Target Fixation
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From: Sale, Australia
Target Fixation
During our time in Vietnam we lost a gunship and its crew of four in a particular action, best described by the wingman as follows,
A look on the internet comes up short on the subject of target fixation, so I'm wondering if any of you mud movers can provide any information as it applies to your role.
You can PM me at babraham AT netspace.net.au
Many thanks.
On that Saturday, May 31, 1969, we were supporting the 9th ARVN with leap frogging insertions. The slicks had been busy all day, while the guns took turns - two at a time, covering the insertions. CPT ZZZZ crew and mine were at Ben Tre rearming and refueling when we heard that the slicks were taking fire while dropping off troops at the PZ. Several ships took rounds. "The AO was located near the city of Cai Lai about 20 km NW of Dong Tam, the 9th Division's base camp, across the river from Ben Tre island. There had been two eagle flight lifts of ARVN grunts and the fire teams were to provide close air support. "The two gunships on station in the AO at the time came under heavy fire. One of the co-pilots was wounded. The damaged aircraft all headed for Dong Tam to include the two gunships. ZZZZ and I immediately cranked-up and beat feet to the AO. "It was mass confusion by the time we arrived on station. The ARVN had mingled with VC and now they both were shooting at whatever aircraft they could. (Yes, you are reading this correct.) As the slicks dropped off the ARVN in the LZ, they would turn and fire at the aircraft. (Must have been something about being left in a hot LZ that pissed them off. It was easy to blame the Chopper crews.) "There were no Americans on the ground, yet our C&C aircraft advised us that we were to hold our fire and only to provide cover the slicks on their way out. But by the time we got to the area, we figured out our own rules of engagement. Our slicks were being shot up by the ARVN and we were taking fire from VC, who were all over the place. Of course, one of the C&C's back-seaters was the local ARVN colonel. "ZZZZ spotted Charlie first and immediately rolled in. The ground fire was tremendous, so we decided to come in from a different angle on the next run. As we circled to get in position, a large group of VC started running across a semi-open area. ZZZZ broke hard right and dove the ship toward them. By the time ZZZZ was set up on his run, most of the VC were in the tree-line firing up at us. However, there was this one who appeared determined to take on a Charlie Model gunship all by himself. He stopped, turned and began firing directly at ZZZZ. "I cannot say if ZZZZ was hit or not, but the aircraft flew straight into the ground taking out the one lone standing VC. I can say that the aircraft was repeatedly hit by the people in the tree line and very possibly by the lone VC. I did not hear any radio call. The aircraft and door gunners were firing all the way down. No one can ever say for sure, but it would be hard to believe that a gifted and seasoned helicopter pilot such as CPT ZZZZ would fly into the paddy unless mortally wounded. "The aircraft hit extremely hard on the chin bubble and just seemed to crush flat to the ground at that point. No bounce, just sort of crushed like clay. The fire was a terrific ball that immediately engulfed the entire aircraft. "As I orbited the crashed chopper, we watched in disbelief as a figure stood up and walked out through the boiling flames. I rolled around and then giving myself enough space for a 'flying approach,' we were able to land close to ZZZZ's chopper. "By the time we landed, just moments later, the aircraft and whatever was in it, was a burning black heap in a pile. Like I said the burning figure, YYYY, just walked out of it. He didn't bump into anything or even climb over nothing - there was nothing left. I know that the gunner and crew chief were burned in the crash with ZZZZ. The ammo on ZZZZ's aircraft was cooking off and exploding now, not to mention that there were still a lot of bad guys shooting at us from various positions in the tree-line. I was seated in the cockpit on the right as AC and I had landed my ship next to the crash on my side. I sent my door gunner out on the left to lay down a covering fire. He had the M-60 going to town with a 100 round belt draped over his shoulder. While the gunner surpressed, the crew chief ran out to the burned pilot - it was YYYY, the co-pilot. His Nomex was completely burned away. Nothing was left of his uniform or his boots except a small band around his waist where there had once been a belt and part of his flight helmet. There were no ears, eyes, hair, or facial features left. When the crew chief removed YYYY's helmet, he was to find that the foam liner had melted to his head. YYYY appeared to feel no pain. "I would pull the collective up under my armpit and pop the cyclic aft then forward in order to get the slids off the ground for a few moments. My co-pilot and I continued to fire miniguns every chance we found targets to keep Charlie's head down. I'd kick pedals and swing to the new target. I even fired off a few rockets from this modified hover. This modified hover consisted of pulling the aircraft off the ground and firing our weapons until the main rotor RPM would bleed off. "I remember the deafening noise in my helmet even with the radio headsets over my ears. I had all the radios going, the noise of the ammo blowing up, the firing of our weapons and that damned Low RPM warning buzzer continually going off. I had my hands full trying to get the aircraft up at a hover, that I was unable to take the time to reach up and pull the circuit breaker. You must remember, I was only able to get the aircraft to hover for a minute or two, because the gunner and crew chief were not on board. Once they were back on board and with the extra weight of YYYY - hovering was out of the question. I tried bouncing along trying to pick up airspeed. It was no use. I could see that we would not clear the tree-line and set it back down. We had a little bit of an open area behind us, but we could see bad guys all over the place. We did consider throwing stuff out in order to get light but then I heard CPT XXXX come on the air. CPT XXXX heard one of our calls and came to the rescue. He had been flying a spare slick down to the AO when all hell broke loose. CPT XXXX landed and we transferred YYYY to his ship, a empty UH-1H model, then we followed him out putting fire all underneath him until we both cleared the tree line. XXXX made a bee-line for the Dust-Off pad at the 9th Division MASH unit at Dong Tam and I returned to the rearm and refuel point."
