McDonnell Douglas F-15E-47-MC Strike Eagle 89-0487 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Ericka Engblom, U.S.Air Force.)
14 February 1991: An unusual incident occurred during Desert Storm, when Captains Tim Bennett and Dan Bakke, United States Air Force, flying the airplane in the above photograph, McDonnell Douglas F-15E-47-MC Strike Eagle, 89-0487, used a 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb to “shoot down” an Iraqi Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter. This airplane is still in service with the Air Force, and on 17 May 2024 logged its 15,000th flight hour.
Captain Bennett (Pilot) and Captain Bakke (Weapon Systems Officer) were leading a two-ship flight on a anti-Scud missile patrol, waiting for a target to be assigned by their Boeing E-3 AWACS controller. 89-0487 was armed with four laser-guided GBU-10 bombs and four AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missiles. Their wingman was carrying twelve Mk. 82 500-pound (227 kilogram) bombs.
The AWACS controller called Bennett’s flight and told them that a Special Forces team on the ground searching for Scud launching sites had been located by Iraqi forces and was in need of help. They headed in from 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) away, descending though 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) of clouds as the went. They came out of the clouds at 2,500 feet (762 meters), 15–20 miles (24– 32 kilometers) from the Special Forces team.
With the Strike Eagle’s infrared targeting pod, they picked up five helicopters and identified them as enemy Mi-24s. It appeared that the helicopters were trying to drive the U.S. soldiers into a waiting Iraqi blocking force.
Iraqi Army Aviation Mil Mi-24 Hind (helis.com)
Their Strike Eagle was inbound at 600 knots (1,111 kilometers per hour) and both the FLIR (infrared) targeting pod and search radar were locked on to the Iraqi helicopters. Dan Bakke aimed the laser targeting designator at the lead helicopter preparing to drop a GBU-10 while Tim Bennett was getting a Sidewinder missile ready to fire. At four miles (6.44 kilometers) they released the GBU-10.
Mission count for the 10,000+ flight hours of F-15E 89-0487. The green star indicates the Iraqi Mi-24 helicopter destroyed 14 February 1991. (U.S. Air Force)
At this time, the enemy helicopter, which had been either on the ground or in a hover, began to accelerate and climb. The Eagle’s radar showed the helicopter’s ground speed at 100 knots. Bakke struggled to keep the laser designator on the fast-moving target. Bennett was about to fire the Sidewinder at the helicopter when the 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) bomb hit and detonated. The helicopter ceased to exist. The other four helicopters scattered.
Soon after, additional fighter bombers arrived to defend the U.S. Special Forces team. They were later extracted and were able to confirm the Strike Eagle’s kill.
A Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilot checks a GBU-10 Paveway II 2,000-pound (907.2 kilogram) laser-guided bomb on an F-18 Hornet. This is the same type of bomb used by Captains Bennett and Bakke to destroy an Iraqi Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter. (RAAF)
The Strike Eagle was begun as a private venture by McDonnell Douglas. Designed to be operated by a pilot and a weapon system officer (WSO), the airplane can carry bombs, missiles and guns for a ground attack role, while maintaining its capability as an air superiority fighter. It’s airframe was a strengthened and its service life doubled to 16,000 flight hours. The Strike Eagle became an Air Force project in March 1981, and went into production as the F-15E. The first production model, 86-0183, made its first flight 11 December 1986.
The prototype McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (modified from F-15B-4-MC 71-0291) is parked on the ramp at the McDonnell Douglas facility at St. Louis. (U.S. Air Force)
The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-place twin-engine multi-role fighter. It is 63 feet, 9 inches (19.431 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 9¾ inches (13.049 meters) and height of 18 feet, 5½ inches (5.626 meters). It weighs 31,700 pounds (14,379 kilograms) empty and has a maximum takeoff weight of 81,000 pounds (36,741 kilograms).
The F-15E is powered by two Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofan engines which produce 17,800 pounds of thrust (79.178 kilonewtons) each, or 29,100 pounds (129.443 kilonewtons) with afterburner.
The Strike Eagle has a maximum speed of Mach 2.54 (1,676 miles per hour, (2,697 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and is capable of sustained speed at Mach 2.3 (1,520 miles per hour, 2,446 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling is 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). The fighter-bomber has a combat radius of 790 miles (1,271 kilometers) and a maximum ferry range of 2,765 miles (4,450 kilometers).
Though optimized as a fighter-bomber, the F-15E Strike Eagle retains an air-to-air combat capability. The F-15E is armed with one 20mm M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon with 512 rounds of ammunition, and can carry four AIM-9M Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles and four AIM-7M Sparrow radar-guided missiles, or a combination of Sidewinders, Sparrows and AIM-120 AMRAAM long range missiles. It can carry a maximum load of 24,500 pounds (11,113 kilograms) of bombs and missiles for ground attack.
A McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle over Iraq during Operation Northern Watch, 1999. (U.S. Air Force)
The Mil Mi-24 (NATO reporting name “Hind”) is a large, heavily-armed attack helicopter that can also carry up to eight troops. It is flown by a pilot and a gunner.
It is 57 feet, 4 inches (17.475 meters) long and the five-bladed main rotor has a diameter of 56 feet, 7 inches (17.247 meters). The helicopter has an overall height of 21 feet, 3 inches (6.477 meters). The empty weight is 18,740 pounds (8,378 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight is 26,500 pounds (12,020 kilograms).
The helicopter is powered by two Isotov TV3-117 turboshaft engines which produce 2,200 horsepower, each. The Mil-24 has a maximum speed of 208 miles per hour (335 kilometers per hour) and a range of 280 miles (451 kilometers). Its service ceiling is 14,750 feet (4,496 meters).
The helicopter is armed with a 12.7 mm Yakushev-Borzov Yak-B four-barreled Gatling gun with 1,470 rounds of ammunition; a twin-barrel GSh-30K 30 mm autocannon with 750 rounds; a twin-barrel GSh-23L 23 mm autocannon with 450 rounds. The Mi-24 can also carry a wide range of bombs, rockets and missiles.
The Mil Mi-24 first flew in 1969 and is still in production. More than 2,300 have been built and they have served the militaries of forty countries.
A Russian-built Mil Mi-24P Hind-F at the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Center, Threat Support Activity, NAS Fallon, Nevada. (United States Air Force)
General Howell Marion Estes, Jr., presents the Air Force Cross to Airman 1st Class Duane D. Hackney, 9 September 1967. (U.S. Air Force 070702-F-8733W-013)
6 February 1967: That Others May Live. Airman 2nd Class Duane D. Hackney, U.S. Air Force, 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, rescued the pilot of a downed aircraft and earned the Air Force Cross. He was the first living enlisted recipient of the Air Force Cross.
With more than 70 individual medals, Chief Master Sergeant Hackney was the most highly decorated enlisted man in United States Air Force history.
His citation reads:
Air Force Cross
“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Cross to Airman Second Class Duane D. Hackney (AFSN: 16827003), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while serving with the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, 3d Air Rescue and Recovery Group, DaNang Air Base, Vietnam, as a Paramedic (Pararescueman) on an unarmed HH-3E Rescue Helicopter near Mu Gia Pass, North Vietnam, on 6 February 1967. On that date, Airman Hackney flew two sorties in a heavily defended hostile area. On the first sortie, despite the presence of armed forces known to be hostile, entrenched in the vicinity, Airman Hackney volunteered to be lowered into the jungle to search for the survivor. He searched until the controlling Search and Rescue agency ordered an evacuation of the rescue crew. On the second sortie, Airman Hackney located the downed pilot, who was hoisted into the helicopter. As the rescue crew departed the area, intense and accurate 37-mm. flak tore into the helicopter amidships, causing extensive damage and a raging fire aboard the craft. With complete disregard for his own safety, Airman Hackney fitted his parachute to the rescued man. In this moment of impending disaster, Airman Hackney chose to place his responsibility to the survivor above his own life. The courageous Pararescueman located another parachute for himself and had just slipped his arms through the harness when a second 37-mm. round struck the crippled aircraft, sending it out of control. The force of the explosion blew Airman Hackney through the open cargo door and, though stunned, he managed to deploy the unbuckled parachute and make a successful landing. He was later recovered by a companion helicopter. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Airman Hackney reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
A Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant (66-13290) of the 37th ARRS, hovering in ground effect at Da Nang, 1968. (U.S. Air Force)
The following is excerpted from Chief Master Sergeant Hackney’s U.S. Air Force biography:
Airman 2nd Class Duane D. Hackney, USAF, with jungle penetrator, aboard a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, Southeast Asia, 1967 (U.S. Air Force)
. . . His pararescue career began quickly. Three days after reporting for duty, Hackney, now an airman second class, flew his first combat mission. On his 10th mission, in April 1966, he was hit by enemy fire while pulling a wounded Marine pilot aboard his HH-3E Jolly Green Giant. Five times in the months ahead his helicopter was shot down. He earned four Distinguished Flying Crosses and 18 Air Medals for single acts of heroism. Then came Feb. 6, 1967 and the mission that would lead to the second highest award for heroism given by the U.S. Air Force.
That morning he descended from his HH-3E to look for a downed pilot near Mu Gia pass, North Vietnam. He searched for two hours until bad weather forced a return to base. A few hours later, radio contact with the pilot was re-established and another rescue was attempted. This time, the severely wounded pilot was found. The wounded pilot hugged Hackney and said, “You’re beautiful.”
