15 minute read
HM-12 the Origin of the U.S. Navy's H-53 Operations
By CAPT Russell E. Berry Jr., USN (Ret.)
Editor's Note: CAPT Berry passed away on March 26, 2021. He was a longtime member of NHA and had frequently contributed to Rotor Review. In his honor and memory we reprint an article that was a particular favorite of his. It was published in the Summer 1986 Rotor Review #26.
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It is interesting to look back at the evolutionary growth of the helicopter in fleet operations and the continuing introduction of newer and more capable aircraft crewed by an even younger looking crop of aviators and aircrew
When I learned that the Summer Edition of Rotor Review was to be focused on the H-53 community I decided it was time to sit down and relate the origins of the H-53 operations in the U.S. Navy from my perspective as one of those who was actually there at the start.
My involvement with the H-53 began during the final throes of my course at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School as a member of Class 49. A former HS-11 SH-3A pilot. I was assigned to fly the CH-53A for my Naval Preliminary Evaluation (NPE) exercise. My first flight in April 1968 thus began six years of intimate contact with the H-53 and the Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM) mission.
Early AMCM Efforts
After graduation from TPS I was assigned as: the lead H.53 engineering test pilot, in the service ·Test Division of The Naval Air Test Center (NATC). In August 1968, I found myself headed to the Sikorsky· facility in Stratford Connecticut to conduct a real NPE of the CH-53A Emergency Mine Countermeasures Mission systems. The object of the Emergency AMCM mission system was to put deployable AMCM equipment "kits" aboard the amphibs from which the Marine H-53s routinely operated. In time of need Marine crews would equip their H-53's with the AMCM kits and be ready to sweep. Seems simple enough on the surface but it didn’t exactly turn out that way. The training requirements for the “black gang" in the after station for a MK-I03 wire sweep mission proved to be a little more than could be handled on an "emergency'' or tertiary mission basis. After several weeks or training with Sikorsky test pilots and crews we were deemed fully capable of rousing the ire of every lobsterman in Long Island Sound (MK-1O4 wire sweeps can reap some good eating at times), The NPE was completed atter the second try and Sikorsky went back to the drawing boards to incorporate some fixes.
Those early minesweeping evolutions were a fairly coordinated effort between Sikorsky. NAVAIR, NATC. and the folks from Panama City. Florida. This latter group continuously suffered from the ·”alphabet soup disease”, having been known through the years as NADDU (Naval Air Mine Defense Development Unit). NSRDL (Naval Ships Research and Development Laboratory). and NCSL (Naval Coastal Systems Laboratory), The OPEVAL for the H 53 Emergency AMCM system was held at Panama City in March 1970, and included Marine Aircrews from HMX-t as well as our “experienced" crews from NATC.
HM is Conceived
The HM and HSL communities were actually birthed as a result of the same CNO initiative. At CNO direction a series of conferences and meetings were held al CINLANTFLT and CINPACFLT in t970 with a focus towards capturing the exploding versatility of the helicopter to enhance the operational capability of the surface combatant forces. Three different programs were initiated as a direct result of these conferences. HS- I5 was established to participate in the Sea Control Ship Project The original H-2/DV-98 project at the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) became the genesis of the SH-2D/F/G LAMPS MK 1 program and eventually the SH-60B LAMPS MK Ill program. At the same time. AMCM. which had been drifting along in the backwaters of the fleet with small RH-3A detachments in both HC-6 and HC- 7, received a dose of intensity· 'The pending transfer of the surface ship MSOs to the Naval Reserve Force presented the challenge necessary to force a decision to bring the enhanced AMCM capabilities of the H-53 into the U.S. Navy operating inventory. The fact that the capability was there to be tapped at all rested almost solely with Mr. Bill Emshwiller, of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the true father of AMCM.
I was a participant at an AMCM coordinating session at CINLANTFLT in July t970. I raised perhaps an inordinate amount of controversy at that session,. essentially telling the brass that they didn’t know what they were doing. It appears that they decided that if I was damn sure of what I was doing, might as well get thrown in the middle.
