Built in July 1963, by the Bell Helicopter Co. of Ft. Worth, Texas, for the United States Army, this aircraft was originally assigned stateside to the 4^th Aviation Company. In February of 1966 it was shipped to Vietnam, where it became part of the 611TH Transportation Company, serving until June of 1967 when it was returned to the United States for Gunship Conversion.

Shipped again to Vietnam, in January 1968, it was assigned to the Gunship Platoon of the 120TH Aviation Company based at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon. During the first hours of the 1968 “Tet Offensive” it was one of 8 helicopters that defended the Air Base and the City, taking small arms hits on 1/31/68 and 2/2/68. This platoon, “The Razorbacks”, was credited by the Mayor of Saigon, with the saving of the City. “4567” continued service until February 1971 when it was transferred to the Navy.

Accepted by U.S. Navy Attack Helicopter Squadron 3, HAL-3, at Binh Thuy in February 1971, it was cleaned, necessary repairs made, and new markings were applied. This squadron, “The Seawolves” was tasked with naval close air support for River Patrol Forces in Vietnam, Task Force 116, including PBR and Swift Boat fire support, Seal Team insertions and extractions as well as joint operations with Army units. Serving first, with Detachment 1 at “Solid Anchor” and then with Detachment 7 in Dong Tam, this Gunship flew hundreds of combat missions over the Mekong Delta supplying firepower for the Navy. In October of 1971, it was deemed that this aircraft, approaching its 9TH year of service, was in need of a major overhaul. It then left Vietnam and was returned to the Bell Helicopter Co.

By the time the rebuild was completed in the summer of 1972, there was no further need of additional aircraft in Vietnam, as the war was winding down. It served as a training aircraft at Ft. Rucker, Alabama until 1975, was then transferred to St. Paul, Minnesota and then Wisconsin as part of the Army National Guard. It last flight was in January 1984, after which it was cannibalized for parts and later sold for surplus/scrap. Severely vandalized while in storage, it was sold in 1997 to John Kessler of Florida who began the long restoration process, which continues to this day through present owner, Scott Kraska of Naples, Florida.

“The Emblem of the Vietnam War”

This aircraft is thought to be 1 of only 2 known Seawolf Gunship still in existence. There are UH-1s painted to look like aircraft from this unit at places like the Pensacola Naval Air Museum, The SEAL-UDT Museum and at Patriots Point in South Carolina, however these are not ACTUAL veterans of HA(L)-3, but commemorative representations of what they looked like.

When received from the Army in 1971 the Navy was more concerned with mechanical function than appearance. The Army markings were sprayed over and Navy markings were stenciled in their place. 4567 appears much today as it did during the summer of 1971. The magnesium fuselage does not hold paint as well as steel, and with all the hard use it needed to be constantly “touched up”. This was done in the field with spray guns and even spray cans. Bullet holes were simply hammered flat and small patch panels were riveted in place. There are at least 6 patched bullet holes, which still remain. At one time there were many more but the 1972 rebuild replaced sections of the floor and fuselage skin.

One important piece of information has just been discovered, the “modex” number. This number was assigned to all Huey Helicopters while with the Navy. This 3-digit code would have been on both sides of the upper tail surface and in small numbers above the Seawolf nose art. In this case the number was "301". While we can document the participation of this particular helicopter with the Seawolves through official Army equipment records as well as Pilot and Gunner log books, the modex numbers would only be recorded by the squadron. With this number we can now seek out original photos of this Gunship in combat.

The armament long removed, will be replaced as it is found. This will be a difficult task as most obsolete weapons systems are scrapped instead of sold and are rare to find. The restoration process will eventually include new paint, as the paint from the 1970s will continue to chip and deteriorate.

Crew, Armament and Tactics

The Men and Their Machines

A UH-1B Huey Gunship was manned by a crew of 4. The pilot, who sat on the Starboard side of the aircraft, performed the main flight functions and controlled the firing of outboard rocket pods. The Co-pilot, in addition to sharing flight controls, also controlled the exterior guns. The gunners were enlisted men, and one manned each door. Flight clothing by 1971 was varied and in addition to flight suits, two-piece garments both camouflage and olive green were worn. All crewmembers wore body armor for protection from small arms fire, as well as a flight helmet for crash protection and communication. Enlisted crewmen frequently sat on panels of salvaged armor plate. Flame retardant gloves were used for hand protection and a special asbestos mitt was carried to change M60 barrels during flight, if needed.

The armament, not present, would have included 2.75” rocket tubes, 7 per side as well as dual remote aimed M134 Miniguns, one per side. Often one minigun would be removed if a door-mounted minigun was used on that side. The rear doors would also be manned by extensive firepower. The Port (left) side would have a door mounted M134 Minigun and the Starboard (right) side a door mounted 50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun. Supplemental weapons carried on board would have included M60 machine guns, as backups for the door guns, as well as M16s, an M79 hand held grenade launcher, and personal side arms. Firepower was essential, as these aircraft would usually attack at speeds of less than 100 MPH.

Each flight consisted of 2 aircraft, called a Fire Team. The Lead Ship would initiate the attack and instruct the other (Trail Bird) on the nature and direction of the attack, when to engage and when to break contact. As one helicopter would engage the other helicopter would come in behind the first, just as it was finishing a firing run, providing cover for the exiting aircraft and then beginning its own attack, in turn being covered by the first ship that had now turned to attack again. This would continue until the threat was dispatched or until the helicopters needed to refuel and re arm.

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