“Hey man,” said Hackney, “I’m not the stewardess.”
Hackney carried the pilot back to the helicopter to begin their retreat. They had to hurry because it was rapidly becoming dark. Before they could clear enemy air space, anti-aircraft artillery struck the helicopter, filling the compartment with smoke and fire. Hackney strapped his own parachute on the pilot’s back and helped him get out the door. He found a spare, oil-stained parachute just as a second 37-mm antiaircraft shell ripped into the helicopter. Before he could buckle the chute, the Jolly Green Giant’s fuel line exploded, blasting Hackney through the door. Holding on to the chute with his arms, he managed to pull the cord before plummeting into the forest 250 feet below. The chute slowed his fall, but he still plunged 80 more feet to a rock ledge.
Severely burned and pierced by shrapnel, Hackney managed to evade capture. When an A-1 Skyraider passed overhead, he fired a flare. A chopper mission was sent in and the rescuer was rescued. When he got back to Da Nang Air Base, he was told that he was the only survivor of the thwarted mission. Four other crew members and the pilot they had gone to save had died.
For giving up his parachute and risking his own life, Hackney received the Air Force Cross. Hackney was presented the medal by Gen. Howell M. Estes Jr., the commander of Military Airlift Command.
Hackney continued his distinguished Air Force career, retiring in 1991 as a chief master sergeant. In 1993, he died of a heart attack in his Pennsylvania home. He was 46 years old.
In a 1968 interview, Duane Hackney described the events of 6 February 1967 in his own words:
“We scrambled out that morning,” he said. “We knew that a pilot was down in the jungles. There was voice contact but nobody had actually seen him.
“He was at the bottom of a pass, covered by three canopies of overgrowth. Clouds were low, making it difficult to see much of anything.
“I thought I saw something shining down there. I asked if I could go down and look. There was flak around us but it was falling short. I rode the end of a cable to the ground and picked my way through the jungle.
“I stumbled over rocks and some heavy growth and finally spotted footprints made by U.S. combat boots. But I couldn’t locate him. Late in the day we went back and this time I found him.
“We got him into the chopper okay and I was treating his abrasions when flak hit. There was smoke and fire everywhere. I put my parachute on him as fast as I could.
“I grabbed another chute for myself and barely had it on when the second round of flak poured in on us. I felt sharp pains. I went out the rear door and managed to pull the rip cord as I was blown out of the chopper at about 200 feet.
“I landed in a tree and somehow freed myself. My left arm and back were raw and bleeding. Funny, I was disappointed when I couldn’t reach into my pocket and yank out the dollar valentine I had bought. I was worried because I didn’t think I would be able to send it.
“I got the red smoke flare out, opened it and waited for my Air Force buddies to rescue me. In about half an hour they were picking me up. As we climbed into the air, I looked out and saw the flaming wreckage of the helicopter.”
Senior Master Sergeant Duane Dale Hackney, United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
Duane Dale Hackney was born 5 June 1947 at Flint, Michigan. He was the second of three children of Glendon Dale Hackney, an automobile assembly line worker, and Florence Neeley Gorman Hackney.
D.D. Hackney (1965 Clipper)
Hackney attended Beecher High School in Flint. He was a member of the Clipper yearbook staff. He served on the student council and played on the school’s baseball, football and swimming teams. He was also a member of the teen, drama and glee clubs. Hackney graduated in 1965.
Duane Hackney enlisted in the United States Air Force 18 June 1965. He was trained as a pararescue jumper. The year long training included parachute and scuba training, combat survival school, the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and training as a combat medic.
Airman Duane D. Hackney, U.S. Air Force, circa 1966. The airplane is a Grumman HU-16 Albatross. (U.S. Air Force)
Hackney’s first combat tour began 27 September 1966. He served with the 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Da Nang Air Base, Republic of South Vietnam, from September 1966 to January 1967, and then with the 37th ARRS until October 1967. He flew 200 combat missions during the Vietnam War. He was transferred to the 41st ARRS at Hamilton AFB in California.
Airman 1st Class Duane Dale Hackney, wearing the Air Force Cross and Purple Heart, 9 September 1967. To Hackney’s left is General Howell Marion Estes, Jr., commanding officer, Military Airlift Command. (U.S. Air Force 230912-F-IO108-005)
In May 1968, General John Dale Ryan, Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, presented Hackney the Cheney Award ¹ during a ceremony held at The Pentagon.
Sergeant Hackney returned to Da Nang Air Base in June 1969, where he reenlisted. (In October 1967, the Air Force changed the rank of Airman 1st Class to Sergeant.)
Hackney returned to the 37th ARRS in 1971, based at Osan Air Base, Republic of South Korea.
