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by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)
OPERATION ALLIED FORCE
OPERATION DECISIVE EDGE (1996)
The CH-47D Serial Number 88-0101 Story
In November 1968, at Boeing Vertol's plants in Morton, PA, CH-47C manufacturer number M3275 was test flown, released for flight and accepted by the U.S.Army with serial number 68-15846.
A month later the helicopter was ferried to NCAD (New Cumberland Army Depot) for incorporation of modifications kits required prior to deployment to the Republic of Vietnam. In February 1969, after cross country flight to Showe Army Depot (SHAD) in Stockton, CA, the aircraft was readied for sea shipment to South East Asia. With the long sea voyage over, 68-15846 was assigned to 180th ASHC "Big Windy", operating out of Tuy Hoa.
May 1969 was a tough month with the 180th supporting units in II Corps area (Central Highlands) such as Capitol and White Horse RoK Divisions, ARVNS, 173rd Airborne and 5th Special Forces. Charlie was heating up the Phu Hiep environs with many mortar rounds dropping in but still not in range of the 180th.
Not so lucky time was March 1970: during abort of a 105mm howitzer pickup, 68-15846 got zapped by 30 cal automatic weapons fire, 29 holes in fuselage and one in the pilot's leg.
In March 1972, after three years of flying combat resupply and coordinated assault missions agains the best Charlie and NVA (North Vietnamese Army) could muster throughout the II Corps area, the helicopter, with 1,669 total flight hours (1,639 hours of hard combat time), was inducted into the Depot at Air Vetnam, Saigon, for its 18th P.E. cyclic maintenance and conversion into a big "C".
In February 1972 the helicopter was back home again in CONUS after five years and 2,337 combat hours for a badly needed respite while undergoing High Time Depot Maintenance at NCAD. Six months later, 68-15846 was back to work, this time on an assigment in Europe as a member of the 180th AVN Co. "Big Windy", which it left Nam after a distinguished combat tour.
A rather mundane period for an ex-combat veteran, from 1974 to 1988, flying classified missions across West Germany with no one trying to knock it out of the sky. This aircraft 68-15846 is rather unique in that its entire service life, except for transit time, was spent with just one Aviation Company, the 180th "Big Windy".
In June 1988 the Chinook was on the road again via the 70th Trans BN at Mannheim, West Germany, where it was processed and prepared for C-5A Galaxy shipment to enter the holding pattern at Olathe, Kansas, until the order "move out" was received for the trip to Boeing Helicopters in Eastern Pennsylvania, for conversion to the CH-47D standard.
One year later the helicopter, bearing its new serial number 88-0101, began its second lease of life in the ranks of E Company, 502nd Aviation Regiment at the Italian Air Base of Aviano.
(Aeromedia, May 1999)