Attention all air wingers - CH46 phasing out?
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  1. #1

    Attention all air wingers - CH46 phasing out?

    Good evening gentlemen my mistake is this was posted in the wrong area but I didn't have time to browse the forums do to the internet being halfass.

    I just got my orders here in Pensacola for the CH-46(phrog) but was told that they were being phased out by the V22's soon, my question is... when? I'm super pumped to be going rotary especially with a pair of badass choppers like these.

    I wont be in the fleet until after DEC15th and I'm assuming the first year I'll be doing tool handout/basic jobs. Do you think it will effect my career in the Corps being switched over If I am at all?

    Personally I think it would be awesome to have two choppers under my belt whereas my peers will only have one, but on the flipside will it take longer to become a CDI/QAR? How do the components compare on these birds?

    Just trying to plan out my career here, any advice is appreciated.


  2. #2
    I haven't seen a CH46 flying around here at Camp Lejeune for a year or two. See Cobras, Ospreys all the time, and an occasional CH53, but no 46's...


  3. #3
    Marine Free Member bpatk's Avatar
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    Ch 46

    You'd find most 46's in reserve units or deployed with same. Keep hearing talk of phase out but in my opinion they're going to keep those birds flying until the cows come home because they're economical troop transport in a budget minded DoD. And you should know the V 22 is a $$$$ sucker and a or used to be a widow maker.


  4. #4
    Yes I've been asking around and it seems like a lot of guys think the Phrogs are better than the V22's reliable wise.

    Talking with SSgt who gave me the orders he made it sound like they would be out within the year but on wiki there's still a list of squadrons going strong with 46's.

    All in all I'm balls out for either one just wondering how it would effect my future for better or worse.


  5. #5
    Your first year in the fleet is not likely to be tool handout and crumby jobs. When you get to the fleet, you will hit the ground running. You becoming a CDI all depends on how quickly you learn, and how motivated you are to test out. If you get moved over to to MV-22's halfway through your enlistment: You go back to A-School as a fleet returnee, A.K.A a GOD among boots. You return to the fleet with experience, know-how and rank that a boot trained on the same platform will not. Already knowing how to use tools correctly, and get to hard to find parts. Your ability to manipulate the manuals and find what you need quickly. You will find yourself being a CDI/QAR on your next platform rather quickly. Don't worry about it, the Marine Corps is not going to waste money on sending you to school and getting OJT if they aren't going to get anything out of it. The Air Wing tends to make more logical decisions when it comes to these things.


  6. #6
    My first day in the fleet, I hadn't even checked in with the squadron, I was out on the flightline, sweating my ass off and learning my job.


  7. #7
    Marine Free Member Sgt Jim's Avatar
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    Was a bubble chaser on the 46s when they were still some what new


  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Time Bandit View Post
    they were being phased out by the V22's
    Wow....no more 46's.
    I'll now guess the UH34's have been replaced also with something a bit more contemporary.
    I've got a lot of miles in both of those gems.
    On Op Jackstay a 34 crash landed almost on top of me a few others.
    On my last Op I was told I was rotating to CONUS and the 46 I was in broke a fuel line and started dropping like rock from the sky but somehow hobbled back to my fire base a few hundred feet above the canopy.
    We all thought it was over during this event.
    The memories.

    Guess I'll have to google the V22's and see what they look like.

    Carry on....more coffee....


  9. #9
    Hell yes, that's exactly what I want, to be learning my job and actually getting involved. Sgt. M, if they move me over half way through are you sure I would have to repeat A school?! (AWAT,tire and wheels, corrosion, hydraulics, stand) it would be the same as when I went through it the first time. There was a CPL in my class but only because he was previously Motor T and was for some reason kicked from that mos.


  10. #10
    I'm going to go out on a limb and say you wont have to go back to "A" school. They will be sending you back to "C" school. Last I heard besides the Reserves and a couple S.A.R squadrons the only active 46's are HMX-1 and Okinawa.

    Chulaivet: the 34's were replaced a long time ago by the 46's. Now the 46's are being replaced by the Hybrid/Osprey, which I think is still a piece of junk!


