The Experimental Military Unit (EMU) was a joint Australian-American company-sized helicopter assault force which operated during the Vietnam War. The unit was created in 1967 following a request from the United States military for Australia to send more helicopter pilots to the conflict. As the only available personnel were from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm (with Australian Army and RAAF pilots already heavily committed), the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV) was formed and integrated into the 135th Assault Helicopter Company of the United States Army. The EMU unit name was selected by the Americans as a backronym for the Australian bird, a choice which amused the Australians: despite being large, fast, and highly mobile, the emu cannot fly.
The EMU flew multiple variants of the UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, and was primarily tasked with providing transport and support for units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States Army and Marine Corps, and Australian Army. A typical day's operations consisted of ten transports (supported by four gunships and a command unit) collecting a unit of soldiers, performing a combat assault, then returning the unit to base. Other operations included dawn and dusk assaults, night hunter-killer patrols, and supporting United States Navy SEAL units in the capture of senior Viet Cong personnel. Although the RAN contingent was significantly smaller than the rest of the unit, the Australian personnel frequently found themselves in senior positions, due to having more extensive training and experience than their American counterparts.
Initially operating out of Vung Tau Air Base, the EMU was relocated to Blackhorse Base Camp at the end of 1967. In late 1968, the unit was moved to near Biên Hòa. In mid-1970, the EMU was tasked to operations into Cambodia, but as the rules of engagement for the Australians forbade them from operating outside Vietnam, the unit operated under-strength for several days until being retasked back to Vietnam operations. Later that year, the unit was relocated to Đồng Tâm. The RANHFV was withdrawn from Vietnam in 1971, ending the joint unit. The Australian contingent was the most highly decorated RAN unit to serve in the Vietnam War, and the one with the highest casualty rate.
The 135th was integrated with the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam, an Australian contingent of eight pilots, four observers, four aircrew, 24 technical sailors and mechanics, and six administrative personnel, all drawn from 723 Squadron RAN.[2] Four of these contingents were deployed during the Australian participation in the joint unit (RANHFV 1 through 4).[3] The Australian officer in charge of the RAN contingent became the executive officer of the 135th Company, and because of their more extensive training and experience when compared to the American personnel (for example, one US Army flying instructor assigned to the company had only 125 hours flying experience, while each RAN pilot had over 1,000 hours), Australian personnel commonly filled out leadership positions throughout the company.[4]
RANHFV airman paints EMU logo
The collective name for the combined unit was the Experimental Military Unit, or EMU.[5] The name was a backronym for emu, and was selected by the 135th before their deployment for being a large, fast, and highly mobile Australian bird.[5] The designation amused Australian members of the company, because emus cannot fly.[6]
The EMU was officially part of 12th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade, and was part of the US Army chain of command.[2][7] A separate chain of command for RAN personnel was maintained to the Commander Australian Forces Vietnam.[7] The Australian command chain was rarely used: David Farthing, who led RANHFV 3, claims he only had to use it once during his twelve-month deployment.[7]
The main role of the EMU was to provide transport and support for units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States Army and Marine Corps, and Australian Army.[8] For this purpose, the company was equipped with UH-1 Iroquois helicopters: 30 UH-1D or UH-1H 'Slick' troop-carrying helicopters (the EMU was the first Assault Helicopter Company to be equipped with the 'H' model), and eight UH-1C gunship helicopters (nicknamed Taipans, after the venomous Australian snake).[6][8][9] The company was divided up into five platoons: two troop transport, one gunship, one maintenance, and one headquarters.[6]
