WINGS FOR THE GROUND COMMANDER

[Music] [Music] battles are won by the ground forces by the men on the ground who slog across the terrain the best way they can who fight their way foot by foot to Ultimate Victory the Marine in Vietnam has learned to fight an invisible enemy who usually knows the area better than he does an enemy who because of his hit and run tactics is not dependent to the same extent upon Logistics an enemy who holds life cheaply always the objective of the ground Commander to quote a famous confederate general General is to get their fest with the mostest no group of fighting men is more keenly aware of the value of this advice than the United States Marine Corps the field phone barks its call for support and the Marines respond with their SE nights wings for the ground Commander [Music] the men on the ground prepare to attack the enemy stronghold while overhead the Choppers stand by to support the operation let's listen for a moment to the sounds of War to the actual battle description recorded on the scene by a US Marine Corps correspondent we just R into some DC here in the area they just moved out on a line to assault this position hitting it with everything they've got and if there's any VC in there that'll sure as hell clean them out immediately to our [Applause] front the action has been going on now for about 10 minutes we're still getting incoming rounds from the DC off in the village so far nobody's been able to see them yet we're spread along the line here the entire company spread out along the village these Viet Kong are elusive you can't see them all you can do is hear the hear the bullets as they come at [Applause] you we're looking for tunnels caves anything where the Viet Kong May hide just about 20 minutes ago we were sitting at a rest period and one of the men commented on how day before yesterday they'd been sitting there at a rest period and thinking that they were just about to their main objective and would be true for the day when all of a sudden all hell broke loose and that's just exactly what has happened here today today in Vietnam helicopters like the seight evacuate casualties to field hospitals faster than ever before more often than not the ground Commander's tactical plans are predicated on the ability of the helicopter to move troops quickly into battle a great deal of thought and effort went into the development of helicopters like the seite its tandem rotor design for instance is of particular importance to the missions it performs the C night's blades counter rotate to offset torque there's plenty of clearance under the AFT blades 16 ft of it small trucks trailers artillery pieces can be driven into the cabin quickly the hydraulically operated rear ramp speeds loading and unloading the cabin section of the fuselage is 24 ft long by 6 and 1/2 ft wide by 6 ft High 850 cubic feet of cargo space no support members to interfere with the movement of personnel or cargo the hydraulic winch mounted on the forward bulkhead pulls 2,000 lb at speeds to 30 ft per minute two 100 nautical mile radius Missions at sea level standard conditions were established to define the role of the cite the first the assault and Supply Mission 17 combat troops or 4,000 lb of cargo this is the second medical evacuation Med Evac for short 15 litter patients plus two medical attendants three lit in each tier but before this helicopter was accepted for Duty with the US Marine Corps it went through a thorough development program from ground testing to flight testing fuel jettison test whitewash on the aircraft detects any impingement in Flight applying G forces to substantiate design engines out blades Auto rotating or windmilling to a safe landing amphibious capability able to take off from water on a single engine if necessary hovering in a spray rig in Canada testing ice Protection Systems blades windshields [Music] engines live steam released Under Pressure into the freezing Air flight tests in the high sieras the cite had to be capable of operating anywhere in the [Music] world the Marines tested their new helicopter under combat conditions checking the speed with which troops could be loaded and offloaded its ability to get in and out fast the pilots began to get a feel for the seite and what it could do the external cargo hook with its quick release mechanism was tried out in the [Music] field during Fleet exercises in the Caribbean the Marines flew the new helicopter off carriers in vertical envelopment missions carrying troops into simulated combat this helicopter was designed for lph carriers able to fold or unfold its blades in less than a minute in 45 knot winds if required a par jump Mission from the C night's rear ramp repelling through the cargo hatch while the helicopter hovers on a predetermined heading regardless of wind direction [Music] an inshore replenishment Mission inre quickest way to supply troops in the field for pre-flight inspections or maintenance all components are accessible from the ground or from integral Work Platforms the auxiliary power plant provide Power to start engines check out the hydraulic and Utility Systems fold or unfold the rotor blades the cite is independent of outside power [Music] sources fitted with engine Inlet filters against the sand encountered in Vietnam vital engine components protected by armor plate High Press hot refueling without shutting down engines puts a cite back in action in 4 minutes one last night formation flight winds up the operational training program leaders are caution that uh this is the most difficult thing that you have to do as leader the leader is this night work that we're doing tonight and it requires uh you know smooth power changes and very smooth uh Changes in Attitude and angle of [Music] thing then a West Coast Rendevous for new Duty southeast Asia when the scits and their Crews arrive in Vietnam they are ready to fly missions that had been flown many times in practice offloading men in supplies to airfields [Music] ashore bringing ashore heavy or bulky cargo as they had during Fleet exercises in the Caribbean [Music] the seight is called upon to perform yet another type of mission Salvage of downed aircraft flying over a war torn Countryside a helicopter is a valuable aircraft too valuable to abandon when it's down in The Boondocks there's only one way to bring it out that's with another helicopter like this seight the Marine ch46 has salvaged millions of dollars worth of aircraft kept them out of enemy hands and put them back into inventory to fly [Music] again speeding ammo and mortars to ground forces in combat along with other helicopters the seight carries out its primary Mission the rapid deployment of troops support equipment and supplies its rear ramp simplifies loading [Music] waiting is the hard [Music] part [Music] Americans and Vietnamese Nationals with their red Berets ground commanders discuss [Music] strategy and the helicopter figures prominently in the plan plans to move troops into position quickly like these [Music] Vietnamese all over South Vietnam the story is the same men riding into battle in the big tandem rotor helicopters enveloping the enemy [Music] to the ground Commander the seite represents strong new wings for his vertical envelopment concept to the Marine waiting for what the next moment may bring the cite means Mobile support he needs to help win this ugly [Music] War [Applause]