Raw Footage Of A Helicopter Assault During The Vietnam War – (Watch)

This video footage is narrated by Military Policeman Michael Baker. It opens with a description of assault tactics carried out by helicopters by the 1st Cavalry Division (aka Airmobile). The footage that runs alongside this narration shows the 1st Air Cavalry in combat (using CH-47 Chinooks and UH-1 Hueys).

This combat takes place between February 26th and 28th, 1967 in a seaside location in the Quang Ngai Province.

The combat shown is part of Operation Pershing, which was a campaign to stop Viet Cong and VA activity in the Binh Dinh Province; this ended up taking eleven months and caused eighteen major engagements and many more skirmishes.

Following the narration, the footage continues on with live sound from the time it was recorded.

Due to it being such old footage it doesn’t seem to have been synchronized so you may notice that the sound and picture do not quite sync up correctly. However, it does still portray true combat conditions of the day.

SFC B. McBride was the cameraman who caught all of this footage.

Related Post

The 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam had changed from a standard infantry unit to one that was an air-assault division. Using helicopters as medevacs and troop carriers had never been carried out on such a large scale before but they realized by doing this the infantry was then free to better attack the enemy.

The Airmobile Division started dispatching troops to Camp Radcliff in late 1965.

This Camp was based in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and was fully stocked with new weaponry, such as UH-1-C gunships, M16 rifles, CH-47 Chinook helicopter and the enormous CH-54 Skycrane cargo helicopter.

The camp was named after the first combat death of one of their own – Major Donald Radcliff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSUVhFFUB-Q

Joris Nieuwint: Joris Nieuwint is a battlefield guide for the Operation Market Garden area. His primary focus is on the Allied operations from September 17th, 1944 onwards. Having lived in the Market Garden area for 25 years, he has been studying the events for nearly as long. He has a deep understanding of the history and a passion for sharing the stories of the men who are no longer with us.
Leave a Comment