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The Raid on Son Tay

On the night of 20 November 1970 at 2300 hours, five HH-53s and one HH-3 helicopter took off with fifty-six Special Forces Soldiers from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. The aircraft would refuel over Laos and enter North Vietnamese airspace from the west. The target of the helo borne assault was the Son Tay Prisoner of War (POW) Camp located 23 miles northwest of the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The flight from Udorn to Son Tay was approximately 337 miles one way.

Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons, answers questions about the Son Tay POW Rescue Raid from the Pentagon Press Corps. Also in the picture are (left to right): Melvin R. Laird, Secretary of Defense; Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Air Force Brigadier General Leroy J. Manor, who commanded the overall operation.

It was believed that at least 60 American Prisoners of war were being held captive at the Son Tay facility. The camp was believed to have been active since May of 1968. Evidence in May of 1970 suggested the camp was being enlarged.

The lead HH-53 arrived over Son Tay POW camp at approximately 0200 hours the morning of 21 November. As planned, the lead helo would take the guard towers and barrack buildings under fire with its two 4,000 round per minute Gatling guns. Once the lead helo cleared the compound, the HH-3 made a controlled crash landing inside the courtyard of the walled prison. Aboard the aircraft was a 14-man assault force commanded by CPT Richard Meadows, the assault force commander. This element was code named “Blueboy” and had the mission of clearing all cellblocks, freeing American POWs, and neutralizing any enemy resistance within the compound. Once the POWs were freed, the assault force would blow a hole in the south wall of the compound and lead the POWs to a waiting evacuation helo.

Navy diversion aircraft were flying from carriers and conducting diversionary strikes in the Haiphong and Hanoi area. This diversionary maneuver, prior to the Raid force reaching Son Tay, caused the North Vietnamese air defense sectors to focus their attention east thus allowing the Raid force to slide in the back door from the west.

Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird decorates the Special Forces soldiers and airman who assaulted the Son Tay compound

At the same time the “Blueboy” element was searching for the US POWs, the “Redwine” element had landed south of the compound with the mission of clearing buildings, securing a landing zone, and blocking a road network to the south, preventing enemy personnel or vehicles from entering the target area (Son Tay) from the south. At the same time, the “Greenleaf” element was to land east of the compound and clear buildings and secure a road to the north, again preventing enemy personnel and vehicles from coming from the north. However, the helo carrying the “Greenleaf” element made a navigational error, landing some 400 meters southwest of the Son Tay Compound at a facility only known as a “secondary school”. On insertion, a huge firefight broke out between the “Greenleaf” element and an unknown number of enemy soldiers. To this day, the nationality of these enemy soldiers remains unknown. Some have commented through the years that they were Russian or Chinese advisors. Members of the “Greenleaf” element would only say later that the soldiers were taller than the average Vietnamese. (All members of the raiding force, except for three, had been to Viet Nam before, many serving multiple tours.)

As the fire fight continued, LTC Sydnor, the ground force commander at the Son Tay compound, realized the “Greenleaf” element had not landed at Son Tay as planned. He put Plan Green into effect. Plan Green called for the “Redwine” element not only to cover their responsibilities to the south, but now they must cover “Greenleaf’s” responsibilities to the east and north as well. Meanwhile at the “secondary school”, as the firefight continued, Col Simons, the Deputy Task Force Commander, was having his radio operator recall the helo. I believe Lt Col Warner Britton, pilot of Apple 1, had already realized the mistake. After dropping the “Greenleaf” element and gaining altitude, he now saw two huge firefights taking place separated by 400 meters. He immediately rolled the helo over and was inbound to the “secondary school” to pick up Simons’ men and reinsert them into the correct target area. In all, the fight at the “secondary school” lasted about five minutes. Some sixteen enemy soldiers were believed killed with no injuries to friendly forces.

Lt Col Britton effected the pickup and flew Simons’ men to the Son Tay compound, landing south of the facility. The “Greenleaf” element was required to do a passage of lines through the “Redwine” element – a tricky maneuver, especially at night. No friendly forces suffered any injuries during this passage.

