Operation Chopper (Vietnam)

Operation Chopper
Part of The Vietnam War
an H-21 flying over South Vietnam
Date 23 December 1961 Location South Vietnam Result US/South Vietnamese victory [1]
Belligerents
South Vietnam United States	Viet Cong
Strength
360
Casualties and losses
None	2 killed

Operation Chopper occurred on 23 December 1961 and was the first time U.S. forces participated in major combat in the Vietnam War.

Background

On 11 December 1961, the USS Core (T-AKV-41) docked in Saigon with 32 U.S. Army Piasecki H-21 helicopters and 400 crewmen of the 8th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) and the 57th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter). A little more than 12 days later, Operation Chopper commenced. ^{[2] : 3}

Operation

On 23 December the helicopters transported 360 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) paratroopers for an assault on a Viet Cong (VC) stronghold and radio transmitter location in War Zone D 10 miles (16 km) west of Saigon. The operation resulted in two VC killed, one wounded, and 46 suspects captured. The VC radio transmitter went off the air and was not located. Additional ARVN troops were flown in on 27 December. ^{[2] : 3  [3] [4] : 29–30}

Aftermath

This operation heralded a new era of air mobility for the U.S. Army, which had been slowly growing as a concept since the Army formed twelve helicopter battalions in 1952 as a result of the Korean War. Their observations of French and British airmobile operations in Algeria and Malaysia also fueled this development. ^{[2] : 4}

On 25 January 1962 the USS Card (T-AKV-40) with the 93rd Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) aboard, arrived off the South Vietnamese coast near Da Nang and the helicopters were then flown ashore to Danang Air Base. ^{[4] : 30}

On 15 April 1962 the United States Marine Corps began Operation Shufly, the rotating deployment of Marine helicopter squadrons, associated maintenance units and air traffic control detachments to South Vietnam to improve the mobility of ARVN forces. ^[5]

References

1. Battlefield Viet Nam Episode 5 "The Undeclared War" on YouTube PBS.
2. Tolson, John (1973). Vietnam Studies: Airmobility 1961–1971 (PDF). Department of the Army. ISBN   9781494721848. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
3. Berger, Carl (1977). The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973: An Illustrated Account (PDF). Office of Air Force History. p. 14. ISBN   9780912799162. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
4. Guilmartin, John; O'Leary, Michael (1988). The Illustrated History of The Vietnam War: Helicopters. Bantam Books. ISBN   9780553345063.
5. Whitlow, Robert (1977). U.S. Marines in Vietnam:The Advisory And Combat Assistance Era, 1954–1964 (PDF). History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 57. ISBN   1494285290. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .