USMC pilots during the Korean War

[Len]

Marine helicopter pilots in Korea

 

[deand]

Great shots! Thank you! That LIFE archive is a treasure trove!






dean

 

[Grant]

Amazing photos. Makes me want to break out a 55J14... except it's 86 here today.

 

[Steve27752]

Much better looking than a A2.

 

[Peter Graham]

Great photos of cool jackets and equipment. I find Korean era photos fascinating because of the mix of WW2 and post war equipment being used.

 

[airfrogusmc]

gotta love those old CH-34s.

 

[USMC_GAU-21]

airfrog,

Wouldn't that be a H-19 since it was Korea?

r/Gy

 

[airfrogusmc]

airfrog,

Wouldn't that be a H-19 since it was Korea?

r/Gy

I stand corrected. It has a similar profile anyway in the photo of it head on but you would be correct Gunny. Us tandem rotary guys always get those single egg beaters mixed up. :lol:

Great photos...

 

[Andrew]

Yep, these are great candid b+W shots. What would these guys be- SAR? I've been reading a few biographies from Korea, what a tough and dangerous place to operate in.

 

[Len]

I believe these pilots are from Marine Transport Helicopter Squadron 161 (HMR-161). They flew the Sikorsky HRS-1 helicopters. The designation to CH-19E occurred in 1962 with the Dept of Defense unified designation system. HMR-161 was the first transport helicopter squadron in history. They conducted aerial resupply, moved troops and experimented with vertical envelopment. Medical evacuations and combat search and rescue were secondary missions for HMR-161. These tasks were performed primarily by VMO-6 (Marine Observation Squadron 6) which primarily flew the Sikorsky H03S-1.

 

[wvarnam]

What fantastic shots! Very clear. I really like the mix of WWII/Korean era uniforms and equipment too, makes for an interesting photo!