Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-15162
The Army purchased this helicopter 0667
Total flight hours at this point: 00000830
Date: 05/12/1969
Incident number: 69051289.KIA
Unit: 174 AHC
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: BS758353 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 49PBS758353)
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC W COOPER
CE SP5 SCHMIDT DENIS GORDON KIA
G PFC ISAAC JAMES EDWARD JR
War Story:
SP5 Dennis Schmidt was crew chief on a UH-1C helicopter Shark gunship
(No. 66-15162) and was killed when the helicopter crashed and rolled
down a hill as the crew attempted to snatch an enemy flag from a pole
in the ground. It was booby-trapped and was detonated as the helicopter
hovered over it. ---- Mark Lightner was an NCO with the 174th at the
time, worked with the 452nd Sig. Det. and flew a bit with the Dolphins
in 1968, and was NCOIC of the electric shop and ran the recovery crew
in 1969. Mark recalls this: Dennis was a crew chief for the Sharks,
and during a combat operation one of the crew members of his gunship
spotted an NVA or VC flag on a long pole. The gunship descended to
get the flag. When the crew member reached down and pulled the flag
out of the ground, an explosive charge detonated. The gunship crashed
and Schmidt was burned extensively. He was flown state-side to a burn
center, where he apparently died. ---- J.C. Pennington
(Shark 4 in 1969) had this to say: Schmidt’s crash happened while I was
there. Bill Cooper was the Aircraft Commander. I don't remember who the
copilot was. In fact, and I hate to admit this, I didn't know SP5
Schmidt had died. I just knew that everyone was medevaced out. Once
that happened you rarely heard what the result was. As a matter of
fact, Cooper was my roommate--a really good guy and a complete clown.
He saw the NVA flag on a little knoll just west of Highway 1 and, as
I recall, just south of Quang Ngai city. In other words, we were
really surprised that an NVA flag would be in our "backyard" in
broad daylight. Cooper got down to damn-near a hover so the crewman
could snag the flag. Apparently there was a command-detonated
500-pound bomb under the flag. Also, it appears a VC or NVA soldier
with a battery was waiting, touched off the wire, and BOOM! The
tailboom was blown off the ship and the crew compartment just rolled
down the hill, beating itself to death with the rotor blades. I was
on standby when we heard about it and went over to the aid station
when they brought the guys in. Cooper's face looked like hell after
bouncing off the rocket sight about 40 times. He had a broken nose
and jaw as I recall, plus a broken arm or shoulder. I think maybe
the forth crewman (door gunner) was DeWitt. Not sure about that.
Can't for the life of me remember who the copilot was. (Sources:
Mark Lightner and J.C. Pennington, January 1997).
This record was last updated on 02/02/2010
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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