More detail on this person: Larry Apt was a scout pilot with B Co, 4th Avn Bn 4th Inf Div
1969/70. He was involved in a recovery mission of a downed OH6 in the tri-border area, II Corp RVN
where all involved received valor awards from MG Walker, Commanding General of 4th Inf. Div at the
conclusion of the day long mission. I am not sure what WO Apt received but Joseph Peraza received
the Silver Star. I believe Larry got the Bronze Star with "V". We had AH-1G's but the gunships
that Larry flew were UH-1B's converted to Guns. They had the 540 Rotor Heads and Blades but no
upgrade on the engine or hydraulics. The B Model was equipped with an accumulator that would give
you maybe 4 strokes on the collective and then you were done. This was in lieu of having a redundant
hydraulic system. To say the aircraft was underpowered is an understatement. Operating in the
Mountains at high density altitude and a load of rockets and minigun ammo, you could not hover
it...only able to get it light on the skids and bounce it down the runway for take-off. Sometimes
the crew had to run along side it and jump on as you picked up forward speed. As you might imagine,
this took a lot of pilot technique and Larry was extremely good at it. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
08/31/2024
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From: Roy Harris Olive
Helicopter crash in the United States while acting as a co-pilot.