Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 67-15670
The Army purchased this helicopter 0768
Total flight hours at this point: 00001723
Date: 06/20/1972
Incident number: 72062020.KIA
Unit: F/79 ARA 1 CAV
This helicopter was LOST TO INVENTORY
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XT776768
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA, Mike Sloniker, GOLDBOOK (Operations Report. )
Summary: Shot down with .51 cal.
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P CPT NORTHUP EDWIN GILBERT KIA
P 1LT SHIELDS STEPHEN EDWARD KIA
War Story:
At 0955H, at XT 769 770, in the vicinity of Tan Khai, LTC Lew McConnell, the 229th AHB CO, went to extract the pathfinders south of a creek bed. A F/79th AFA Pink team was covering McConnell, when a puff of white smoke went off under his aircraft. Three Blue Max aircraft were in the area; Causey and Funk were lead, Shields and Northrup were in the second aircraft, and Leach and Garrett were in three. All Cobras were flying low level at high speed, when Shields and Northrup were hit by .51 cal fire. Shields, the aircraft commander, successfully landed the aircraft, but could have been wounded. Jim Jackson remembers Northrup was killed after getting out of the aircraft, and attempting to help Shields out. Causey/Funk took 12.7 hits aft of the cockpit. Also an RPG went through their rocket pad and damaged the primary hydraulic and nitrogen accumulator. Crew successfully landed the aircraft
This record was last updated on 05/25/1998
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Date posted on this site: 09/07/2007
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