About the time the “Greenleaf” element was in its position on the east side of the compound, radio traffic from the “Blueboy” element inside the prison was indicating there were “negative items”, a coded phrase that meant no US prisoners were found. Once that was confirmed by the Ground Force Commander, the helos were recalled from their holding area, approximately 3 miles west of Son Tay. Prior to leaving the prison, the “Blueboy” element destroyed the HH-3 that had crash landed inside the courtyard of the prison. The HH-3 was never intended to fly out as the courtyard was too small of an area.

After picking up the force, the helos headed west to an aircraft air refuel point over Laos. It was a long three and a half hour flight back to Udorn, Thailand. We could not believe no prisoners were present. After three months of training, over 170 rehearsals, half of which were conducted with live fire, we had just hit a “dry hole”. (In later discussions with ex-Son Tay prisoners, we learned they had been moved in July 1970 for unknown reasons.)

For his efforts in planning and conducting the Son Tay Raid Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons was presented the Distinguished Service Cross by president Richard M. Nixon in a White House Ceremony

The entire operation took twenty-seven minutes from touchdown to takeoff, including the “visit” to the “secondary school”. The only injuries suffered by friendly forces were one gun shot wound to the leg of a Raider and a broken foot suffered by the Flight Engineer on the HH-3 during the crashing of the HH-3 in the courtyard. It is estimated as many as 30 to 50 North Vietnamese were killed including those at the “secondary school”.

One of our Wild Weasel F-105 aircraft was shot down by a surface to air missile (SAM). Shot down is probably not the correct term. The SAM exploded near the aircraft riddling the fuel tank of the F-105 with holes. According to the pilot, the aircraft was still flyable but just ran out of gas due to the holes in the fuel tank. Both pilot and electric warfare officer were able to bail out over Laos. They both were recovered after first light on the morning of 21 November.

Training for the Raid began in August of 1970 and ended on or about 10 November 1970. At that point forces were deployed to Thailand for final preparations for the Raid. The training was conducted at Elgin Air Force Base, Florida, at Auxiliary Field 3, the same training area used by General Jimmy Doolittle’s Raiders in preparing for their bombing raid over Tokyo, Japan in early 1942. Training was conducted in three phases. Phase I was to physically condition the force, conduct land navigation both day and night, weapons firing using the M-16 rifle, M-79 grenade launcher, M-60 machine gun, .45 cal pistol, and the M-72 LAW (light-anti-tank-weapon), target identification, etc. Shooting was conducted during day and night range operations. In Phase II the force was selected from a pool of 100 personnel based on physical condition, shooting skills, land navigation abilities, and other skills. The force was organized into three platoons: 1st Platoon, “Redwine” element (command and security - 20 personnel); 2nd Platoon, “Blueboy” element (assault force - 14 personnel); and 3rd Platoon, “Greenleaf” element (security and support - 22 personnel). During this phase, the force began training together on a mockup camp. Shooting skills continued to be honed as well as target identification (identifying bad guys from friendlies). During Phase III, the army elements trained with the air force elements. Over the three-month training period each ground element learned and knew their air crews. This was important due to the bond and trust that was formed. In all, more than 170 rehearsals were conducted during daytime and nighttime conditions. At no time did the Raiders know the true target. It was only after the final briefing on 20 November prior to leaving for the launch site at Udorn, Thailand that Son Tay was identified.

A1E's leading HC-130P, refueling a HH-53

The total number of airplanes to support the Raid was 116. Most of these were Navy aircraft flying in the Haiphong and Hanoi area. Son Tay aircraft included 5 HH-53s (call sign Apple 1-5); 1 HH-3 (call sign Banana 1); 5 A-1E skyraiders (call sign Peach 1-5) providing close air support; 5 F-105s (call sign Firebird 1-5) targeting SAM sites; and 10 F-4s (call sign Falcon 1-10) providing protection from MIG aircraft should they launch. The refuel aircraft were Limes 1 and 2, and they were HC-130Ps which provided fuel for the helos over Laos going to and returning from Son Tay.

A POW's-Eye View of the Raid

Air Force Association President R. E. Smith was one of the prisoners at Son Tay. On October 25, 1967, he was an Air Force major flying out of Takhli RTAFB, Thailand, in an F-105 from the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing when he was shot down by ground fire. His target that day was the Paul Doumer Bridge over the Red River at Hanoi. His right leg was badly injured on bailout and, upon hitting the ground, he was shot twice in the left thigh by a North Vietnamese soldier. Fortunately, no bones or arteries were severed.

