These helicopters were used in Vietnam and Thailand as LBR (local base rescue).
They would lift off, hook up a firefighting kit and follow aircraft on emergencies in for the landing. If a fire occurred, the husky would hover, drop off the two firefighters inside and then be a few feet behind the firefighters pushing the fire away from the cockpit. There was only enough foam to rescue the pilots, not to extinguish the fire. Effective if they were quick.
Amazing aircraft! I occasionally used to see them over Harwich, England when I was 8 or 10 years old. They were based at USAF Bentwaters. Harwich must have been at the limit of their operational range...
Thanks for posting this. I was recently at Robins AFB and they have one of these in the museum there (although it had a radial engine) and the rotor arrangment was somewhat puzzling. Your video cleared things right up for us. Rather innovative, I thought- and no need for a traditional tail rotor. Still, I'm thinking the test pilot must have been shaking his head when they rolled this thing out. . .
These helicopters were used in Vietnam and Thailand as LBR (local base rescue).
They would lift off, hook up a firefighting kit and follow aircraft on emergencies in for the landing. If a fire occurred, the husky would hover, drop off the two firefighters inside and then be a few feet behind the firefighters pushing the fire away from the cockpit. There was only enough foam to rescue the pilots, not to extinguish the fire. Effective if they were quick.
johnhowlind 1 year ago
Amazing aircraft! I occasionally used to see them over Harwich, England when I was 8 or 10 years old. They were based at USAF Bentwaters. Harwich must have been at the limit of their operational range...
Steeyuv 2 years ago
Thanks for posting this. I was recently at Robins AFB and they have one of these in the museum there (although it had a radial engine) and the rotor arrangment was somewhat puzzling. Your video cleared things right up for us. Rather innovative, I thought- and no need for a traditional tail rotor. Still, I'm thinking the test pilot must have been shaking his head when they rolled this thing out. . .
nvhds3j8vs 2 years ago