Sergeant Hackney was discharged from the Air Force 30 March 1973. He then worked as a sheriff’s deputy for the Genessee County Sheriff’s Department.
Hackney reenlisted in the Air Force as a staff sergeant, 25 March 1977. He was given two months of intensive retraining. He said, “I miss the Air Force lifestyle and my job as a paramedic.”
Technical Sergeant Duane D. Hackney, United States Air Force.
After suffering a heart attack in 1981, Hackney retrained as an Air Force security policeman.
Sergeant Hackey married his wife, Carole, in 1982. They would have a son, Jason.
First Sergeant Duane Dale Hackney, U.S. Air Force.
Chief Master Sergeant Hackney retired from the United States Air Force 30 June 1991. His military awards include the Air Force Cross; the Silver Star; the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters (four awards); the Airman’s Medal; and the Air Medal with 18 oak leaf clusters (19 awards). He was also awarded the Cheney Award.
In 1993, Hackney, then living in Trout Run, Pennsylvania, was studying anesthesiology at Lycoming College in Williamsport.
Chief Master Sergeant Duane Dale Hackney, United States Air Force (Retired) died in Williamsport Hospital, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 3 September 1993. His remains were interred at the Sunset Hill Cemetery in Flint, Michigan.
The helicopter on which Airman 2c Hackney flew aboard on the 6 February 1967 mission was a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, 65-12779 (Sikorsky S-61R, serial number 61554), call sign “Jolly Green 05.” The helicopter had been built as a CH-3C, then converted to a CH-3E and then to an HH-3E combat search and rescue helicopter.
Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant (S-61R). (Sikorsky Historical Archives)
After Hackney fell from the helicopter, it was shot down by ground fire. All four remaining on board were killed.²
The Sikorsky HH-3E (Sikorsky S-61R) earned the nickname Jolly Green Giant ³ during the Vietnam War. It is a dedicated Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) helicopter flown by the U.S. Air Force, based on the CH-3C transport helicopter. The aircraft is flown by two pilots and the crew includes a flight mechanic and gunner. It is a large twin-engine helicopter with a single main rotor/tail rotor configuration. It has retractable tricycle landing gear and a rear cargo ramp. The rear landing gear retracts into a stub wing on the aft fuselage. The helicopter has an extendable inflight refueling boom.
Sikorsky HH-3E (S-61R) Jolly Green Giant Combat Search and Rescue helicopter. (U.S. Air Force)
The HH-3E is 72 feet, 7 inches (22.123 meters) long and 18 feet, 10 inches (5.740 meters) high with all rotors turning. The main rotor has five blades and a diameter of 62 feet (18.898 meters). Each blade has a chord of 1 foot, 6.25 inches (0.464 meters). The main rotor turns at 203 r.p.m., counter-clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The tail rotor also has five blades and has a diameter of 10 feet, 4 inches (3.150 meters). The blades have a chord of 7–11/32 inches (0.187 meters). The tail rotor turns clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left. (The advancing blade is below the axis of rotation.) The tail rotor turns 1,244 r.p.m.
The HH-3E has an empty weight of 13,341 pounds (6,051 kilograms). The maximum gross weight is 22,050 pounds (10,002 kilograms).
The Jolly Green Giant is powered by two General Electric T58-GE-5 turboshaft engines, which have a Maximum Continuous Power rating of 1,400 shaft horsepower, each, and Military Power rating of 1,500 shaft horsepower. The main transmission is rated for 2,500 horsepower, maximum.
The HH-3E has a cruise speed of 154 miles per hour (248 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and a maximum speed of 177 miles per hour (285 kilometers per hour), also at Sea Level. The service ceiling is 14,000 feet (4,267 meters). The HH-3E had a maximum range of 779 miles (1,254 kilometers) with external fuel tanks.
The Jolly Green Giant can be armed with two M60 7.62 mm machine guns.
Sikorsky built 14 HH-3Es. Many CH-3Cs and CH-3Es were upgraded to the HH-3E configuration. Sikorsky built a total of 173 of the S-61R series.
Sikorsky HH-3E 67-14709 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)Cheney Award (U.S. Air Force)
¹ The Cheney Award is a bronze medal awarded annually to honor acts of valor, extreme fortitude or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest performed in connection with aircraft (not necessarily military). It memorializes U.S. Army Air Service Lieutenant Bill Cheney, who was killed in action on 20 January 1918. The award was initiated by his family. It has been called the “Peacetime Medal of Honor.”
² The rescued pilot was a Forward Air Controller (FAC), Captain Lucius Lamar Heiskell, USAF, 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, 504th Tactical Air Support Group. He flew with the call sign “Nail 65.” Heiskell’s aircraft was a Cessna O-1F Bird Dog, serial number 57-2807. The HH-3E, “Jolly Green 05,” was flown by Major Patrick Hardy Wood and Captain Richard Abbott Kibbey. The flight engineer was Staff Sergeant Donald Joe Hall.
