United States Army Aviation Museum

The United States Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama, has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world and features some 50 aircraft on public display with aviation artifacts ranging from a replica of the Wright brothers' Model B military biplane to an AH-64 Apache from Operation Desert Storm. The museum has over 160 aircraft in its collection and holds 3,000 historical items.

Greeting you as you enter the front door, these proud representatives of Army Aviation welcome you to the Museum. Each statue represents an era in U.S. Army Aviation history.

CH-47A

The CH-47A designed by Boeing Vertol was selected by the Army in 1959 to fill the need for a transport helicopter. The tandem rotor "Chinook" has a dead-lift capability in excess of 15,000 pounds of external cargo and is designed to transport a 33 man platoon and their equipment. The cargo bay is also capable of carrying light vehicles, and can be configured to provide medical transport of up to 24 stretchers. The Chinook flight crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer. The reliability of this design and the service proven dependability have given the CH-47 the distinction of being a world standard for medium-lift helicopters. Currently being fielded as the CH-47F model, it remains as the workhorse of Army Aviation today. It has a range of 230 miles and a speed of 178 mph.

Inside the CH-47A

Cockpit of the CH-47A

Opened in June 1995, the Vietnam Memorial exhibit offers visitors a chance to absorb the human cost of war. This memorial room contains the name, rank, and date of fatality of all known Army Aviation personnel who suffered combat related aviation fatalities, in airplanes and helicopters, during the Vietnam conflict from 1962 - 1975. The 4,347 names represent pilots, co-pilots, crew chiefs, crew members, door gunners and medics, to include 1,889 who were never recovered.

A statue of an Army Aviator with helmet in hand stands as a monument to those who died in service to their nation. The body of the statue was sculpted and the hands, arms, and head are the cast of a real person. The helmet, flight suit, flak jacket and combat boots were worn in Vietnam. The conventions are the same down to the dogtag tied on the lace of the boot in addition to the dogtags worn around his neck.

The memorial exhibit is marked with a map of Vietnam superimposed with a silhouette of a UH-1 Huey. The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association provided a master list and sent a member to program the sign-making machine for all the names. The Dust Off Association, Vietnam Helicopter Crewmembers Association, and Otter Caribou Association also assisted in providing information to the museum.

This memorial is a wonderful addition to the museum and definitely fitting to remind us of our lost loved ones.

In 1993, Super 68 participated in Operation Gothic Serpent and was one of three Blackhawk helicopters to be shot down during the incident known as The Battle of Mogadishu. Initially, the story was recounted in the Philadelphia Inquirer as a news story by reporter Mark Bowden entitled "Blackhawk Down" which later became a book, followed by a movie with the same title.

Tail #340, "Miss Clawd IV", is one of the aircraft on display that has an actual, documented combat history in Vietnam. It bears the same paint scheme as it wore the day it was shot down.

The centerpiece of the exhibit floor depicts a well-publicized photograph from the Vietnam Conflict. It appeared in the 1st Cavalry Division yearbook, and shows an air assault landing of the "Bravo Blues", 1st of the 9th Cavalry.

The ability of the helicopter to evacuate wounded soldiers from the front lines in a timely manner during the Korean Conflict helped to solidify the use of vertical flight technology for the U.S. Army.

(Information provided by U.S. Army Aviation Museum website)