{"id":1799,"date":"2024-01-13T23:03:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T23:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1799"},"modified":"2024-01-13T23:03:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T23:03:23","slug":"sikorsky-h-34-choctaw-vietnam-wars-unsung-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1799","title":{"rendered":"Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw: Vietnam War\u2019s Unsung Hero?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Will Dabbs, MD<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s article, Dr. Will Dabbs takes a look at the Sikorsky H-34 helicopter. As an Army aviator, Dabbs has a unique view on these versatile aircraft. Used by all branches of the U.S. military, they had various designations depending on which branch they were in and which naming convention standards were in play at the time. To reduce confusion, we have used the term H-34 to refer to the general line of helicopters and used specific designations to ID specific models where important.<\/em><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he setting was the A Shau Valley in South Vietnam during the summer of 1968. A six-man MACV-SOG<\/a> spike team was pinned down, cut off and being chewed to pieces. With the attacking NVA now overrunning their position, the SF team leader called in fire from an orbiting A-1 Skyraider<\/a> on his own position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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A Sikorsky UH-34 helicopter begins lifting supplies for U.S. Marines during Operation Double Eagle on Jan 30, 1966. Image:\u00a0Staff Sgt. W. W. Kelley\/USMC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The airstrike severely wounded the team leader and killed another SF operator outright. It also blew the radio operator\u2019s right leg off. In the aftermath of the strike, an NVA soldier shot a fourth Green Beret four times in the chest. The only man left sufficiently intact to take charge was the SF medic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
Leathernecks stand by to board UH-34 helicopters during Operation Essex in 1967. Search and destroy missions were conducted in Antenna Valley, southwest of Da Nang. Image:\u00a0Staff Sgt. W. Schrider\/USMC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The medic shot and killed the NVA soldier who had just taken out his buddy, worked the radio, organized the defense, and stabilized the wounded. The only pilot crazy enough to attempt an extraction under such dire circumstances was South Vietnamese Capt. Thinh Dinh. Capt. Dinh was piloting an antiquated Kingbee version of the H-34 Choctaw helicopter.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
An equipment-laden infantryman of the 7th Marines moves from his helicopter in a landing zone south of Da Nang in February 24, 1968. Image:\u00a0Sgt. Bob Leak\/USMC CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a world liberally populated with Hueys, Cobras, Loaches and Chinooks, the piston-driven H-34 was lyrically obsolete. However, it was the only thing available piloted by the only handy lunatic willing to lay it all on the line.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
A wounded Leatherneck from 1st Battalion, 7th Marines is lifted from the mountainous jungle southwest of Da Nang into a medical evacuation helicopter. Image:\u00a0Lance Cpl. R. J. Del Vecchio\/USMC CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fat ugly helicopter plopped into a nearby clearing as the medic worked to get his comrades aboard. Once he had all five wounded SF troopers loaded up, Capt. Dinh lifted off. The WWII-vintage engine was screaming, but there just wasn\u2019t enough horsepower to lift the shot-up SF guys and the medic as well. He\u2019d have to wait alone for a follow-up bird. And then two other inbound aircraft aborted because of insane amounts of ground fire. This brave medic was going to die in that clearing, and it looked like there was nothing to be done about it. However, Capt. Dinh felt otherwise.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
Infantrymen of the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines board helicopters of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 363 on the USS\u00a0Iwo Jima<\/em>\u00a0(LPH-2). Image:\u00a0Cpl. Joe Brand\/USMC CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This extraordinary South Vietnamese pilot torqued his antiquated overloaded aircraft back around and headed back to the LZ. He landed once again long enough for the medic to climb aboard, but now he lacked the power to take off. In desperation, Capt. Dinh pivoted the big shot-up helo around on its forward landing gear struts and pointed the nose downhill. He accelerated across the LZ until reaching effective translational lift and barely cleared the trees. Capt. Dinh is the reason the medic survived to see another sunrise.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
In 1968, a ground crew member hooks an O-1 Bird Dog airplane to a South Vietnamese Air Force H-34 Choctaw helicopter at Da Nang Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The valiant medic was SP4 John Walton, son of department store magnate Sam Walton. Once he got home, John started a couple of profoundly successful companies of his own before diving into the Walmart empire. By his mid-50s, John Walton was the 4th richest man in America and the 11th richest person in the world. He was also, by all accounts, a really good guy. Tragically, John Walton perished in 2005 at age 58 when he crashed an ultralight airplane near the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, airport.<\/p>\n

