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- Title
- Iroquois Helicopters Flying Over the Rice Paddies
- Description
- Iroquois helicopters flying over the rice paddies. Photo by Max Speedy. The flying was what we had been trained for and yet so very different. Unpronounceable towns, never ending rice paddies, and more formations of helicopters than I had ever seen before. During my first touch down into a Landing Zone I was thinking ‘I’ve got a full year of this. What if I get shot on my very first day?’ But I didn’t and remarkably quickly we all got into the daily routine of [being] up around 0430, eating a hurried breakfast, collecting our ‘C’ rations, jokingly called food by some, then out to our ‘birds’. Most of the time we took off through the morning fog, formed up on top, and headed off hoping there would be a hole to go down through at the other end – generally there was.
- Subjects
- flights, Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-4528
- Title
- Helicopter Crew Wait to be Called on a Mission
- Description
- Waiting for a mission at Marine Base Vandergift. Photo by Tom Everhart
- Subjects
- helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, soldiers, helicopter crews, missions, Army, Landing Zone (LZ)
- Local Identifier
- 16-3696
- Title
- An Iroquois ‘Huey’ Prepares to Land on the HMAS Sydney
- Description
- An Iroquois ‘Huey’ prepares to land on the HMAS Sydney off the Vietnam coast.Photo by Phillip Heeb.
- Subjects
- Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS), Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-4579
- Title
- The Squadron Worked In Conjunction With Aircraft Of The Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam and United States Forces
- Description
- In November 1967 a 9 Squadron Iroquois lands to pick up members of the 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR) during operation Santa Fe, a grueling three week-long operation through inhospitable country some 23 kilometres from the Task Force Base at Nui Dat. A second RAAF service began in Vietnam on 3 May 1966 when an advance party from No. 9 Squadron arrived at Vung Tau. The squadron’s helicopters arrived on 6 June aboard HMAS Sydney and were flown to Vung Tau that day before moving to Nui Dat at the end of the month. No. 9 Squadron’s helicopters carried out a variety of roles in Vietnam. Most important were the transport of infantry and logistic support, but the helicopters were also used to drop leaflets over enemy territory. Some were also used in aerial spraying to rid the base of mosquitoes and, more aggressively, to kill vegetative growth around the base and to destroy agricultural plots in Viet Cong territory, denying the enemy a source of food. Just two months after the squadron’s arrival in Vietnam, two pilots were called on to drop ammunition to the beleaguered troops of D Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, at Long Tan. Flying in appalling weather at tree-top height; they dropped ammunition to the soldiers on the ground through driving rain and under intense Viet Cong fire. The squadron operated again that night, after the battle, to retrieve the wounded, guided only by the light emanating from the open hatches of armoured personnel carriers. No. 9 Squadron was re-equipped with larger Iroquois helicopters in 1967. Now equipped with 16 helicopters, the squadron worked in conjunction with aircraft of the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam and United States forces, on the dangerous tasks of transporting men to and from patrols and evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield. On some occasions these operations ended with the death of helicopter crewmen and the destruction of the aircraft. The last members of 9 Squadron left Vung Tau on 17 December 1971. Six squadron members were killed on operations, and another man, attached to the squadron from No. 1 Operational Support Unit, was also killed.
- Subjects
- task forces, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), transport vessels, transport aircraft, infantries, ammunition for small arms, ammunition for artillery, ammunition, soldiers, wounded, armored personnel carriers, battles, Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV), patrol, aircraft, destruction, Iroquois Helicopters, United States Forces, helicopters, Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS)
- Local Identifier
- 16-4620
- Title
- Leaving Nui Dat For Vung Tau Inside A RAAF Iroquois Helicopter
- Description
- Members of 4RAR/NZ (Anzac) leaving Nui Dat for Vung Tau inside a RAAF Iroquois helicopter. Other troops in 4RAR were transported by road convoys and with RAAF Caribou aircraft, ending their combat role in South Vietnam, 1971
- Subjects
- Royal Australian Regiment (RAR), troops, transport aircraft, convoys, Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-4690
- Title
- 1st Cavalry Assaulting From a Helicopter I–corps
- Description
- Unit of the 1st Cavalry Assaulting from a Helicopter I–corps, December 1967. Photo by Gilles Carron
- Subjects
- 1st Cavalry Division, I Corps (South Vietnam), soldiers, Iroquois Helicopters, helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-4586
- Title
- An Iroquois of 9 Squadron In Flight
- Description
- A familiar sight soldiers who served in Vietnam; an Irquois of 9 Squadron in flight. So ubiquitous were these helicopters that for many they have become the iconic image of the war.
- Subjects
- Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-4529
- Title
- Huey Military Helicopter on the Ground
- Description
- Photo by Bill Foster who served with the "Blues" D Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. Nov. 1970-Aug. 1971. Courtesy of Mike Gustin.
- Subjects
- helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-3988
- Title
- Last Known Flight of a "Kingsman Bird" Huey Helicopter
- Description
- The last known flight of a Kingsman Bird with the Kingsman nose art decal, March 1971. Photo by Mike Grisey.