³ Beginning in 1928, an American food company began using a cartoon figure to advertise its “Green Giant” brand of canned peas. Eventually the mascot represented The Green Giant Company’s other canned and frozen vegetables. The character is now owned by General Mills. The nickname of the Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant is derived from this advertising character.
Lieutenant Robert W. Crafton, U.S. Navy, and Captain Louis K. Keck, U.S. Marine Corps, with the record-setting Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King. (FAI)
5 February 1962: A Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King (later redesignated SH-3A) became the world’s fastest helicopter by establishing a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world speed record for helicopters of 339 kilometers per hour (210.645 miles per hour) over a 19 kilometer (11.8 mile) course between Milford and New Haven, Connecticut.¹ The pilots were Lieutenant Robert Wiley Crafton, United States Navy and Captain Louis K. Keck, United States Marine Corps. Both pilots were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the American Helicopter Society’s Frederick L. Feinberg Award.
Having served the United States Navy for 45 years, the Sea King is still in service world-wide, most notably as the VH-3D “Marine One” presidential helicopter.
Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King, Bu. No. 147xxx, modified for the speed record attempt. (FAI)
The Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King was the first of the S-61 series of military and civil helicopters. It is a large twin-engine helicopter with a single main rotor/tail rotor configuration. The fuselage is designed to allow landing on water. The XHSS-2 made its first flight 11 March 1959. The helicopter was originally used as an anti-submarine helicopter.
The HSS-2 is 72 feet, 6 inches (22.098 meters) long and 16 feet, 10 inches (5.131 meters) high with all rotors turning. The helicopter’s width, across the sponsons, is 16 feet. The main rotors and tail can be folded for more compact storage aboard aircraft carriers, shortening the aircraft to 46 feet, 6 inches (14.173 meters). The empty weight of the HSS-2 is 10,814 pounds (4,905 kilograms). The overload gross weight is 19,000 pounds (8,618 kilograms).
The main rotor has five blades and a diameter of 62 feet, 0 inches (18.898 meters). Each blade has a chord of 1 foot, 6¼ inches (0.464 meters). The rotor blade airfoil was the NACA 0012, which was common for helicopters of that time. The total blade area is 222.5 square feet (20.671 square meters), and the disc area is 3,019 square feet (280.474 square meters). The tail rotor also has five blades and a diameter of 10 feet, 4 inches (3.150 meters). They each have a chord of 7–11/32 inches (0.187 meters). At 100% NR, the main rotor turns 203 r.p.m. and the tail rotor, 1,244 r.p.m.
The HSS-2 was powered by two General Electric T58-GE-6 turboshaft engines, which had a Normal Power rating of 900 horsepower, and Military Power rating of 1,050 horsepower; both ratings at 19,555 r.p.m. at Sea Level. The main transmission was rated for 2,000 horsepower, maximum. (Later models were built with more powerful T58-GE-8 engines. Early aircraft were retrofitted.)
The HSS-2 has a cruise speed of 125 knots (144 miles per hour/232 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and a maximum speed of 133 knots (153 miles per hour/246 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level. The service ceiling is 12,100 feet (3,688 meters). The hover ceiling at normal gross weight is 5,200 feet (1,585 meters), out of ground effect (HOGE), and 7,250 feet (2,210 meters), in ground effect (HIGE). The HSS-2 had a combat endurance of 4 hours and a maximum range of 500 nautical miles (575 statute miles/926 kilometers).
The Sea King was primarily an anti-submarine aircraft. It could be armed with up to four MK 43 or MK 44 torpedoes and one MK 101 nuclear-armed depth bomb. Other weapons loads included four MK 14 depth charges and four MK 54 air depth bombs.
In 1962, the HSS-2 was redesignated SH-3A Sea King. Many early production aircraft have remained in service and have been upgraded through SH-3D, SH-3G, etc. In addition to the original ASW role, the Sea Kings have been widely used for Combat Search and Rescue operations. Marine One, the call sign for the helicopters assigned to the President of the United States, are VH-3D Sea Kings. Sikorsky produced the last S-61 helicopter in 1980, having built 794. Production has been licensed to manufacturers in England, Italy, Canada and Japan. They have produced an additional 679 Sea Kings.
Captain Louis K. Keck, USMC (left), and Lieutenant Robert W. Crafton, U.S. Navy, in the cockpit of their Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King. (U.S. Navy NH69960)
Captain Eugene A. Cernan, U.S.N., in the cockpit of NASA 947, a Bell 47G-3B-1, as it hovers in ground effect, circa 1970. (NASA)Eugene A. Cernan, backup commander, Apollo 14. (NASA)
23 January 1971: NASA Astronaut Eugene Andrew (“Gene”) Cernan, backup commander for Apollo 14, was flying NASA 947, a 1967 Bell Model 47G-3B-1 helicopter, (N947NA, serial number 6665), on a proficiency flight. He intended to practice vertical approaches as a warmup for a lunar landing.