RAIDER - SON TAY
VIETNAM - 1970

His captors immediately undressed him with a machete, wired his hands together, and took him to Hanoi. En route, onlookers threw bricks and stones at him and beat him with sticks. "I was very lucky to have made it into the prison," he says. "I suspect many MIAs were not as lucky after they were caught and were killed by spectators."

While Mr. Smith escaped death at the hands of the spectators, he did not escape the torture, beatings, and solitary confinement that all American POWs suffered from the prison guards.

He spent the next eight months in the Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton"), then was transferred to Son Tay in July 1968. He and fifty-six others were taken from Son Tay in July 1970, four months before the raid, and locked up elsewhere before ending up in the Hanoi Hilton four days after the raid.

Why were the prisoners moved? Mr. Smith believes the North Vietnamese were trying to improve the treatment and conditions of the POWs. He never saw any indication that rising water was the reason for their removal. "Neither is there any intelligence information, to my knowledge, that the Vietnamese knew the US was coming and therefore moved the POWs," he adds. "I think we were moved so that we would all be in a centrally located prison where we could be more easily handled logistically."

About three or four months after the raid, he says, "We got indications that something had happened at Son Tay . . . from the Vietnam Free Press, a propaganda rag printed in several languages. It said a bombing raid had been conducted on the town of Son Tay and that many Americans had been killed.

COL Arthur D. "Bull" Simons Statue outside the JFK Special Warfare Museum

"We were absolutely elated when we learned of the raid. From our standpoint, it was the single most significant event in terms of POW life that happened in North Vietnam. It brought us together; it allowed us to be better organized; it reinforced the belief that the US would go to any length to see that we were returned. Disappointed that the raid did not work? Yes, but so very proud of the men and our country for the effort."

Mr. Smith was repatriated March 14, 1973, and remained on active duty until August 1978. He was elected Air Force Association President in September 1994.

Additional Sources:

www.sfalx.com
www.wpafb.af.mil
http://www.patriotfiles.com
www.afa.org
www.tropaselite.hpg.ig.com.br
http://www.sontayraider.com
aircommandoman.tripod.com

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on September 03:
1596 Nicolo Amati Italy, violin maker (Stradivari & Guarneri)
1757 Charles X Versailles France, Duke of Prussia
1803 Prudence Crandall founded school for "young ladies of colour"
1811 John Humphrey Noyes Vt, found Oneida Community (Perfectionists)
1856 Louis Henri Sullivan Boston Mass, father of modern US architecture
1860 Edward Albert Filene merchant, established US credit union movement
1866 Alain Locke famous African
1905 Carl David Anderson NYC, physicist (1936 Nobel Prize for physics)
1907 Andrew Brewin Canada, lawyer/cofound New Democratic Party
1907 Dr Loren Eiseley professor of Anthropology (Animal Secrets)
1910 Dorothy Maynor Norfolk Va, soprano (founded Harlem School of Arts)
1913 Alan Ladd actor (Shane, Carpetbaggers, Boy on a Dolphin)
1914 Kitty Carlisle Hart New Orleans La, actress (Animal Crackers)
1914 Dixie Lee Ray, Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission who received the U.N. Peace Prize in 1977.
1917 Eddie "Brat" Stanky Phil Rizzuto's nemesis/2nd baseman (Dodgers)
1918 Helen Wagner Lubbock Tx, actress (Nancy-As The World Turns)
1923 Mort Walker cartoonist (Beetle Bailey)
1923 Terry Wilson Calif, actor (Bill-Wagon Train)
1926 Anne Jackson Penn, actress (Dirty Dingus Magee, Angel Levine)
1926 Irene Papas actress (Anne of Thousand Days, Guns of Navarone, Z)
1931 Mitzi Gaynor Chicago Ill, actress (South Pacific)
1935 Eileen Brennan LA Calif, actress (Laugh-In, Pvt Benjamin)
1940 Pauline Collins London England, actress (Shirley Valentine)
1942 Al Jardine rocker (Beachboys-In My Room)
1944 Sherwood C "Woody" Spring Hartford Ct, Col USA/astronaut (STS 61B)
1944 Valerie Perrine Galveston Tx, actress (Steam Bath, Superman, Slaughterhouse 5)
1945 Mike Harrison keyboardist (Spooky Tooth-It's All About)
1965 Charlie Sheen actor (Carlos Estevez), NYC, actor (Wall St, Platoon)
1971 Tonja Christenson Salt Lake City Utah, playmate (November, 1991)

