"NO PUBLICITY"

One night while home at Koyuk Street on Eielson AFB, 22 miles out of Fairbanks Alaska I received a call from our NCOIC CMSgt Billy W. Bryant. He stated that we had a rescue mission. He had chosen me for the mission. I called my assistant crew chief and we met at the hangar where my helicopter was housed, an H-21B model. A huge hangar with heated floor where I have seen a U-2 aircraft at times. It was in the dead of winter, and that made it essential that our helicopters were kept in the hangar.

We pulled the helicopter out to the ramp, I got in the left seat, strapped in, and my assistant stood fireguard; while I fired up the engine, got clearance, engaged the rotors, and brought them up to speed. Pretty soon the pilot showed up, climbed into the right seat, strapped in, and we proceeded to take off to the south.

A T-39 aircraft was proceeding in front of us showing the way. We flew south for some time and finally came to a runway/clearing in the tundra, white with snow; which was fairly deep. A man was standing there about midway down the runway with a lantern in his left hand. We understood this was the location from the T-39, so we landed past him about 50 yards.

I got out while the pilot kept the helicopter running with the rotors engaged, and walked back to the man with the lantern. I then saw he was wearing a winter flight suit. He said, "I am General Moore", and I said, "Well, I think you should go and talk to your pilot", indicating to the general skyward, "he is circling overhead". I walked back to the helicopter with him, got a headset, put him in the left front seat, plugged in his headset, and showed him the mike-button. He keyed it; I then learned what we had in store, as he told his pilot in the T-39, "we have a man in pretty bad shape"; this man also a pilot, had crashed somewhere nearby with the general.

Of course in the dead of winter in Alaska it is dark most of the day. Being dark, the white snow helped us see, but I never saw the aircraft, in which they had crashed. We proceeded down this small trail, deep in snow carrying the rescue basket. About a quarter mile down this trail we came to this well weathered cabin, inside in a bed a man lay moaning, face a mess with clotted blood, blood matted hair, and unconscious. We loaded him in the basket and proceeded back down the trail to the helicopter.

With the deep snow and all the obstacles along the way we occasionally stumbled quite badly, and had to stop to rest a few times after a tumble in the snow. We finally got him to the helicopter and flew him to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.

When I opened the cabin door there were several Army officers waiting. The general came to the door and said, "NO PUBLICITY!" There was no doubt in anyone’s mind he meant what he said. We then transferred our unconscious pilot to the Army medical crew.

The pilot and I went into the ops building, got everything squared away, went back to the helicopter, fired it up, and flew back to Eielson Air Force Base.

The next day’s Fairbanks paper had a small paragraph about three pages from the front, in small print, about a bush pilot named Chapin (essentially saying; crashed his aircraft and was injured).

The general was Thomas E. Moore the Alaskan Air Command Commander.
(Bill Lyster)

YH-16 Mechanic----Almost

How I almost became one of the first YH-16 helicopter mechanics. Before I tell that story let me give you some background information on this huge bird that is pictured above.

In 1946 the Army Air Forces awarded Piasecki Aircraft a contract for the development of a tandem rotor helicopter intended for use in the long-range search and rescue (SAR) role. The resultant Piasecki Model PV-15 was originally given the military designation XR-16 (R denoting rotorcraft under the World War II system), though this was changed to XH-16 in June 1948. The Air Force placed an order for two service test and evaluation aircraft in June 1949, and subsequently allocated the serial numbers 50-1269 and -1270 for these machines.

Though originally intended for the SAR role the Transporter, as the H-16 was ultimately named, evolved during the design process into a heavy-lift craft equipped with a tail loading ramp and optimized for troop and cargo transport

The first Transporter (serial 50-1269) was powered by two 1650hp Pratt & Whitney piston engines and made its first flight in October 1953 with the designation YH-16. During construction the second prototype (50-1270) was modified to Model PV-45 standard through the replacement of its piston engines with two 1800shp Allison turboshafts. The change in powerplants and inclusion of various structural modifications prompted a redesignation to XH-27 in October 1952, though this was changed to YH-16A prior to the aircraft's first flight in 1955.

The Air Force ultimately decided against procuring the H-16 for operational use, and in 1955 the YH-16 was turned over to the Army for evaluation. The Army found the piston-driven Transporter to be underpowered and therefore awarded the reorganized Vertol Company a contract for the machine's conversion to turbine power. The aircraft was duly equipped with two 2100shp Allison turboshafts, modified to carry up to fifty troops, and redesignated YH-16B. Despite these improvements the type was ultimately judged to be unsuited to sustained operations under field conditions, and the Army terminated the H-16 test program in mid-1956.