With full fuel tanks, NASA 947 was heavy. Cernan decided to burn off some fuel by flying along the Indian River before the vertical approaches:
“That gave me a reason to loaf around the sky for a while and invest the extra fuel in some fun flying.
“Small boats dotted the clear water below and bright islands mounded here and there on the river. Hardly a ripple disturbed the mirrorlike surface. After so many months of hard work and concentration, I couldn’t resist the temptation for a bit of mischief known among pilots as ‘flat-hatting.’ So I nosed over and swooped down from a couple of hundred feet to dance the chopper around island beaches and among the boaters, steadily getting closer to the surface. . .
“Without realizing the danger, I flew into a trap that was the plague of seaplane pilots. Without ripples, the water provided no depth perception and my eyes looked straight through the clear surface to the reflective river bottom. I had lost sight of the water. But I was in control, or at least I thought so. . . until the toe of my left skid dug into the Indian River.
“. . . I twisted the collective with my left hand and applied more power, pulling back on the controls, trying to get the machine to climb out of trouble. A plume of water erupted beneath the skid, then the canopy struck and a rushing tidal wave filled my vision as the helicopter lost any semblance of aerodynamic design. In a single flashing instant, it went from a speed of 100 knots to flat zero with a lurch as severe as any I had ever felt landing on an aircraft carrier or staging in a spacecraft. I crashed with a spectacular explosion.”
—The Last Man on the Moon, by Eugene Cernan and Don Davis, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1999, at Page 258
Gene Cernan hovering one of NASA’s Bell 47 helicopters, circa 1971. (NASA via The Drive)
The Bell 47 was torn apart by the impact. The cabin section, with Cernan still strapped inside, sank to the bottom of the river. As a Naval Aviator, he was trained in under water egress. He freed himself from the wreck and made his way to the surface. Gasoline from the ruptured fuel tanks was floating on the water and had caught fire. Cernan suffered some minor burns, but was otherwise unhurt. He was rescued by fishermen who were nearby.
The location of the crash was in the Indian River near Malabar, Florida.
An accident investigation board, led by Astronaut James A. Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, concluded that the accident was pilot error, in that Cernan had misjudged his altitude when flying over the water.
Colonel James A. McDivitt
A week after the flight crew for Apollo 17 was announced, in a meeting with Dr. Robert R. (“Bob”) Bob Gilruth, Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, and Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Deputy Director of MSC and Director of Flight Operations, Colonel James Alton McDivitt, U.S. Air Force, NASA’s Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program (and who had commanded Gemini 4 and Apollo 9), insisted that Gene Cernan be grounded for poor judgement and not assigned as commander of Apollo 17.
Chris Kraft wrote:
“Why didn’t you ask me about this crew?” he [McDivitt] demanded. “Cernan’s not worthy of this assignment, he doesn’t deserve it, he’s not a very good pilot, he’s liable to screw everything up, and I don’t want him to fly.
I was shocked at how strongly Jim was reacting. “Why didn’t you ask me” he pleaded. “Why didn’t you ask me?” Then he shocked me further. “If you don’t get rid of him, I’ll quit.”
. . . I called McDivitt and told him that Cernan was staying. . .
“Thank you,” he said. “You’ll have my resignation shortly.”
— Flight: My Life in Mission Control, by Christopher C. Kraft and James L. Schefter, Dutton, New York, 2001, Chapter 23, at Pages 346 and 347
Gene Cernan, along with Ronald E. Evans and Harrison H. Schmitt, lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center aboard Apollo 17, 7 December 1972. On 11 December, he and Schmitt landed at the Taurus-Littrow Valley at the southeastern edge of Mare Serenitatis.
On 14 December 1972, Eugene Andrew Cernan was the last human to stand on the surface of The Moon.
Eugene A. Cernan at the Taurus-Littrow Valley during the third EVA of the Apollo 17 mission. (Harrison H. Schmitt/NASA)
The Bell Model 47, designed by Arthur M. Young of the Bell Aircraft Corporation, Buffalo, New York, was the first helicopter to receive civil certification from the Civil Aviation Administration, predecessor of the Federal Aviation Administration. On 8 March 1946, the aircraft received C.A.A. Type Certificate H-1.
The Bell 47G was the first helicopter manufactured by the Bell Aircraft Corporation at the company’s new plant at Fort Worth, Texas. It was also produced under license by Agusta, Kawasaki and Westland.
