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Marine Phrog hits 40-year milestone

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http://www.dcmilitary.com/navy/tester/9_30/national_news/30349-1.html

July 29, 2004
Marine Phrog hits 40-year milestone
Where were you in 1964?

myfrog.jpg


If you were serving at the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, N.C., you probably remember the first delivery of the Boeing H-46 Sea Knight, the tandem rotor combat assault helicopter now in its fifth decade of service.

At a recent New River ceremony commemorating its anniversary, dozens of veterans present at the Sea Knight's creation and many others born long after 1964 celebrated the H-46's remarkable record.

Patrick M. Shanahan, Boeing Rotorcraft vice president and general manager, represented the company at the event and noted with pride that despite its age, "Today's Sea Knight is the most reliable, affordable and safest helicopter in the Navy and Marine Corps inventory." The H-46 deployed almost immediately after delivery to Vietnam and has served with distinction in nearly every Marine campaign since, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The "Phrog," an affectionate nickname that evokes its amphibian appearance, has been a ubiquitous aircraft in both Marine and Navy service, flying in combat, combat support and combat service support. Although the Navy already has selected the H-60 Sea Hawk helicopter to provide vertical replenishment at sea, a common Sea Knight mission, the Marines will continue operating Phrogs for at least a decade as the Corps transitions to the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Lt.

Gen. Mike Hough, Marine Corps deputy commandant for air, added, "We'll celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sea Knight, but not the 60th."

Unlike most military rotorcraft, the Sea Knight began life as the V-107, a commercial helicopter, designed at the Vertol Company with its own funds in the late 1950s. Boeing acquired the enterprise in 1960 and adapted the 107 to military missions.

The Navy and Marines adopted the helicopter because its tandem rotor design provided exceptional reliability, efficiency and load capability. Boeing manufactured more than 600 Sea Knights for U.S. and international customers before production in Philadelphia ended in 1971. The program continued under license in Japan until 1991.

Even though all Boeing Sea Knights are at least 33 years old, the venerable helicopter has a well-earned reputation for ruggedness. A V-107 civil version, operated by Columbia Helicopters in Portland, Ore., is the world's high-time helicopter with nearly 60,000 flight hours over its 41-year career.

Lt. Col Mitchell Bauman, Marine Corps H-46 program manager, officiated at the anniversary. Retired Marine general Fred McCorkle, a veteran of 1,500 Sea Knight combat missions, regaled the audience with hair-raising stories of H-46 combat prowess.

The event ended with a traditional military cake-cutting ceremony featuring the oldest and youngest Phrog pilots attending. Retired Col. Richard Carr, a Vietnam veteran, served a slice of birthday cake to 1st Lt. Billy Jackson, a recent flight school graduate, to honor the helicopter.

Following the ceremony, Boeing sponsored a reception at the New River Officer's Club. As attendees reminisced about Phrogs and phlying, both Marine Sea Knights and MV-22s, part of the new VMX-22 Marine tiltrotor training squadron, passed overhead on practice approaches to the runway nearby, a tribute to the past, present and future.
 
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