Now that you have the background on the YH-16 I will continue with my story.

After completing Basic Training in September 1954 I received a direct duty assignment as a 43010 helicopter mechanic apprentice. Along with numerous others I was sent to Eglin AFB for the purpose of becoming a YH-16 helicopter mechanic.

It was much later that we found out about the YH-16. We were told it was a CX and most of us didn't even know what the YH-16 was. The aircraft was to be utilized for SAR purposes supporting the B-36 during flights over Alaska.

In the interim I was assigned to the climatic hangar working on the YH-21 blade de-icing test.

When the Air Force determined the B-36 was going to be replaced the YH-16 project was cancelled and we never seen the aircraft.

So that is how I "almost" became a YH-16 helicopter mechanic.
(Ron Smitham)

Clearing The Record On The Loss Of A Great Friend

The following information was placed on below website. It was incorrectly stated so I sent them my letter to have the record cleared. This is not a first hand story however I received the information from the survivors on June 16th,two days after the incident.

http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/m/m403.htm

SYNOPSIS: MSGT David V. McLeod was a crew member onboard an HH-53C helicopter shot down in northwestern Cambodia on June 14, 1973. The aircraft went down over Tonle Sap, a large lake forming the southern border of Siemreab Province. Just north of the lake are the ruins of famed Angkor Wat.

The fate of the rest of the crew is unknown, but as none are missing, it is assumed that they were either rescued or their bodies recovered. Another possibility, although remote, is that the crew consisted of indigenous personnel. In this case, U.S. records would not record their loss. [see update below]


I am writing to comment on your BIO concerning MSgt. David V. McLeod,Jr. USAF. He was the Flight Engineer on a HH-53C Jolly Green Giant helicopter attached to the 40th Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron (ARRSq) that went down (crashed) in Tonle Sap, a large lake on the southern border of Siemreab Province in Northwestern Cambodia. THE HELICOPTER WAS NOT SHOT DOWN. As an update to your file on Msgt. McLeod.

The aircraft and crew were returning from strip SAR (Search & Rescue alert) in Thailand to their homebase (Nakhon Phanom, RTAFB, Thailand.

Normal routine for the returning crews was to fly out over the lake in Cambodia and meet a USAF C-130 refuel aircraft and make several (dry) contacts on the refueling hoses then to actually refuel from the C-130 and fly back to NKP, Thailand.

On 14 June 1973 The Jolly Green was in the refueling formation with the C-130 and had just disconnected from the refueling hose when the helicopter rapidly pitched nose up then nose down, doing this several times. The helicopter descended into the lake upside down. The two pararescuemen sitting on the ramp were thrown out of the back of the helicopter when it pitched nose up. Normal procedure for air refueling was, all crewmembers have on backpack parachutes, all windows, doors and hatches closed except for the aft cargo ramp(optional).

The pilot, Gilbert Allan Rovito, Capt, USAF (body recovered)and co-pilot, Francis E. Meador, USAF (body recovered)was also killed in the crash.

An effort was made to recover the helicopter and Msgt.McLeod's body. A sling was attached to the underbody of the helicopter, e.g.. the cargo hook and the landing gear. When the helicopter was lifted it was found that the impact of the helicopter going in inverted had sheared the airframe, at the airframe to inside deck (cargo)area. The helicopter broke apart at this shear and the top of the helicopter was
unrecoverable. Msgt. McLeod's body was never found. The inside of the wreckage and surrounding area was searched extensively. (given the time and situation).

The two Pararescuemen that were thrown out relayed this to me on 16 June 1973. The reason is because I was a flight Engineer in the 40th ARRSq during that period and the crew of that helicopter was my HARD crew. (we had crews assigned as hard crew members such as pilot, co-pilot,Flight Engineer, and two pararescue men). Those five people made up a hard crew and when the crew was assigned to fly, all five would be scheduled to fly together. The reason it wasn't me that was killed is due to my brother being killed in Florida and I was on emergency leave. Msgt. McLeod was my supervisor and was flying in my place until I returned to NKP, Thailand. I returned the day after the accident happened. The crash was relayed to me when I returned.
(Woody Freeman)