Bell 47G-3B1 NASA 822 (N822NA, s/n 6670) in the original factory paint scheme. (NASA EC82-18422A)
The Bell Model 47G-3B-1 was issued Type Certificate 2H-3 on 25 January 1963. It is a 3-place, single-engine light helicopter, operated by a single pilot. The helicopter has dual flight controls and can be flown from either the left or right. The airframe is constructed of a welded tubular steel framework with a sheet metal cockpit. The landing gear consists of two lateral, horizontal tubular cross tubes, and two longitudinal “skids,” curved upward at the front. Ground handling wheels can be attached to the skids. The most distinctive feature of the Bell 47 is the large plexiglass “bubble” canopy. The main rotor flight controls use a system of bell cranks and push-pull tubes. The cyclic and collective are hydraulically boosted. The tail rotor is controlled by pedals and stainless steel cables.
NASA 822, one of NASA’s Bell Model 47G-3B-1 helicopters (N822NA, s/n 6670), photographed 12 August 1977 at the Dryden Flight Research Center. Chief Pilot Donald L. Mallick is in the cockpit. (NASA EC77-8296)
With rotors turning, the Bell 47G-3B-1 has an overall length of 43 feet, 5.55 inches (13.247 meters). From the forward tip of the skids to the aft end of the tail rotor guard, the fuselage is 32 feet, 7.40 inches long (9.942 meters). The main rotor has a diameter of 37 feet, 0.50 inches (11.290 meters). The tail rotor diameter is 5 feet, 10.1 inches (1.781 meters). Height to top of main rotor mast is 9 feet, 3.7 inches (2.837 meters).
The Bell 47G-3B-1 has an empty weight of approximately 1,820 pounds (826 kilograms), depending on installed equipment. Its maximum gross weight is 2,950 pounds (1,338 kilograms).
The main rotor, in common to all American-designed helicopters, rotates counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right.) The anti-torque (tail) rotor is mounted to the right side of an angled tail boom extension, in a tractor configuration, and rotates counter-clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left. (The advancing blade is above the axis of rotation.)
The main rotor is a two-bladed, under-slung, semi-rigid assembly that would be a characteristic of helicopters built by Bell for decades. The main rotor system incorporates a stabilizer bar, positioned below and at right angles to the main rotor blades. Teardrop-shaped weights are placed at each end of the bar, on 100-inch (2.540 meters) centers. The outside diameter of the stabilizer bar is 8 feet, 6.8 inches (2.611 meters). The pilot’s inputs to the cyclic stick are damped through a series of mechanical linkages and hydraulic dampers before arriving at the pitch horns on the rotor hub. The result is smoother, more stable flight, especially while at a hover. The stabilizer bar action is commonly explained as being “gyroscopic,” but this is incorrect. (A similar system is used on the larger Bell 204/205/212 helicopters.)
The Bell 47G-3B-1 used tip-weighted high-inertia metal main rotor blades. The airfoil is symmetrical, using the NACA 0015 profile. The operating range of the main rotor is 322–370 r.p.m.
The working parts of this Agusta-Bell 47G-3B-1 are clearly visible in this photograph. (M. Bazzani/Heli-Archive)
The 47G-3B-1 used an AVCO Lycoming TVO-435-B1A, -B1B, -D1A, or -D1B engine. The TVO-435 is an air-cooled, turbosupercharged 433.976-cubic-inch-displacement (7.112 liter) vertically-opposed, six-cylinder overhead-valve engine with a compression ratio of 7.30:1. It is equipped with a Garrett AiResearch T-1108 turbosupercharger, which provides a constant manifold pressure with decreasing pressure altitude. The engine idles at 1,500 r.p.m. Its normal operating range is 3,000 to 3,200 r.p.m. (3,100–3,200 r.p.m., above 10,000 feet, or 3,048 meters). The TVO-435-B1 has a maximum continuous power rating of 220 horsepower at 3,200 r.p.m., with a manifold pressure of 27.5 inches Hg (0.931 Bar); and a maximum 270 horsepower at 3,200 r.p.m. at 32.8 inches Hg (1.111 Bar) (-B1) or 32.0 inches (1.084 Bar) (-D1) at Sea Level, for takeoff (5-minute limit).
The TVO-435 is 34.73 Inches (0.882 meters) high, 33.58 inches (0.878 meters) wide and 24.13 inches (0.613 meters) deep, and weighs 464.00 pounds (178.26 kilograms) to 481.00 pounds (182.89 kilograms), depending of the specific engine variant.
Engine torque is sent through a centrifugal clutch to a gear-reduction transmission, which drives the main rotor through a two-stage planetary gear system. The transmission also drives the tail rotor drive shaft, and through a vee-belt/pulley system, a large fan on the forward face of the engine to provide cooling air.