HC-6 Det 53
As a result, I soon found my orders to HA(L)-3 cancelled and a new set in my hands to HC-6 NAS Norfolk as part of “Det 53”. HC-6 Det 53 was comprised of officers andenlisted personnel from the former RH -5J A detachments of HC-6 and HC- 7, Panama City flight department al umni, myself and a couple of ·'experienced" AMCM crewmen from NATC We received our thirteen H-53As from the Marine boneyards in New River and Santa starting in October, 1970.. These aircraft ,were a sight to behold. Our Marine Corps brethren had gone to no expense to provide us with the finest frontline aircraft from their inventory. Acceptance inspection gripes routinely numbered three or four hundred or more. We were continually hounding AIRLANT during these early days of H C -6 Det 53 not only over the state of the aircraft we were receiving. but with the myriad other details involved in standing up a new squadron. The AIRLANT "Helo Class Desk." LCDR (now RADM) Ron Jesberg somehow managed to keep a lid on the pot. of evolutions, some successful, some not. But gradually we jelled into an operating entity. On 30 December 1970, in the first actual tow operations, we took a couple of laps around Hampton Roads with the MK-I05 in trail. The significance of this even was not that the H·53 could tow the MK-I05, but rather that we had been able to marshal the assets to stream and deploy the MK-105 in the winter at Norfolk.
Training Tribulations
What followed were a series of training detachments on LPD' s and LPB' s off Charleston and Camp Lejeune. One of the initial air-to-air transfers of a MK-I 03 wire sweep was a particularly auspicious event. LTJG "Easy" Ed Schneider (now a NASA test pilot at Edwards) and I were to pick up the t0w from another aircraft. At the time we were required to cross the wire at 10-15 feet off the water because of the 75' length of the standard cargo winch cables we were using. Anyone who has seen an H-53 hovering at that altitude over water with appreciate that, we were raising quite a storm.
Our initial flight operations were interesting. I was the lone pilot with H53 experience, having accumulated over 350 flight hours al NATC. I had even managed to sneak in ten hours prior to departure which made me "current' in the eyes of NATC. AIRLANT had different ideas. The Fleet did not accept my NATC currency and had arranged for a Sikorsky test pilot to transition us neophytes. Cliff Brown, now retired from Sikorsky. was nominated with the honor . Cliff and I had flown together numerous times at Sikorsky and as we briefed for the first U.S. Navy flight, he said. " I hope you're current because I haven't flown the -53 in six months." Being a proponent of the " it is better to seek forgiveness than it is to request permission" philosophy.
Cliff and I manned the aircraft and took off. we checked each other out on that first flight on 23 October 1970 and U.S. Navy H-53 operations had begun in earnest.
HM-12 MH-53 helicopter landing on USS Vancouver (LPD 2) while moored to the Alava Pier at Naval Base Subic Bay, circa summer 1973
Photo by CDR Michale Cosgrove, USS Conquest
In addition to the normal squadron start-up tasks of training pilots,. aircrew and maintenance personnel, we were also tasked with helping to establish the Fleet operating doctrine and SOP for AMCM operations. Commander Mine Warfare Force in Charleston established a new unit under Commander, Mobile Mine Countermeasures Command (COMOMCOM) which was to act as the operational commander during AMCM operations with the Fleet. MOMCOM (don’t you love it!).the squadron and Panama City reps were rather continuously involved in trying to figure out how to integrate the H -53, the mountain of AMCM gear and the precise navigation requirements of statistical mine countermeasures operations into the fleet operating environment. The dockside watchers at Norfolk and Charleston were treated to a variety The crew was having difficulty retrieving the transfer hook, while in the low hover position a squall Iine came through the area shifting the wind direction. We. suddenly found ourselves downwind of the aircraft from which we were taking the further aggravating the situation. To this point I have neglected to say that our original Cl-l-53As were not equipped with EAPS (Engine Air Particle Separators for the non·H-53 drivers) which have proven quite effective in keeping salt water out of the engines. Get the picture? As the rotor rpm started to come down I yelled for full power and Ed and I exchanged some quizzical looks. He looked to be attempting to push the speed selectors through the windshield . We had the after station gang, now up to their shins in salt water. man the bolt cutters while Ed and I watched the waves lapping against the windows. As soon as we were free from our sea anchor I started bouncing the aircraft across the wave tops. rotor rpm less than 90 percent until we were airborne. A short, but oh so long, flight to Charleston Air Force Base followed, after which we washed out the engines, and our shorts, not necessarily in that order.