The Sikorsky Helicopter<\/h2>\n

The antique helicopter that Capt. Dinh used to save John Walton\u2019s life in the A Shau was the Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw. First introduced in 1954, the H-34 was powered by a single Wright R-1820-84 Cyclone engine, essentially the same powerplant that was used on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The H-34 was originally designed as an anti-submarine warfare platform to be operated off of aircraft carriers.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
U.S. Marine Corps UH-34 Seahorse helicopters on the runway at Dong Ha in 1967. Image:\u00a0Pfc. Kenneth L. Fuller\/USMC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite its ungainly demeanor, the H-34 was profoundly successful. It remained in production from 1953 until 1970 and was utilized by the militaries of 25 different nations. In American service, the H-34 recovered astronauts and transported Presidents. The aircraft was re-engined with a turboshaft powerplant and produced under license in the UK as the Westland Wessex.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
In 1968, Marines of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines board CH-34 helicopters for Operation Kentucky. The photo was taken aboard the amphibious assault ship, USS\u00a0Iwo Jima<\/em>. Image:\u00a0Cpl. L. Preston Brown\/USMC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The H-34 was characterized by its unusually high cockpit set well above the crew compartment. The drive shaft from the big radial engine passed between the pilots. Some 2,108 copies were produced.<\/p>\n

\"A\n<\/picture>
The U.S. exported the H-34 helicopters to allied nations. Here, a Royal Netherlands Marine helicopter is in flight during the 4th International Helicopter Rescue Meet in 1970. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The H-34 turned out to be an exceptionally versatile design. Dependent upon environmental conditions, it could carry between 12 and 16 combat troops, or eight litters. However, the hot environment of Vietnam strained the machine. Though the H-34 did not fly in Vietnam with U.S. Army forces, it did see service with the U.S. Marines as the CH-34 and UH-34, and there were several airframes gifted to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The combat-proven radial engine was easier to maintain in an austere environment than were the newer turbine powerplants of the day. This led the U.S. Marine Corps to make extensive use of the type early in the war as both a troop transport and gunship. The armed version of the H-34 carried two M-60C belt-fed machineguns<\/a> along with a pair of 19-shot 2.75-inch rocket pods.<\/p>\n

Precious Cargo Lost<\/h2>\n

We take spaceflight for granted these days. Rockets both government and otherwise ferry folks into space for work and play. Back in July of 1961, however, spaceflight was a really big deal.<\/p>\n

\"Shown\n<\/picture>
A HUS-1 Seahorse, a U.S. Marine Corps version of the H-34, attempts to lift Liberty Bell 7 from the Atlantic Ocean. Ultimately, the pilot dropped the spacecraft because it was too heavy. Image:\u00a0NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On that fateful day, NASA astronaut Virgil \u201cGus\u201d Grissom strapped into the Mercury capsule #11 christened Liberty Bell 7 for a quick trip into space. The launch was uneventful. His flight lasted all of 15 minutes 30 seconds and terminated with a splashdown 262.5 miles downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. The Mercury capsule weighed 2,835 lbs. at launch.<\/p>\n

As you might imagine, a lot of really smart folks had capably done the math. The recovery plan involved an H-34 helicopter hooking up to the Liberty Bell 7 and lifting it as a slingload to a nearby aircraft carrier. Everything about the mission went as advertised until it was time to retrieve the spacecraft and Grissom from the chilly waters of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

\"NASA\n<\/picture>
A U.S. Marine HUS-1 Seahorse helicopter rescues astronaut\u00a0Virgil \u201cGus\u201d Grissom\u00a0from the Atlantic Ocean. Grissom\u2019s Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft sank moments before. Image:\u00a0NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mercury capsule was profoundly cramped. Getting in and out of the thing was a Gordian chore that typically required external assistance. In an effort at facilitating the astronaut\u2019s egress in an emergency, NASA engineers equipped the capsule with explosive bolts on the hatch seal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 23-lb. hatch was secured with a series of 70 titanium bolts. Each bolt was drilled and filled with something called MDF, or \u201cMild Detonating Fuse\u201d. When conflagrated, this MDF would cause each bolt to explosively fail in tension, propelling the hatch some 25 feet away and allowing the astronaut to escape the capsule. With the Liberty Bell 7 secured to the hovering H-34, the hatch blew unexpectedly, allowing the capsule to fill with water.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
President John F. Kennedy returns to the White House aboard Marine One, a VH-34D. With him are Chief of White House Secret Service Detail Jerry Behn and Press Secretary Pierre Salinger. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grissom successfully egressed the spacecraft, but the weight margins were tight. Once filled with water, the capsule weighed around 5,000 pounds, more than 1,000 pounds over the H-34\u2019s payload capacity. The H-34 pilot reluctantly punched the capsule off, and it sank in 16,000 feet of water.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the loss of the capsule, Grissom was accused of having inadvertently triggered the charge. He steadfastly denied the accusation. A rethink of space capsule hatches to an inward-opening design ultimately contributed to Grissom\u2019s death in the tragic launchpad fire of Apollo 1 six years later in 1967. <\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and daughter Caroline Kennedy depart the White House in a U.S. Marine Corps VH-34D helicopter. The VH-34D was later redesignated as the HUS-1Z. Image:\u00a0Abbie Rowe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was later postulated that the explosive bolts were likely ignited via static electricity from the hovering helicopter. Rotary-wing aircraft behave like huge Van der Graaf generators and produce powerful static electrical potentials. The capsule was eventually recovered from the ocean floor in 1999 and restored. It is on display at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, today.<\/p>\n

H-34 Choctaw\u00a0Technical Specifications<\/h2>\n