ASSAULT ON KHO TANG ISLAND—KNIFE 22

(PHOTO COURTESY JIM DUFFY)

Knife 22 was one of several CH-53s from the 21st Special Operations Squadron (SOS) along with HH-53s belonging to Air Rescue (ARRS) that were involved with inserting US Marines on a heavily defended Kho Tang Island on 15 May 1975.

The actions of that day are well documented however there is little known about one of the 21st SOS CH-53s, 68-10928 call sign Knife 22. Knife 22 sustained extensive battle damage however the flight crew was able to make it to the mainland before setting down. (Aircraft tail number was confirmed by Norm Paul who was one of the Flight Engineers that day)

Initially it was thought that the crew had landed in Cambodia. The plan was to strip what could be salvaged and then destroy the aircraft. During this process it was discovered that the aircraft was actually located in Thailand. With this knowledge the decision was made to recover the aircraft.

The above picture shows the aircraft sitting in the mud with several major components removed. While attempting to drag the aircraft from the mud the nose gear was pulled from the aircraft along with the cockpit floor. The damage was estimated in the area of 60,000 man-hours to repair.

The aircraft was eventually repaired and was seen in Germany. The aircraft is now assigned to the 20th SOS at Hurlbert Field in Florida.

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