Deaths which occurred on September 03:
1189 Rabbi Jacob of Orleans killed in anti Jewish riot in London England
1658 James I king of England (1603-25), dies at 92
1658 Oliver Cromwell the Lord Protector of England, dies at 59
1917 Fanya Kaplan, Russian who shot at Lenin on Aug 30th, executed
1962 e. e. cummings poet, dies at 67
1969 Ho Chi Minh North Vietnamese president, dies
1970 Vince Lombardi football coach, dies in Washington DC at 57
1982 Michael Thoma actor (8 is Enough, Fame), dies at 55
1984 Arthur Schwartz actor, dies after a stroke at 83
1984 Duncan Renaldo actor (Cisco Kid), dies at 80
1990 David Acer Florida dentist, dies of AIDs after infecting 5 patients
1991 Frank Capra director (It's a Wonderful Life), dies at 94
1992 Nobel laureate geneticist Barbara McClintock

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 TRUJILLO JOSEPH FELIX DEMING NM.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/17/92]
1967 PIRKLE LOWELL ZINH
[REMAINS RETURNED 31 OCT 94]
1967 MOORE HERBERT W. JR. IMPERIAL PA.
1968 FRAZIER PAUL R. MILWAUKEE WI.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
590 St Gregory I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1189 England's King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) crowned in Westminster
1260 Mamelukes under Sultan Qutuz defeat Mongols and Crusaders at Ain Jalut
1651 Battle at Worcester -- Oliver Cromwell destroys English royalists
1658 Richard Cromwell succeeds his father as English Lord Protector
1683 Turkish troops break through defense of Vienna
1752 This day never happened nor the next 10 as England adopts Gregorian Calendar. People riot thinking the govt stole 11 days of their lives
1777 The American flag was flown in battle for the first time during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge, Maryland.
1783 Treaty of Paris signed (ending the US Revolutionary War)
1826 USS Vincennes leaves NY to become 1st warship to circumnavigate globe
1833 NY Sun begins publishing (1st daily newspaper)
1838 Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery disguised as a sailor
1849 Calif State Constitutional Convention convenes in Monterey
1852 Anti Jewish riots break out in Stockholm
1861 Confederate forces enter Kentucky, thus ending its neutrality
1865 Army commander in SC orders Freedmen's Bureau to stop seizing land
1891 Cottonpickers organize union & stage strike in Texas
1891 John Stephens Durham, named minister to Haiti
1895 First professional football game was played in Latrobe, PA. (later became the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp) The Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0.
1900 British annex Natal (South Africa)
1902 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
1903 Resolute beats Shamrock III (England) in 13th America's Cup
1904 St Louis Olympics close
1906 Yanks win 2nd game on a forfeit over A's; 2nd forfeit win
1912 World's 1st cannery opens in England to supply food to the navy
1914 Cardinal Giacome della Chiesa becomes Pope Benedict XV
1916 Allies turned back Germans in WW I's Battle of Verdun
1917 Grover Cleveland Alexander pitches complete wins in a doubleheader
1918 5 soldiers hanged for alleged participation in Houston riot of 1917
1925 1st international handball match held
1925 Dirigible "Shenandoah" crashed near Caldwell Ohio, 13 die
1930 Hurricane kills 2,000, injures 4,000 (Dominican Republic)
1932 Ellsworth Vines beats Henri Cochet for US tennis title
1934 Tunisia began its move for independence
1935 1st automobile to exceed 300 mph, Sir Malcolm Campbell (301.337 mph)
1935 Andrew Varipapa sets bowling record of 2,652 points in 10 games
1939 Yanks beat Red Sox on a forfeit, their 4th forfeit win
1939 Britain declares war on Germany. France follows 6 hours later quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa & Canada
1940 1st showing of high definition color TV
1940 US gives Britain 50 destroyers in exchange for Newfoundland base lease
1943 Allies invade Italy
1944 Frank Parker beats Bill Talbert for US tennis title
1945 Japanese forces in the Philippines surrender to Allies
