H-43 Sheppard AFC, TX 1966


	UH-1F Eglin AFB 1966 UH-1F DMAFB, AZ 1967 UH-1F Malmstrom AFB 1967 UH-1F Eglin AFB 1969 UH-1F Edwards AFB 1971 UH-1F Ellisworth AFB 1971 UH-1N FT. Bragg 1973 HH-1H Hill AFB 1974 UH-1F F.E. Warren 1975 UH-1F Ellsworth AFB 1982 UH-1F Whiteman AFB 1982 UH-1N Bahamas 1984 UH-1 Ellsworth AFB 1986 UH-1N Edwards-Jan-1991 UH-1N Edwards-Oct-1991 UH-1N Kirtland AFB 1996 UH-1N 1998 UH-1N F.E. Warren AFB 1999 UH-1N Kirtland AFB 2002 TH-lH Ft. Rucker 2009 UH-1N Malmstrom AFB 2010 UH-1N Kirtland AFB 2011 UH-1N Minot AFB 2013 CH-3C Malmstrom AFB 1965 CH-3C Sheppard AFB Mar. 1967 CH-3 Sheppard AFB Nov. 1967 CH-3E Midair in Laos 1970 HH-3E Korea 1973 HH-3E Elmendorf AFB 1974 HH-3E Iceland 1979 CH-3E Patrick AFB, 1984 HH-3E Osan 1984 HH-3E 29-Palms 1988 HH-3E Kadena 1989 CH-3E DMAFB 1989 H-5G Ladd AFB 1951 H-5H Maxwell AFB 1953 H-5 New York 1958 H-13G Niagara Falls 1955 H-13 Bryan AFB, TX 1957 H-19A San Marcos 1952 H-19A O'Neill, NB. 1953 H-19B Alexandria, LA. 1954 H-19B Austria 1954 H-19B France 1954 H-19B Korea 1954 H-19B March AFB 1954 H-19B Rhine Main AB 1955 H-19B Eglin AFB 1955 H-19 Skaneateles Lake, NY 1956 H-19 Ashiya Japan 1957 H-19 Edwards AFB 1957 H-19 Niagra Falls 1959 H-19 Sheppard H-19B Loring AFB 1960 H-19 Beal AFB 1963 H-19 Larson AFB 1963 H-19 Saigon, RVN 1964 YH-21 Thule AB 1953 H-21 Goose Bay 1954 H-21A San Marcos TX 1955 H-21B Tennesse 1955 H-21 San Diego, CA 1956 H-21 Alaska 1957 H-21 Goose Bay 1958. SH-21 Greenland 1958 H-21 Elmendorf AFB 1958 H-21 Dugway Proving Grnd. 1958 H-21 Goose Bay 1959 H-21 Greenland 1959 CH-21B Otis AFB 1959 H-21 Indian Springs AAF 1961 H-21 Luke AFB 1961 H-23B Moody AFB 1953 H-43A James Connally AFB 1959 H-43B Loring AFB 1961 H-43B Westover AFB 1961 HH-43B MacDill AFB, FL 1964 HH-43B Stead AFB 1965 HH-43B Clark AB, PI 1966 H-43 Sheppard AFC, TX 1966 HH-43B Phan Rang 1968 HH-43B MacDill AFB 1969 HH-43B Hill AFB 1973 HH-53C Eglin AFB 1969 CH-53C Germany 1975 CH-53C Germany 1976 HH-53C Woodbridge 1977 HH-53C Kadena AB 1979 HH-53B Kirtland AFB 1981 HH-53C Kirtland AFB 1982 MH-53 Philippines 1984 CH-53C Pope AFB 1984 HH-53C Hickam AFB, HI 1985 HH-53C Hill AFB 1986 HH-53H Nellis AFB 1986 MH-53J Korea 1995 HH-53B Vance AFB 1996 HH-53B Cherry Point 1998 MH-53J Ft. Bragg 1999 MH-53M RAF Mildenhall 2000 MH-53 Durango CO 2002 MH-53M USNS Kanawha 2002 MH-53M Afghanistan 2003 MH-53M FOL Hurlburt Fld 2003 MH-53M Kuwait 2003 MH-53M Hurlburt Fld. 2007 UH-60A Pope AFB 1987 HH-60G New York 1991 MH-60G Antigua 1991 HH-60G Great Salt Lake 1992 HH-60G Davis-Monthan AFB 1994 HH-60G Korea 1994 HH-60G Indian Springs 1998 HH-60G Al Jabar AB 1999 HH-60G Avon Park 2001 HH-60G Mt. Hood 2002 HH-60G Afghanistan 2002 HH-60G Afghanistan 2003 HH-60G Afghanistan 2004 HH-60G Angel Fire, NM 2005 HH-60G Kandahar 2007 HH-60G Afghanistan 2009 HH-60G Okinawa 2013 HH-60G Lakenheath 2014 HH-60G Lakenheath 2014 1 HH-60G Lakenheath 2014 2 Ellsworth AFB 1955 Hawaii crash 1963 Patuxent River NAS 1960 Randolph AFB 1957 Spokane River, WA 1959 Tyndall AFB 1961 Wright-Patterson 1956 Spokane River 1972