- Subjects
- Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, aerial photographs, aerial views, Vietnam, flights, pilots, helicopter crews
- Local Identifier
- 16-3690
- Title
- Kingsman Huey Destroyed by Detonated Mine
- Description
- Kingsman Huey destroyed by detonated mine. "It exploded under the pilots seat, blowing him and seat through back of aircraft. I medevaced him to hospital in Phu Bai. He survived his wounds thanks to armored seat. One GI on firebase was killed when aircraft flipped on him. Mike Grisey says: I remember that mission... If it wasn't for the Door Gunner's eagle eye spotting the wires leading to mine on top of that abandoned fire base, we would have landed on top of it, and that could have been '798 blown apart... By the time we notified the ships behind us, it was too late." Photo by and comments by Tom Everhart
- Subjects
- Killed In Action (KIA), cockpits, land mines, mines, explosions, explosives, Vietnam War, helicopters, helicopter crews, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, pilots, Wounded in action (WIA), medevacs, hospitals, Fire Support Bases (FSB), gunners
- Local Identifier
- 16-3692
- Title
- Helicopter that Received a Number of Shots From the Viet Cong
- Description
- "This is a Dust Off chopper with the doors off it. Look at the litter poles and the liter/stretcher on the floor. Could be with the 237th Dust Off due to the yellow skid caps. And notice no guns! Dust Off never carried guns." Comments by Charlie Whaley. "Bad neighborhood, they shot us up on the way out!! It was truly a lets "Get outa here" 'copter....") Photo and comment by Howard Swede Ware
- Subjects
- combatants, helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, damage, damage reports, Vietnam
- Local Identifier
- 16-3684
- Title
- Picking Up Wounded Men Proved to be One of the Primary Functions of 9 Squadron Helicopters in Vietnam
- Description
- An Australian soldier of 5RAR wounded by a booby trap during Operation Beaumaris is lifted onto a 9 Squadron Iroquois. Known as ‘dust off’s ‘ picking up wounded men proved to be one of the primary functions of 9 Squadron helicopters in Vietnam. The squadron’s crews, often operating under fire, saved many lives while risking their own on such missions.
- Subjects
- photojournalism, traps, battles, Iroquois Helicopters, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR)
- Local Identifier
- 16-4566
- Title
- Rustic Landing Zone With Three Hueys
- Description
- Central Highlands '69. Photo by Howard Swede Ware
- Subjects
- Landing Zone (LZ), helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, Provincial Highland
- Local Identifier
- 16-3681
- Title
- Candid Photo of a Huey Crew, Mid-Air
- Description
- Candid Photo of a Huey Crew, in Air. The names of these soldiers are unknown. Photo by Ronald Isom
- Subjects
- helicopter crews, pilots, helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-3680
- Title
- UH-1D Was the Most Commonly Used Huey During the Vietnam War
- Description
- UH-1D the most widely used Huey used in Vietnam along with the higher powered same size H model. Photo by Tom Everhart
- Subjects
- helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, military deployment, military aircraft, Vietnam
- Local Identifier
- 16-3694
- Title
- Iroquois Helicoper
- Description
- To most Australians who served in Vietnam the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) presence was exemplified by the Iroquois helicopter. Regarded as emblematic of the conflict, the Iroquois, an image of which appears on the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial on Canberra's Anzac Parade, played a vital role in carrying men to and from operations, transporting supplies and, importantly, getting the wounded from the field to a hospital in time to save the lives of many who would otherwise have perished. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) began its involvement in the war in 1964 when a flight of Caribous began flying transport operations around South Vietnam. The following year RAAF helicopters began operations and in 1967 a squadron of Canberra bombers arrived in the country. Other RAAF personnel performed a variety of roles in Vietnam, from aeromedical evacuations to airfield construction and combat flying with United States forces. '3 Squadrons in Vietnam Air Operations' By 1967 three RAAF Squadrons were flying very different kinds of operations in Vietnam. For No. 9 Squadron's helicopter crews day-to-day operational life meant close work with the infantry and dangerous flights in support of ground operations. No. 2 Squadron's aircrew flew high above the war, bombing remote targets as part of a United States Air Force wing, while Caribou crews of No. 35 Squadron flew supply runs throughout South Vietnam risking life and limb landing on barely maintained airstrips at nondescript jungle outposts in support of special forces units.
- Subjects
- Iroquois Helicopters, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
- Local Identifier
- 16-4471
- Title
- Combat Insertion Into a "Hot" LZ
- Description
- Combat insertion into a "hot" LZ (Landing Zone). Photo by Douglas Pike.
- Subjects
- combatants, Landing Zone (LZ), U.S. Military, helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, Vietnam, Vietnam War
- Local Identifier
- 16-2932
- Title
- Soldiers Delivered to Battle via UH-1 Helicopter
- Description
- UH-1 helicopter, aerial delivery of personnel. During the Vietnam War, the United States relied on the helicopter as never before. The helicopter's role in combat expanded enormously in this conflict as thousands of "choppers" rapidly transported personnel throughout the war zone. Heavily armed helicopters offered a fearsome component to ground operations as close air support. Photo by Douglas Pike.
- Subjects
- combat, Vietnam War, helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, Huey helicopters, aerial activities, soldiers, war photography, military personnel, U.S. Military
- Local Identifier
- 16-2943
- Title
- American Iroquois Helicopters Fly Over Australian Soldiers
- Description
- American Iroquois helicopters fly over Australian soldiers in February 1967. The extensive and innovative tactical use of helicopters was an important part of the American war effort. So widespread was their use that, for many, these aircraft came to symbolise the war in Vietnam To the present day helicopters, particularly the Iroquois, figure prominently in popular perceptions of the Vietnam War.
- Subjects
- photojournalism, soldiers, troops, Huey helicopters, war photography, Iroquois Helicopters
- Local Identifier
- 16-4527
- Title
- Huey With Evidence of Combat Damage
- Description
- Huey coming back to base with evidence of combat. Photo by John Clarke
- Subjects
- smokers, damage, combat, crashes, helicopters, Huey helicopters, Iroquois Helicopters, Vietnam War, Vietnam, battles, Landing Zone (LZ), air transport, air forces, pilots, soldiers
- Local Identifier
- 16-3523