You can PM me at babraham AT netspace.net.au
Many thanks.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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From: Lincolnshire
Picky picky guys, atfq.
Paragraphs? Its a quote ffs.
And we? The ADF of course.
Paragraphs? Its a quote ffs.
And we? The ADF of course.
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From: PPRuNe
Captain Dennis Phillips' (USA) RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam, Taipans.
Two years earlier as a Subbie, Tony Casadio was the first Emu to be shot down:
Two years earlier as a Subbie, Tony Casadio was the first Emu to be shot down:
The first EMU aircraft to be shot down (and the first with an Australian pilot to be hit) was a gunship piloted by LEUT Anthony Casadio, RAN. This occurred on 19 November 1967, during an attack on Viet Cong positions in the Rung Sat Special Zone near Saigon . After his gunship was hit by ground fire several times LEUT Casadio force-landed near the enemy. Once on the ground the Viet Cong immediately attacked the helicopter crew. Despite their relative inexperience, the young American soldiers and their Australian Navy captain maintained control of the situation and set up a defensive perimeter using the helicopter's door-mounted M60 machine guns. The M60s combined with the small arms they all carried afforded the crew a degree of self-protection. Meanwhile LEUT John Leek, RAN in an accompanying gunship circled overhead until his fuel ran dangerously low and he was forced to leave the scene.
Before SBLT Casadio and his men were rescued by another EMU helicopter, they successfully drove off an unknown number of Viet Cong, killing two of the enemy in the process. A Chinook helicopter later lifted the downed helicopter from the crash site and recovered it back to Vung Tau.
Before SBLT Casadio and his men were rescued by another EMU helicopter, they successfully drove off an unknown number of Viet Cong, killing two of the enemy in the process. A Chinook helicopter later lifted the downed helicopter from the crash site and recovered it back to Vung Tau.
Chief Bottle Washer
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From: PPRuNe
The continued intensity of the 135th's operations was reflected in the experiences of LEUT Brian Abraham, RAN. On three consecutive Sundays his helicopter was downed by ground fire. Scheduled to fly the following Sunday, he hopped into his Huey to find that some considerate soul had left a bible on the seat for him.
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From: Downeast
The 135th EMU's were a composite Aussie/US Army Helicopter Company...Lift Ships and Gunships.
135th Assault Helicopter - Taipans
A wee fellow named Dexter Green, a US Army Warrant Officer, was wounded and invalided out of the Army while serving with them. He and I share a drink or three very frequently.
Names of their Killed-in-Action.....
Remember Our Fallen
Casadio's name is on that list.
135th Assault Helicopter - Taipans
A wee fellow named Dexter Green, a US Army Warrant Officer, was wounded and invalided out of the Army while serving with them. He and I share a drink or three very frequently.
Names of their Killed-in-Action.....
Remember Our Fallen
Casadio's name is on that list.
He was awarded a DFC by the US in November, 1967, when he landed his damaged helicopter and saved the aircraft and the lives of other crew members. His action was termed “heroism beyond the call of duty”.
Last edited by SASless; 11th February 2012 at 12:18.
Joined: Jul 1999
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From: Warrington, UK
A look on the internet comes up short on the subject of target fixation, so I'm wondering if any of you mud movers can provide any information
and on a lighter note, it doesn't only happen to pilots:
Last edited by MightyGem; 14th February 2012 at 18:47.
Chief Bottle Washer
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From: PPRuNe
Fleet Manager
Joined: Apr 2001
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From: various places .....
On three consecutive Sundays his helicopter was downed by ground fire
Puts going to church on Sundays (instead of flying) into a whole new perspective.
Puts going to church on Sundays (instead of flying) into a whole new perspective.
Joined: May 2002
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From: Downeast
My personal best was twice in one day....and I owe my success to a lot of unidentified people who donated their time and effort and who were probably rewarded by others for their contributions. Perhaps they achieved People's Hero status for their marksmanship and job performance.
Avoid imitations
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From: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
Happened to me New Years Eve 1982. - On Ops in the Rose & Crown. That busy kissing the target I didn't see the missus walking up.
Disaster.
Disaster.
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From: Warrington, UK
Because you put the YouTube url in the YouTube embedding tab. Either put the url in 'naked', or extract the string of letters/numbers after "v=' and embed that in the YouTube embedding tab, e.g.