  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by JAGarland View Post
    IChulaivet: the 34's were replaced a long time ago by the 46's. Now the 46's are being replaced by the Hybrid/Osprey, which I think is still a piece of junk!
    Wow....strange the UH34's were replaced by the CH46's as they were a different configuration but could hold rein squad somewhat comfortably.
    They were all loud, flying vibrators. (ahem)
    I'm so ignorant of the new stuff it's embarrassing.

    Thanks....carry on...


  12. #12
    Marine Free Member ChuckH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chulaivet1966 View Post
    Wow....strange the UH34's were replaced by the CH46's as they were a different configuration but could hold rein squad somewhat comfortably.
    They were all loud, flying vibrators. (ahem)
    I'm so ignorant of the new stuff it's embarrassing.

    Thanks....carry on...
    When I was in Nam in 68, the 34's had already been replaced with the 46's.


  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by ChuckH View Post
    When I was in Nam in 68, the 34's had already been replaced with the 46's.
    No sh!t!
    Well...that may explain part of my ignorance.
    I rotated to CONUS on 3/15/67 and at the time I was spending equal time in both choppers depending on the Op and logistics.

    The 34's were limited in space that's a given.
    My first Op was on 34's from the Princeton (The Ugly Angels) and only about 3-4 Marines (max) could fit with all necessary gear and they were a bit slow getting airborne.

    I've got a few good pics as we were leaving the deck of the Princeton on 34's for Op Jackstay which I may upload.
    I do have a pic up of the interior of a 46.

    Thanks for updating me.....carry on...


  14. #14
    Marine Free Member Sgt Jim's Avatar
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    The last time I came through Jacksonville past the Air Station they had a UH 34 at the entrance,is it still there ?


  15. #15
    Marine Free Member ChuckH's Avatar
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    Did a lil snooping around on the net...

    Vietnam
    French evaluations on the reported ground fire vulnerabilities of the CH-34 may have influenced the U.S. Army's decision to deploy the CH-21 Shawnee to Vietnam instead of the CH-34, pending the introduction into widespread service of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois. U.S. Army H-34s did not participate in Vietnam, and did not fly in the assault helicopter role, however a quantity were supplied to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. These saw little use due lack of spare parts and maintenance.

    USMC UH-34Ds over Vietnam, 1965.


    The USMC continued to use the H-34 pattern, even after the U.S. Army had phased it out. Even after the USMC adopted their own version of the UH-1, the UH-1E, the CH-34s continued to be used up to and for a period after the Tet Offensive in 1968.
    Its higher availability and reliability due to its simplicity compared to the newer helicopters led Marines to ask for it by name. The phrases "give me a HUS", "get me a HUS" and "cut me a HUS" entered the USMC vernacular, being used even after the type was no longer in use to mean "help me out".
    USMC H-34s were also among the first gunship helicopters trialled in theatre, being fitted with the Temporary Kit-1 (TK-1), comprising two M60C machine guns and two 19 shot 2.75 inch rocket pods. The operations were met with mixed enthusiasm, and the armed H-34s, known as "Stingers" were quickly phased out. The TK-1 kit would form the basis of the TK-2 kit used on the UH-1E helicopters of the USMC.
    On August 18, 1969, the last Marine UH-34D in Vietnam was retired from HMM-362 at Phu Bai. During that period, enemy action and accidents downed 134 helicopters. Most of the twenty surviving CH-34 helicopters were turned over to the South Vietnamese during the course of the war, though a few were ultimately reclaimed by the Army prior to the final collapse of the Saigon Government.
    In the late 1950s, Air America, a CIA-created airline, began flying UH-34Ds in Laos, manned by crews on leave from the Marine Corps. When the last military UH-34 left Vietnam, Air America was still operating the type, including upgraded S-58Ts
    Post-Vietnam War
    The H-34 remained in service with United States Army and Marine Corps aviation units well into the late 1960s, and was standard equipment in Marine Corps Reserve, Army Reserve and Army National Guard aviation units until replaced by the UH-1 Iroquois utility helicopter. Sikorsky production ceased in 1968, with 1,821 built.[4] On 3 September 1973, the last flight of a USMC UH-34 occurred as bureau number 147191 was flown to MCAS New River.
    All H-34 helicopters were retired from service in the U.S. military by the early 1970s.


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