Sea King retirement

[Gatordev]

What about the range birds at Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii?

Maybe they don't count them as "operational" since it's not a squadron.

edit: just shot an email to my buddy (H-3, C-26 type at PMRF). I'll have a def. answer soon.

They're all gone there, as well. Actually, I don't know if all the airframes are gone, but they should be. My last flight in my fleet squadron was flying up there to do a photo op w/ all 5 birds flying at the same time. That was their last big hurrah and was back in May.

@Chuck:

Once the Phrog was gone, it was an all Sikorsky fleet anyway. H-3 = Sikorsky. I too, got my 1.0 in an H-3 as a Mid, doing a log run down to the VaCapes ACM range where we dropped off some guys on one of the antennas in the middle of the ocean.

 

[E5B]

Sorry BigIron you're right. Ok, well then it's an all Sikorsky fleet. You guys still have the ballsiest thing in the air. Not to mention the most comfy cockpit seats.

I'll second that. It makes a 4-5 hour flight that much easier to deal with.

 

[zab1001]

They're all gone there, as well. Actually, I don't know if all the airframes are gone, but they should be. My last flight in my fleet squadron was flying up there to do a photo op w/ all 5 birds flying at the same time. That was their last big hurrah and was back in May.

Eh...message from my buddy at PMRF this morning:

(my question was, "are you guys still flying H-3s?")

"Of course. HC-2 had the H-3 retirement ceremony last week, but PMRF is
still flying them (I gave a guy a NATOPS check today if that gives you any
idea of how long we are going to be flying these damn things) and so is Pax
River SAR."

 

[HH-60H]

I was also told that due to some new nationwide plan that the CG is in charge of all overwater SAR and the AF the overland stuff. But this was just a casual coversation, and I have done no research to back it up.

Negative. That has always(?) been the plan. The places that Navy has or had full time SAR aircraft (Pensacola, Pax, etc.) they were primarly in place to support Navy operations. Overall SAR (civilian) overwater belongs to the CG, but there are some places that the Navy still provides support. I.e. in Jax the helo squadrons take turns as the back-up SAR helo during the week. So if CG can't support a 2nd SAR scenario, they call us.

When we talk about AF or CG being in charge of SAR, we are talking about the administrative and operational stuff, who runs the SAR plan? Who calls off the SAR? Dividing up the area to be searched, etc. Any capable military unit can take part in the SAR, either searching or rescuing, it's just that CG or AF is in charge.

Pags: I know you didn't know either way, I'm just throwing the info out for everyone's knowledge.

 

[Gatordev]

Eh...message from my buddy at PMRF this morning:

(my question was, "are you guys still flying H-3s?")

"Of course. HC-2 had the H-3 retirement ceremony last week, but PMRF is
still flying them (I gave a guy a NATOPS check today if that gives you any
idea of how long we are going to be flying these damn things) and so is Pax
River SAR."

I stand corrected. Good thing we went and did that photo-op.

 

[SteveG75]

The Navy helo community has never taken SAR seriously anyway - The AF and CG do this stuff say in and day out pretty well.

Whidbey SAR might have an issue with that statement. They basically do all the overland mountain SAR in northern WA. The AF out of McChord covers the south and the CG Dolphins do the water. They did 16 rescues in 2005 including 6 medevacs. Whidbey may be the only NAS with its own SAR left.

BTW: Whidbey SAR just traded their H-3's for MH-60S 's.

 

[Pags]

Negative. That has always(?) been the plan. The places that Navy has or had full time SAR aircraft (Pensacola, Pax, etc.) they were primarly in place to support Navy operations. Overall SAR (civilian) overwater belongs to the CG, but there are some places that the Navy still provides support. I.e. in Jax the helo squadrons take turns as the back-up SAR helo during the week. So if CG can't support a 2nd SAR scenario, they call us.

When we talk about AF or CG being in charge of SAR, we are talking about the administrative and operational stuff, who runs the SAR plan? Who calls off the SAR? Dividing up the area to be searched, etc. Any capable military unit can take part in the SAR, either searching or rescuing, it's just that CG or AF is in charge.

Pags: I know you didn't know either way, I'm just throwing the info out for everyone's knowledge.

virtual rep points for the knowledge

 

[A4sForever]

.....
We need A4s to wax poetic about the Sea Pig's retirement...

Uh-oh ... can't do it, Chuckster ... I don't know squat about the SH-3.

Other than it plucked me out of the water once --- and off a mountaintop once --- all training --- and it crashed once at the ship when I was among the next group waiting to man up for a shuttle into the beach.

That and the fact that the sweaty SH-3 SAR drivers @ NUW have displayed an annoying propensity to slow down/stop/hover opposite my house (a few miles down the beach from the tower) during the good WX when my wife is "sunbathing" in various diminishing stages of "sunbathing attire".

But HELO's and nostalgia ?? I still like the H-34 Seabat (Navy)/Seahorse (Marines). I rode it at Pendleton in a couple of vertical assaults --- all training, but we thought we looked "mean" --- on the mock Vietnamese village in the '60's. If it had been the real-deal ... ..... we would have all been killed.

The UH-34D ... now THAT was a HELO.



GlobalSecurity.org website says:

....That an aircraft, initially rejected by all the armed services, should ultimately serve for so long and in such numbers is remarkable. Even more commendable is the genuine affection with which the aircrews who flew it in combat recall their service. Every year thousands of Marines who flew the H-34 in Vietnam still meet at venues all around the country to recall their experiences in a magnificent flying machine and one that meant so much to them .....