A typical daily deployment consisted of ten Slicks (plus a spare), two teams of two gunships, and a Command and Control helicopter (designated 'Charley Charley').[10] The helicopters would depart base at dawn, collect a unit (typically from the United States 9th Infantry Division, the United States 199th Infantry Brigade, the South Vietnamese III and IV Corps, or the 1st Australian Task Force), perform a combat assault, then return the unit to their base before dark.[8][11] Other duties performed by the EMU, particularly from 1970 onwards, included dawn and dusk assaults; night hunter-killer patrols, which consisted of one Slick armed with flares, two gunships, and a Charley Charley armed with a high-power searchlight and a twin 0.50 calibre machinegun; and joint operations with the United States Navy SEALs, which typically involved locating and capturing senior Viet Cong (VC) personnel.[12]
History
Creation
In 1966, the United States requested that Australia send more helicopter pilots to Vietnam, as the increase in the number of US and allied soldiers had increased beyond the capability of helicopter transport and support units.[2] Because of Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) commitments in Vietnam and elsewhere, the only available pilots were from the RAN Fleet Air Arm.[3] It was originally intended to integrate them with the RAAF's No. 9 Squadron, although the United States Army requested that the RAN pilots be integrated with one of their helicopter companies.[3] On 14 July 1967, it was announced that the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV) would be created and combined with the US Army's 135th Assault Helicopter Company to form the Experimental Military Unit (EMU).[2]
October 1967 – September 1968
The components of the EMU arrived in Vung Tau during early October 1967: the 135th during the first week, and the RANHFV contingent during 16–18 October.[1] The company was declared operational on 3 November 1967.[5] The company operated from Vung Tau Air Base during November and December, then was relocated to Blackhorse Base Camp (operating base of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) in the Xuân Lộc district on 31 December.[13]
In mid-February, while delivering the ARVN 9th Division to a landing zone near Mỹ Tho, the EMU encountered multiple companies of heavily armed North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) soldiers.[14] One helicopter was shot down by a rocket, killing the American aircrew, and eight other aircraft were damaged.[14] On 22 February 1968, a RAN EMU pilot was killed while leading a mission to extract ARVN soldiers from a VC assault.[15] He was the first Australian pilot to be killed in the Vietnam War.[15]
A program started in late February, where pilots from No. 9 Squadron RAAF were invited to fly with the EMU for two-week stints: although officially conceived to promote knowledge-sharing between the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and the United States Army aviation branch, the plan also helped counteract pilot shortages in the EMU as United States personnel completed their twelve-month draft period and were not immediately replaced.[16]
On 18 May, the EMU was assigned to transport the ARVN 25th Division.[17] During the landing, the force was ambushed by VC: ten aircraft were hit and several ARVN were killed or wounded, although the only injury suffered by EMU aircrew was a bullet through the earlobe of an American pilot.[17] It was later found that the attack resulted from an intelligence leak within the ARVN unit, resulting in a tightening of procedures and the creation of 'Smoky'; an Iroquois modified to generate a smoke screen during landings.[18]
On 21 August, a gunship was struck by a rocket and crashed, killing the three aircrew.[19]
Starting from 9 September, the second RANHFV contingent was rotated in, with the EMU's Australian Executive Officer relieved on 30 September, and the last members of the first contingent departing on 15 October.[20] During RANHFV 1's deployment, the EMU had flown 30,670 hours, with seven American and three Australian aircrew killed, plus eleven Americans and four Australians seriously injured.[20]
October 1968 – September 1969
On 23 October, the EMU met heavy resistance near Bến Tre while performing insertions and extractions of the 9th Division.[20] Two helicopters crashed and were destroyed, and another seven damaged, but there were no aircrew casualties.[20]
RANHFV pilot checks rocket pod on his UH-1 at Bearcat Base, March 1969
In January 1969, a RAN pilot was killed when his helicopter made contact with power lines during bad weather.[22]
In mid-February, a gunship was shot down in Vĩnh Long by a VC force.[22] The aircrew survived, and used the gunship's door-mounted M60 machine guns to keep the VC at bay until another EMU helicopter could rescue them.[22] The VC commenced sporadic mortar attacks on Bearcat on 22 February, forcing the EMU to evacuate their helicopters and support personnel to Blackhorse six times over the next seven days.[22]