The end result of the flight was a restriction on air-to-air transfers until our H-53's were equipped with EAPS and longer cargo winch cables. These modifications coincided with a re-engining with the T64-G-E 4I engines to improve downwind tow performance and thus were born the CH53A "plus" aircraft These aircraft would serve HM-t2 well, carrying us through Operation End Sweep in North Vietnam.
HM-12 Commissioned
HM-12 was commissioned on 1 April 1971 with CDR Dave Humphries as our first skipper. Dave is now retired and living in Panama City, Florida. HM- I2 alumni will undoubtedly notice the similarity of our first skipper's initials and the modex (" DH") on the tail of the squadron aircraft. While in the process of "checking off the blocks" in the precommissioning checklist I just happened to call OPNAV to request the squadron modex. In fact, I asked whether “DH” was already taken and if we could have it. A little like requesting vanity plates for your car. The result is obvious. Dave Humphries spent his tour telling people that the modex really referred to CAPT Dave Hughes, the OPNAV sponsor. Dave Hughes' response predictably was just the reverse.
Our general approach to towing in the early days was that if someone could put a tow cable on it we would try. I remember towing an unmanned 40' MSL (Mine Sweeper, Launch) Charleston with skipper CDR Dave Humphries. We ended up towing the MSL slightly faster than the mag tail could stand and it separated from the transom. This resulted in a severe lack of stability in the tow and something that acted more like a surf board than a 40' boat. The. MSL was considered a ·'strike" after this episode. LTJG Fran, Porter and I towed the M-MK-t8. which was an iron railroad track with some floats welded to it. This was supposed to provide us with a shallow water magnetic sweep capability. We left it stuck in the mud in the middle Wando River as a hazard to navigation. The SPU-1W Magnetic Orange Pipe (MOP) used in both Haiphong Harbor and the Suez Canal was the end result of this episode.
I left HM-12 in June 1972 soon after another auspicious event. That was flying the first HAC check for an HM-12 nugget" during a training detachment to Charleston. LTJG Franz Porter was the first nugget to achieve aircraft commander status in HM-12. Those who know Franz will appreciate that this was a memorable event, even if they were not there to witness it.
I reported to the Staff of Commander Mine Warfare Force in July 1972 Force as the Air Operations Officer. Maintaining a continuing close relationship with AMCM. Most of my peers thought I had lost my mind. I was quickly immersed in things "surface warfare" • drafting the ORI requirements for an AMCM unit, establishing "I" level support capability for the MK-105s at Charleston. and becoming the Fleet sponsor for R&D activities then underway. Some items such as 1he "Super• conducting Coil" fell by the wayside; others like 1he AQS-14 Side Scan Sonar .system eventually found their way into the AMCM inventory. My direct involvement v in this headquarters activity was soon to be ended by Operation End Sweep, 1hc clearance of Haiphong Harbor and adjacent waters in North Vietnam.
Operation End Sweep
I ended up as the advance party at Cubi Point, setting up for the arrival or HM -t2 and the COMOMCOM assets via -C 5 and C-141 from Norfolk and Charleston. After a month of trying to convince the chain of command to allow us to put the aircraft back together again at Cubi, we won our point and Subic Bay was a hotbed of activity. Not only was HM-t2 getting it’s tow legs back. but we were faced with equipping Marine Corps CH-53D's from HMH-463 with the basic AMCM tow kit and teaching the Marine crews how to tow with the MOP.