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PICTURES COURTESY OF JIM BURNS

From the December 1967 Aerospace Maintenance Safety magazine

COURTESY OF BILL CRAWFRD

JOHAN RAGAY PROVIDED A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL USAF ACCIDENT REPORT. TO READ

CLICK HERE

(NEWS ARTICLE COURTESY OF ART BRAND)

It happened 25 OCT 66 at the fire fighting practice field at Grandfield Oklahoma. When I got orders for Vietnam on the 43 the Air Force had the idea that it would be good to have the flight mechanic double as an airborne firefighter. I was sent to the school at Sheppard & had about two more flights to finish the course when the crash happened. The IP was Maj. Ed Duchene, I can't remember the student pilot's name, he was taking a check ride & was in a hover with the FSK attached when the engine blew, we came down on top of the FSK & the IP rolled it onto it's right side. My partner was a real fireman his last name was Blais & was sitting in the seat behind the pilot, he went over the pilots seat & out through the broken plexiglass nose. I was setting in the rear next to the step & I started to exit through the rear doors but the rotor blades were beating them self's to death back there & what looked like turbine wheel buckets were flying around also, the fire started about that time, I reached for the fire hood that you wear when you go into a fire & the durn thing had fuel inside of it & was burning so I couldn't use it. I also didn't have the heavy firefighting gloves on at that time. That's when the inside of the chopper filled with thick black smoke & I didn't know up from down. I had one arm over my face & was feeling for the side door but because the chopper was on its right side I was actually feeling the top of the cabin. At that point I was burning & thought to myself, you're not going to get out of here, then I heard Blais hollering my name & I lunged toward his voice & he grabbed my wrist & pulled me through the opening behind the IP's seat & out the nose of the burning chopper. He & one of the pilots pulled me away, they were saying get the boot off get the boot off. It was burning & I slung my left leg & the boot went flying. There was another H-43 refueling at the other end of the field & when the pilot heard the engine blow he started his chopper & flew up to the crash & was outside opening the rear doors on the 43 when they got me out so they got me in the chopper & a medic sat in the seat by the side door, if he hadn't closed the door I would have jumped out before we got off the ground, I didn't want any part of another H-43. My face, neck & ears were burned; the back of my right hand was burned pretty badly. My left foot was really hurting, so I motioned to the medic to pull my sock off, since the sock wasn't burned he just reached over & jerked the sock off & the top of my foot came off with it. The rubber boot had fuel on it & burned for a longer time & held the heat long enough to cook my foot without burning my sock. I was the first patient to land on the new helipad at the Sheppard AFB hospital; I had an 8x10 color photo of them getting me off the chopper. The wing CO came to the hospital to visit the 4 of us & ask if he could do anything for us, I ask him if he would get me some photos of the crash. In a couple of days I had a large envelope full of 8x10 color photos. All of them were lost when I returned from Iceland in 1973. The next day the fire alarm went off in the hospital, they had a small fire, I didn't like that. A couple of days later a guy from the pysch ward got outside & dove under the back wheels of a big truck & died. This was getting to be crazy place. One day the IP's wife came to visit him & I had my left leg out from under the covers & she said you have red streaks moving up your leg, I started pushing the call button, I had blood poisoning & they had to get that under control. When I got well enough to get a wheelchair, I could go downstairs to the library. I had to keep my foot elevated all the time or it became very painful. Well I was sitting in the wheelchair with my foot up on one of the book shelves & the whole bookcase came away from the wall & fell on top of me books & all. I was glad to leave that place. (BILL CRAWFORD)

(COURTESY OF BILL CRAWFORD)

(COURTESY OF ART BRAND)

"FREEDOM ISN'T FREE"

~SOMEONE PAYS FOR YOU AND ME~

"HELICOPTERS" - THE ONLY WAY TO FLY

~NEVER FORGOTTEN~