1947 Phila A's Bill McCahan no-hits Wash Senators, 3-0
1947 Yanks get 18 singles to beat Red Sox 11-2
1951 TV soap opera "Search for Tomorrow" debuts on CBS
1954 Pope Pius X canonized a saint
1957 Warren Spahn sets record for a lefty pitcher with 41st shut-out
1957 KTCA TV channel 2 in St Paul-Minneapolis, MN (PBS) begins broadcasting
1964 Wilderness Act signed into law by President Lyndon B Johnson
1965 Jim Hickman becomes the 1st NY Met to hit 3 HRs in a game
1966 24th World SF Convention honors Gene Roddenberry
1967 Final episode of "What's My Line?," hosted by John Charles Daly
1967 Nguyen Van Thieu elected pres of S Vietnam under a new constitution
1967 Sweden begins driving on right-hand side of road
1968 Chicago White Sox set AL record of 39 losses by 1 run
1970 Billy Williams ends then longest NL consecutive streak at 1,117 games
1971 John Lennon leaves the UK for NYC, never to return
1971 Qatar regains complete independence from Britain
1971 Watergate team breaks into Daniel Ellsberg's doctor's office
1974 NBA guard Oscar Robinson retires
1975 Chartered 707 crashes in Atlas Mts of Morocco, 188 die
1975 Steve Garvey begins his NL record 1,207 consecutive game streak
1976 Viking 2 soft lands on Mars (Utopia), returns photos
1978 Crew of Soyuz 31 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 29
1978 Pope John Paul I officially installed as 264th supreme pontiff
1979 Hurricane David, a strong Atlantic storm kills over 1,000
1981 Gerald P Remy of Boston gets 6 hits in a baseball game
1981 Longest game in Fenway Park, completed in 20, Mariners-8, Red Sox-7
1984 28 year old Chicagoan wins $40 million in Illinois state lottery
1985 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I)-Discovery 6-returns to Earth
1985 NY Met Gary Carter hits 3 consecutive HRs in a game
1986 Astros & Cubs use a record 53 players in an 18 inning game
1990 9th no-hitter of 1990: Blue Jay Dave Steib beats Cleve 3-0
1990 Helen Hudson sings national anthem in 26th park of year (San Diego)
1997 Arizona Gov. Fife Symington was convicted of fraud by a federal jury in Phoenix. He resigned two days later, becoming the third governor in recent years to quit because of a criminal conviction.
2001 The U.S. and Israel walked out of the United Nations Conference on racism in Durban, South Africa.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Monaco : Liberation Day
Qatar : Independence Day (1971)
San Marino : Founding Day
Tunisia : Memorial Day (1934)
Namibia, South Africa : Settlers' Day (Monday)
US, Canada, Guam, Virgin Islands : Labor Day (1894) (Monday)
National Spanish Green Olive Week (Day 4)
Mental Health Workers Week (Day 4)
Hot Breakfast Month
Do It Day

Religious Observances
RC : Memorial of St Gregory I the Great, pope/doctor
Old Catholic : Feast of St Pius X, pope (1903-14) (now 8/21)
Feast of St. Simeon Stylites

Religious History
590 St. Gregory the Great was consecrated the 64th Catholic pope, ruling 14 years. Gregory's administration took responsibility for converting the Anglo-Saxon tribes in England, chiefly through the work of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
1752 This date became September 14th, when Great Britain (including Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the American colonies) officially implemented the Gregorian Calendar (developed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to replace the Julian calendar).
1776 Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'The love I bear Christ is but a faint and feeble spark, but it is an emanation from himself: He kindled it and he keeps it alive; and because it is his work, I trust many waters shall not quench it.'
1934 In London, Evangeline Cory Booth, 69, the seventh child of founder William Booth (1829-1912), became the fourth elected commander and the first woman general of the Salvation Army.
1946 Founder Sidney N. Correll established United World Mission. This interdenominational agency focuses on evangelism, church planting and Christian education in 13 world countries.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.