After a couple of months of preparation. Task Force Seventy Eight sailed for the Gulf of Tonkin and Haiphong Harbor to start Operation End Sweep. I do not intend to go in to detail here, but the H •53 squadrons flew tow missions from dawn to dusk seven days a week. We kept the Marine HMH squadrons (153 and later 165) busy with logistics runs within the task force, transferring our negotiators back and forth to Haiphong and resupplying the Raydist navigation sites ashore. We even brought a North Vietnamese military contingent out to the flagship for an orientation visit.. The light switch in
CH-53D tows an MK 105 during Operation End Sweep
On 9 March t973, a crew from HM-12 swept the first live mine with an AMCM sweep in the Haiphong main shipping channel. The aircraft and crew commanded by LT Skip Yates was conducting an MK-105 sweep from the USS Dubuque at the time. Ron Kuhrt, the co-pilot on this historic flight joined Sikorsky Aircraft after leaving the Navy and was unfortunately lost in a crash of a company S-76 outside of Boston, Massachusetts in 1986.
The key point to remember about Operation End Sweep and a tribute to all involved , was that we were successfully conducting intensive AMCM operations in the actual operational environment, with real mines, less than three years after we stepped from the starting gate. A great deal of credit goes to the late CAPT Feliz “Hap” Vechionne, COMOMCOM. Hap was that rare individual who could appreciate the diverse factors at work in the sometimes difficult meld of aviators, Marines, surface mine warfare types and gators, all while maintaining a cool head and an absolute vision of the way ahead. It is especially fitting that a building at the Mine Warfare Training Center at Charleston is named after this sterling individual who contributed so magnificently to our community.
Suez Canal Ops
Less than a year after finishing the sweep operations in North Vietnam the whole AMCM group found itself headed to Egypt for Operation Nimbus Star Moon, the clearance of the Suez Canal .In the interim period HM-12 completed the transition into the RH 53D's and the Cl-l-53A "plus· aircraft were returned to the Marine Corps inventory. These initial operations in the easter Mediterranean off Port Said and in the Suez Canal were an omen of things to come. The AMCM force has continued to be involved in the Middle East up to and including recent operations in the Persian Gulf. But those episodes are best left to another time and another author.
I departed the AMCM world in t974 for the Naval War College and eventually for the HSL community. Other early HM-I2ers whose names should ring a bell with the current crop of aviators include Captains Van Goodloe, Kevin Delaney, Fred Massey, Paul Erny and Chet Harrison. I retired from the Navy in t983 after a tour as the NAVAIR "Class Desk" for the SH- 60B / l.AMPS MK Ill during the transition between engineering development and production. After retirement I joined Sikorsky Aircraft in the international programs and marketing arena.
The Sikorsky product support department contains perhaps the largest group of former HM-I2ers outside the Navy. They came out of the enlisted ranks, initially serving as either tech reps or training school instructors. The list is long and many names should be familiar to current Fleet operators of Sikorsky products. All are deserving of recognition including Paul Gauthier, "Frenchy" Letourneau, the late Ed Geiss. Ralph Sedore, Dave Kelly. Jerry Carter, Henry Bice, Larry Canady, Harold Creek, Bill Delfosse, Chuck Duncan, Don Gilmore, Ed Hoppe, Jim Kleinhuizen, Sam Snead, Mark Starling, Larry Symons, Bob Tate, Jim Walton, and Rodney Whitmore.
I trust this article conveys the message that the early days of Navy H-53 operations were both challenging and fun. We worked hard plowing new ground there were a lot of frustrations and some false starts, but through it all we kept our sense of humor and direction. I felt that my impressions of those days needed to be recorded for posterity and I've had fun just writing things down. I hope that all those mentioned or not mentioned herein take it in the right frame of mind.
A U.S. Navy Sikorsky RH-53D of helicopter mine countermeasures squadron HM-12 Sea Dragons picking up an Mk 105 minesweeping gear during "Operation Nimbus Moon" off the the Suez Canal in 1974
