews averaged 13 hours in the air. Captain Berry outlasted them all with 18.3 hours of flight time. On 30 April 1975, the President of South Vietnam, Gen Duong Van Minh, told his men to stand down and The Republic of Vietnam ceased to exist.
154803's Service Record
This is the time where all of you Phrog pilots and Crewchief's pull out your logbooks to see if you caught a ride in this aircraft. Manufactured at Boeing-Vertol in Philadelphia, PA, 154803 was accepted into the Navy's inventory on 19 February 1968. March 1968-May1971, attached to HMM-263, June 1971-July1971, attached to HMM-165, August1971-January 1972 attached to H&MS-36 (SDLM), February 1972-July 1973 attached to HMM-164, July 1973-June 1976, HMM-165, June 1976-September 1977 attached to HMM-164, September 1977-July 1981 attached to HMM-165, July 1981-May 1982 HELSUPPRON Three, May 1982-January 1983 attached to Cherry Point, NC NAVAIR Rework Facility, January 1983-May1997 attached to MAG-46, HMM-764, May 1997-October 1997, Cherry Point (SDLM), October 1997-present, MAG-42, HMM-774.
(CWO-4 Jim "Crash" Casey, USMC (Ret), Deputy Director, MCAA, relives his early days as a door gunner! Jim actually flew in this particular aircraft in Vietnam while the bird was attached to HMM-263 at Marble Mountain Air Facility, RVN.)
The aircraft has over 8,000 flight hours on its airframe and 774 has flown 61,157 accident free hours in the CH-46. While at home, the Marines of HMM-774 provide ongoing support for Recon School, EWTGLANT, with troop lift and HRST operations at Fort AP Hill. We fly support for 4th MARDIV and 4th FSSG at Quantico, Fort Picket, and Camp Lejeune. We have also supported the SEALs from Little Creek, Special Warfare Training Group at Fort Bragg, NC, and Navy EOD from Norfolk. This year they also had the special privilege of supporting the Royal Marines while deployed to our country to escape the effects of hoof and mouth disease in their training areas in England.
The Future of the H-46
The Marine Corps is launching a new $200 million program to improve the engine reliability of its CH-46E helicopter fleet.
This new program, called the T58-16 Engine Reliability Improvement Program (ERIP), will deliver new, General Electric (GE) produced, modified gas path modules (engine cores) and will overhaul the remaining engine accessories at the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), Cherry Point, North Carolina. NADEP Cherry Point will take delivery of the gas path modules from GE and then complete final engine assembly.
The current, unmodified engines are not meeting their reliability targets due to what is commonly referred to as ?tired iron,? based on a lack of new component insertion and years of continued hard use. By the end of 2000, on average, their mean time between repair hours had fallen from the original design specification of 900 hours to less than 360 hours. They are also experiencing a power degradation of approximately five-percent from the designed 1,870-shaft horsepower.
ERIP results in stronger, more reliable engines while reducing maintenance hours and costs to the Fleet. The GE factory assembled gas path module provides all new components, includes all approved Component Improvement Program (CIP) engine modifications, and eliminates all known problems with the engine. Added benefits include recapturing the 900-hour mean time between repair spec and elimination of the power loss.
The first T58-16A engine prototype is scheduled for delivery in the spring of 2002, while T58-16A production deliveries are slated to begin in mid-Fiscal Year 2003. The projected year for H-46E replacement by the MV-22 is 2015?by that time the 46 will have been in service for over fifty years.
In Conclusion
The ceremony held in 774's hangar was a first class event. A/C 411 was wheeled in and was open to the public, fully decked out for combat with its two .50 caliber machine guns mounted on its sides. Boeing set up a nice display featuring the H-46, including various pictures, posters and pamphlets, for people to take home with them. There was the GE T58-16 engine on display as well as a .50 caliber machine gun for visitors to examine. Various Marine Corps organizations (MCAA included) had information and literature available for the public's interest. Col Gerry Berry, now USMC Retired, was the guest of honor and gave a few short remarks about the aircraft and his participation that day in April. Also, SgtMaj Terry Bennington, USMC (Ret) gave a few short remarks about "Operation Frequent Wind." He was one of the last eleven Marines to be evacuated out of Saigon on the 30th of April 1975. MajGen Jack Bergman, CG, 4th MAW made the trip in from New Orleans to attend the ceremony. Various MCAA members including MajGen G.M. Karamarkovich, USMC (Ret), Col Slick Katz, USMC, Head Aviation Logistics & Support Branch (ASL), HQMC, MCAA National's CWO-4 Jim Casey, USMC (Ret), Deputy Executive Director and Dan Meador, Office Manager were also in attendance. It was a good day for the 4th MAW and the Marines of MAG-42, Det B and HMM-774. A job well done Marines.
(Boeing's H-46 display.)
After Thought
It is amazing that I had the opportunity to be at this ceremony, rededicating A/C 411. There was a special done on the history channel specifically on "Operation Frequent Wind" and the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. As I watched program I saw many familiar faces from my association with the MCAA, but one of the gents being interviewed caught my attention. Col Darryl Browning, USMC (Ret) (then 1stLt or Capt?), another 46 pilot by trade, was flying along with Colonel Berry that day in 1975. Colonel Browning was my next-door neighbor here at Quantico in the mid 1990's when I attended Quantico High School with both of his boys. I was the Center on the football team and his son, Chris, was the Quarterback. I ran into Colonel Browning's wife a few months ago to find out that Chris is now a young Captain of Marines. It is interesting because some 26 years after his father flew that mission in 1975, Chris is now is flying the CH-46E out of New River with HMM-162...like father like son.
(I would like to thank all the Marines of MAG-42, Det B and HMM-774 for putting on an excellent event. I also want to thank Boeing, all the MCAA members that attended, LtCol Bill Taylor, USMC, CH-46 Program Manager, for the great material he sent in concerning the H-46, and to my great friend LtCol Mark "Mule" Vanous, USMC, for getting the MCAA involved in this project. and making it possible for this story to be told.)
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