You Might Be Too Canadian if...
Your graduation formal dress was made of flannel.

Murphys Law of the day...
Every solution breeds new problems.

Cliff Clavin says, it's a little known fact that...
Females have 500 more genes than males, and because of this are protected from things like color blindness and hemophilia.

Air Power
HH-3 "Jolly Green Giant"

The HH-3E helicopter is a modified version of the CH-3 transport helicopter. Fifty CH-3Es were converted to HH-3Es. These 50 CH-3Es were modified for combat rescue missions with armor, defensive armament, self-sealing fuel tanks, a rescue hoist, and in-flight refueling capability. It was developed for aircrew rescue missions deep into North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Many downed aircrews were rescued by Jolly Green Giants and their crews.

The HH-3E, which arrived in Vietnam in 1967, gave the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS). a significant capability. Operating out of Udorn, Thailand, and Da Nang, South Vietnam, this helicopter could reach any point in North Vietnam and return to its home base. Capt. Gerald O. Young, ARRS pilot and recipient of the Medal of Honor. His HH-3E crashed during a rescue mission on November 8, 1967. Rather than allow the enemy to use as "bait" for an ambush, he led them away from the crash site. He was rescued the following day. The HH-3E was also specifically modified for rescue operations, to include communications equipment that was compatible with all other Allied aircraft operating in Southeast Asia. Today, the HH-3E continues its proud heritage with ARRS, and is an integral part of the Military Airlift Command’s search and rescue mission.

The first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight by a helicopter was made by two Jolly Green Giants between May 30 and June 1, 1967, when they flew from New York City to the Paris Air Show. During that 4,270-mile flight, which took 30 hours and 46 minutes, each aircraft was aerially refueled nine times. The Jolly Green Giant flew 251 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm.

The HH-3E, the Jolly Green Giant, is a twin-engine, heavy-lift helicopter. It is used for search and recovery of personnel and aerospace hardware in support of global air and space operations. It is also used for combat and special operations. With the ability to operate from land or water, the Jolly Green Giant boasts combat rescue-related equipment including titanium armor plating, jettisonable external fuel tanks, internal self-sealing bladder-type fuel tanks under the cabin floor, a retractable in-flight refueling probe, two 7.62mm machine guns, a forest penetrator and a high speed rescue hoist with 240 feet of cable. The long-range helicopter has a hydraulically operated rear ramp for straight-in loading and a jettisonable sliding door on the starboard side at the front of the cabin. It has a gas turbine auxiliary power supply for independent field operations and built-in equipment for the removal and replacement of all major components in remote areas. The Jolly Green Giant has an automatic flight-control system, instrumentation for all-weather operation, and Doppler navigation equipment. Twin turboshaft engines are mounted side-by-side on top of the cabin, immediately forward of the main transmission. The aircraft also has a retractable tricycle-type landing gear.

The Defense Department's range support for Shuttle flights in the 1980s was extensive, and it applied to civilian as well as military missions. Military rescue forces were stationed at Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) sites in Africa and Spain. Shuttle contingency forces at Patrick AFB placed three military HH-3E helicopters (complete with aircrews, medical personnel and pararescue specialists) on alert at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at KSC for every Shuttle mission. Forces from the Air Force Reserve, the National Guard, U.S. European Command, US Air Forces Europe, the Coast Guard and the Navy were positioned to support an astronaut bailout during the launch phase of each Shuttle mission.

Specifications:
Contractor: Sikorsky Aircraft, Division of United Technologies
Type: General purpose, single rotary wing, twin turbine powered helicopter with emergency amphibious capabilities
Engines: Two General Electric T58-GE-5 turboshaft engines of 1,500 hp. each
Crew: Three
Aircraft Internal Capacity: 10+/- People
Rescue Hoist Lifting Capacity: 600 LBS
Cost: $796,000

Dimensions:
Main rotor diameter: 62 ft.
Fuselage Length: 73 ft. 0 in.
Height: 18 ft. 1 in.
Weight: 22,050 lbs. loaded

Performance :
Maximum speed: 177 mph.
Cruising speed: 154 mph.
Range: 779 miles with external fuel tanks
Service Ceiling: 21,000 ft.

Armaments:
Provisions for two .50-cal. machine guns