Logistical Support of Airmobile Operations information
for USAASC
93 TC CO
For date 620126
USAASC was a US Army unit
93 TC CO was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Dinh Tuong Province, IV Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Da Nang
Description: The following is the fifth installment (an extract) from the US Army Aviation System Command, March 1971 publication titled: "Logistical Support of Airmobile Operations, Republic of Vietnam, 1961-1971"
Another Arrival (7)
Following the 57th and 8th, the 93rd Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) arrived in RVN in January 1962.
The 93rd was stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, when it received an alert order in November 1961 for deployment to an unknown destination. The alert included a requirement that all twenty TOE aircraft be up-graded to 75% service-life remaining on all components, and all personnel were to be qualified for overseas deployment. Over 4,000 maintenance man-hours were required to upgrade the aircraft, and many problems relating to training and qualification of personnel had to be overcome. Major logistical problems developed in acquiring needed major components and other aircraft parts and supplies. Several units in CONUS were levied for H-21 qualified pilots and maintenance personnel, and several replacement aircraft were obtained from other units. Timely supply of CONEX containers again facilitated loading and shipment of unit supplies and equipment.
The 93rd and attached field maintenance, signal, and medical detachments departed the east coast aboard the USNS Card, sister ship of the USNS Core, in December 1961. The aircraft were preserved and selectively cocooned (around rotor heads and cockpit). Other openings and apertures were taped for protection against salt water spray. The aircraft were deck-loaded and unit equipment and vehicles were stored below-deck.
The route of travel was through the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, Aegean Sea, to Subic Bay in the Philippines. The unit and detachments were off-loaded at Subic Bay during the first part of January, where the aircraft were depreserved and prepared for flight. Then in mid-January, the 93rd aircraft with essential equipment were flown aboard an aircraft carrier, and other unit equipment was loaded aboard a landing ship operated by the Japanese for shipment to RVN. An engine failure experienced during the operation did not delay the deployment; fortunately, an Air Force H-21 was available in the Philippines from which an engine was cannibalized.
A Unique Delivery
When the USNS Card reached a point ten miles out in the South China Sea from Da Nang, South Vietnam, the aircraft were flown off the carried deck to Da Nang Air Base. With the assistance of radio vectors to lead aircraft, the fly-off was accomplished without serious incident even though the weather conditions were very unfavorable with ceilings down to 100 feet over the ocean.(7)
Employment
The first thirty days were spent in unit readiness operations and training of ARVN troops in airmobile operations (similar to that described for the 57th). Primitive but adequate facilities were available at the Da Nang Air Base to support operations. Aviation parts and supply support were literally non-existent during the first 90 days, and the unit existed primarily on the 60-day unit PLL and the 90-day ASL in the field maintenance detachment.
The first operational missions were undertaken to resupply and rotate personnel at several jungle outposts in the I Corps area. Some of these outposts had been virtually isolated from their parent forces for as long as a year. An appalling state of supply insufficiency existed. In some instances, a total bread-down in troop morale and discipline was evident. These aerial missions did much to relive the pressure on the outposts and played a crucial role in correction of these calamitous deficiencies.
By mid-1962, airmobile support had improved tactical conditions to the point that additional counter-insurgency measures could be implemented by ARVN forces. For example, a second outpost was established in the A Shau, providing a well-fortified position at each end of the strategically important valley near the Laotian border. Whereas patrols previously seldom ventured beyond the immediate vicinity of the one fortification, in a few short months they were aggressively patrolling the entire length of the valley between the two outposts. However, as we see in later developments, increased commitments by the insurgents and their northern benefactors again tipped the scales in the other direction.(7)
The source for this information was 34 GS Grp CD prepared by George G. Reese Jr. contains scan copies of the manual
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Last updated
07/15/2002
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023