Instrument panel of an Agusta-Bell 47G-3B-1. (M. Bazzani/Heli-Archive)
The Bell 47G-3B1 has a maximum cruise speed of 80 miles per hour (129 kilometers per hour) from 1,000 to 4,500 feet (305–1,372 meters). This decreases to 70 miles per hour up to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), and 50–60 miles per hour (80–97 kilometers per hour) up to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The helicopter’s maximum speed (VNE) is 105 miles per hour (169 kilometers per hour) from Sea Level to 4,500 feet (1,372 meters). Above that altitude, VNE is reduced 7 miles per hour (11.3 kilometers per hour) for every 1,000 foot (305 meters) increase in altitude. Above 15,000 feet, the VNE continues to decrease at 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour) per 1,000 feet (305 meters).
The Bell 47G-3B-1 demonstrated the ability to over in ground effect (HIGE) at a gross weight of 2,850 pounds (1,293 kilograms) at the summit of Pike’s Peak, 14,115 feet (4,302 meters), in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The Density Altitude was approximately 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). At the same gross weight, it hovered out of ground effect (HOGE) at 9,000 feet (2,743 meters), Density Altitude. The helicopter has a maximum altitude limitation of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters).
Fuel is carried in two gravity-feed tanks, mounted above and on each side of the engine. The total fuel capacity is 61.6 gallons (233.2 liters), however, usable fuel is 57 gallons (216 liters). The helicopter has a maximum range of 273 miles (441 kilometers).
In production from 1946 until 1974, more than 7,000 Model 47 helicopters were built, worldwide. Production of the Model 47G-3B-1 began in March 1962 and a total of 337 of were built. The initial sales price was $46,950 (equivalent to $436,325 in 2022 dollars). NASA bought two -G-3B-1s in 1967. Another 415 were built for military customers, designated TH-13T.
This Bell TH-13T-BF Sioux, 66-4292, was in military service from 1966–1972. It is currently registered as N666SM with the civil designation of Bell 47G-3B-1. (FlugKerl2/Wikipedia)
In 2010, the type certificates for all Bell 47 models were transferred to Scott’s Helicopter Service, Le Sueur, Minnesota, which continues to manufacture parts and complete helicopters.
Les Morris at the controls of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-316A (XR-4, serial number 41-18874) on its first flight at Stratford, Connecticut, 14 January 1942. (Sikorsky Historical Archives)
14 January 1942: Chief Test Pilot Charles Lester (“Les”) Morris (1908–1991) made the first flight of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-316A at Stratford, Connecticut. The first flight lasted approximately 3 minutes, and by the end of the day, Morris had made 6 flights totaling 25 minutes duration.
“One-half left front close-up head-and-shoulders view of test pilot Charles L. “Les” Morris posed seated in the cockpit of the Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter (r/n NX28996), March 29, 1943.” (Hans Groenhoff Photographic Collection, Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum NASM-HGC-1408)
The VS-316A (which was designated XR-4 by the U.S. Army Air Corps and assigned serial number 41-18874), established the single main rotor/anti-torque tail rotor configuration. It was a two-place helicopter with side-by-side seating and dual flight controls.
The fabric-covered three-blade main rotor was 38 feet (11.582 meters) in diameter and turned counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right.) The tail rotor was mounted to the aft end of the tail boom in a tractor configuration, and rotated counter-clockwise when seen from the helicopter’s right side.
The VS-316A was 33 feet, 11.5 inches (10.351 meters) long and 12 feet, 5 inches (3.785 meters) high. It weighed 2,010 pounds (911.7 kilograms) empty and the maximum gross weight was 2,540 pounds (1,152.1 kilograms).
The original engine installed in the VS-316A was an air-cooled, normally-aspirated, 499.805-cubic-inch-displacement (8.190 liter) Warner Aircraft Corporation Scarab SS-50 seven-cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 5.55:1. The SS-50 was a direct-drive engine, with a maximum continuous power rating of 109 horsepower at 1,865 r.p.m., and 145 horsepower at 2,050 r.p.m. at Sea Level for takeoff. 73-octane gasoline was required. The SS50 was 2 feet, 5 inches (0.737 meters) long, 3 feet, 0-9/16 inches (0.929 meters) in diameter and weighed 306 pounds (139 kilograms).
Orville Wright and Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky with the XR-4 at Wright Field, Ohio, May 1942. (Sikorsky Historical Archives)
Numerous modifications were made, including lengthening the main rotor blades, covering them with metal, and upgrading the engine to a 200 horsepower Warner R-550-1 Super Scarab. The XR-4 was redesignated XR-4C. This would be the world’s first production helicopter. It is at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Sikorsky XR-4C 41-18874 at the National Air and Space Museum. (NASM)
