History of the 23rd Helicopter Squadron

The original H-21 Squadron (345th TC Sq, Assault Rotory Wing) which was operational in Sewart AFB Tennessee under Maj Gregg Hartley, when Don Berger and I had come from H-19 helicopter training at San Marcos, TX..

 Starting in November '55, we flew the H-21 at Sewart AFB with Maj Jesse Ammons, Capt Ed Hook and many others.

On 6 July '56, the 23rd Helicopter Squadron (under the 322nd Air Division in France) was initiated and transferred from the 345th Wing.

The squadron was set up with Detachments.

 Hdq Detachment with Jim Blackburn as CO. Jesse Ammons was Vice CO, Jesse Lewis was Instructor and Standards. Dave Ryan was Personnel. Art Godwin - Comm, John Rivers and Don Berger - Maintenance. 

1st Detachment consisted of Bob Roy, Larry Cooper, Chuck McClusky, Dick Lanzendorf, and Al Rogers. This Det  went with the Headquarters at Phalsbourg AB, France.

 4th Detachment was Don Berger, Carl Crews, Harry Dunn, Bill Kuschel and Chuck Smith, also to Phalsbourg AB

2nd Detachment was Ed Hook, Norm Eldridge, Carl McTaggart, and Jim Barron, which shipped off to England.

3rd Detachment was Stewart Spenser, Don Clayton, Herb Trail, Royce Bowman and Watson, which went to

Wheelus AB in support of TAC fighter Training.

On 12 October we departed from Tennessee. The helicopters were cocooned and shipped with Pilots and crews by the Military Sea Transportation Service from Biloxi/Gulfport, LA (or a week or two avoiding a tornado around Florida) to across the Atlantic and on Bremerhaven Germany. We docked there for a few days while the H-21s were de-cocooned and put back together and flight tested. One engine at Bremerhaven had failed piston rods (very common at this time!)    

On 7 November, the first two H-21s left Bremanhavenin and headed across south Germany toward Phalsbourg AB. Along the way, one of the helicopters No. 52867 - we were in the British zone near RAF Alhorn - had an engine failure and a quick autorotation in a farm near Badbergan in northern Germany. Spent a week in the local "guasthouse". The winter snow and a British Van crew guarded our bird a couple miles out - while waiting a call from UASFE at Ramstein (they didn't know where we were!).

 A week later a British\Officer came by and took three of us to RAF Alhorn (left 2 of the crew to wait for an engine change). Next fun was they took us to a train out of Oldenburg - which none of us had ever been on - and went down to Stassbourg. The only military people at Phalsbourg were about 2 hours away- and picked us up after midnight.

Our wives had already been shipped in a troop carrier and were a few weeks ahead of us and were living in Italian "trailers" on the base. The runway - built by the French, for a Fighter Wing - had sunk in - so the 23rd Heli guys were only Officers/Crews around except for two Doctors, a Priest and some cooks! We provided our own music and dancing! We had to drive or fly to Ramstein to pick up our "funny money" since no or little US money used or available!

A week later - a crew flew back up to Badbergen to pick up the bird which had been an engine failure.

On the return to Phalsbourg - the third engine failure occurred within 1-2 miles of the last failure. The folks from RAF Alcorn came in with several helpers and large trailer to tow the bird back to the airfield. The road was one of the somewhat ancient brick roads which just barely had the width of the H-21 wheels. With several troops, flashlights and night -  the crew just trying to guide the tow truck missed a brick, which jammed one of the rear wheels as the truck kept moving and ripped the entire landing gear rigging out of the cabin and the H-21 rolled over on its side!  The next morning the H-21 was literally cut in half and hauled up to RAF Alcorn - and then flown in pieces to Chataureaux AB  in France for major overhaul. It is unknown what happened with the H-21? 

Operations began at Phalsbourg on 7 Nov '56  (Cdr Jim Blackburn, Jesse Ammons, Bob Roy and the Pilots and Crews) .Primary operations were for airlift for families between Phalsbourg, Landshtul, Ramstein, Sembach, Hahn, Bitburg Hospital, Spangdahlem, and Weisbaden Hospital. Other missions supported radar sites along East German border.

Some of interesting missions: 

4 of the H-21s in Wheelus Det 3, which was at Wheelus AB - primarily supporting the TAC Fighter training aircraft at a Vertical bombing range west of Tripoli.

In the meantime the Det 2, with 4 other a/c were based at RAF Weathersfield supporting England based bombing/gunnery ranges.

ONE OF OUR MOST INTERESTING ASSIGNMENTS  was to provide a three ship flight demo for the Paris Air Show in 1957.  The day prior to our demo we gave preliminary show for the head of the USAF delegation at Dreau AFB.

During one of our landing approaches the forward rotor blades of the #2 aircraft hit the rear blades of the lead aircraft.!!! We all landed immediately.  Each of the rotor blades lost about 18"of length.  THANK GOD FOR WOODEN BLADES.  After an inspection of all aircraft, and an all night work effort we got two sets of blades and one rotor hub from Phalsbourgh, changed them, flew over to Paris and gave a flawless demo. (Believe it or not)    

In Dec '57 the 23rd was shut down and many of the H-21s were given to the French in Algiers ( for an ongoing war). The pilots and crews were transferred to other sites, and aircraft and many went back to the states. A couple of us went to Dreux AB for C-119 Flying Boxcars - 12th Troop Carrier Squadron (3 years -2600-hrs-in my case). Don Berger went to Ramstein for a couple of years for Air Rescue helicopters. Some went to TAC Air and others scattered back to the states.

The 23rd was gone!

Harry P Dunn

Attached are pictures of the 'Beer Mug" from the 23rd Helicopter Squadron at Phalsbourg, France.