On 31 May, an EMU gunship escorting a formation near Đồng Tâm Base Camp came under heavy fire and crashed, killing all aboard. Door Gunner, Leading Aircrewman Noel Shipp, the only Australian in the crew, continued to fire as the helicopter hit the ground, a campaign to bestow Shipp with the Victoria Cross failed and he was instead honored with a Recruit Division in his name at the RAN, Recruit School.[22][23]
On 16 June, an Australian gunner aboard a Slick was wounded while providing covering fire for a medical evacuation of South Vietnamese soldiers near Cái Bè.[22]
Despite the start of the wet season in June, PAVN activity increased.[22] This, combined with the loss of several helicopters and the replacement of the US 9th Infantry Division with the less professional ARVN 7th and 9th Divisions as part of the 'Vietnamization' process, increased the EMU's workload.[24]
RANHFV 3 began to rotate in from 10 September, and was completed by late September.[24]
October 1969 – September 1970
On 19 December, following a VC ambush in Bình Đại which killed half of an ARVN unit, the EMU successfully deployed a blocking force in the path of the PAVN withdrawal, which inflicted heavy casualties.[25]
Several helicopters were shot down and crew chiefs killed or wounded during operations in the first months of 1970.[26] Around the same time, the replacement of South Vietnamese commanders with more aggressive officers in the units the EMU operated with, a desire to prevent North Vietnam from launching another Tet Offensive-like attack, and the commencement of night-time hunter-killer patrols dramatically increased the EMU's workload.[26] This was compounded by shortages in new American personnel to replace those who had completed their draft, spare parts, and aircraft, forcing the EMU to borrow helicopters and aircrew from other units.[26]
In early March, an EMU helicopter landed on a booby trap, seriously wounding the Australian pilot and killing two South Vietnamese passengers.[26] Later that month, an American gunship crewman died from wounds received from enemy fire, while in a separate incident, five Slicks were damaged by gunfire.[26]
At the start of May 1970, the EMU was marked to lead operations into Cambodia.[26] However, as Australian personnel were forbidden by their rules of engagement from entering Cambodia, a point reinforced by the Australian Embassy the night before the first operation, the EMU was forced to operate without Australian personnel for several days, until they were reassigned to duties in Vietnam.[27] The commitment of other helicopter units to the Cambodian campaign further increased the EMU workload.[28]
On 18 May, a South Vietnamese outpost was overrun by a VC battalion.[28] The EMU was called in to drop counterattacking troops into the area; during this the Australian-manned lead helicopter was damaged and had to withdraw.[28] Another EMU helicopter was diverted from other operations to lead the insertions.[28] The second leader received cockpit instrument damage from enemy fire, although the Australian pilot remained on station for several more waves.[28] The pilot, Sub-Lieutenant Andy Perry, was later awarded the United States Silver Star, the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and was mentioned in despatches.[28] Two days later, an EMU gunship crashed after being fired on by a .50 caliber machine gun, killing the American aircrew, while its companion was heavily damaged.[28]
By the end of May, the shortage of United States personnel had been addressed, with the company brought back to full strength.[28] However, the gunship platoon was down several helicopters, a situation that remained unaddressed as the UH-1C gunship was no longer in production, and the replacement, the AH-1 Cobra, had not been deployed to frontline units.[28]
In August, the EMU was relocated to Đồng Tâm Base Camp, which also housed elements of the United States Navy SEALs and the Mobile Riverine Force.[29] Although closer to the unit's normal operating areas (an advantage which was negated when the ARVN 21st Division, operating in the Mekong Delta began to require EMU support), the base was regularly subjected to mortar and rocket attacks (in the first month, the base was mortared on average once a week).[29] The EMU was required to relocate completely within four days while continuing operations.[28]
The Royal Australian Navy rotation from RANHFV 3 to RANHFV 4 occurred during September, with the EMU executive officer position formally handed over on 17 September.[30]
October 1970 – June 1971
Attacks on the base continued throughout October and November; five EMU personnel were wounded by mortar shrapnel on 3 November.[30] On 11 November, the EMU was required to drop four waves of South Vietnamese soldiers into an engagement with a VC battalion near the U Minh Forest.[30] During this, five aircraft were damaged, one of which was forced to land, but later recovered.[30]
The vulnerability of the UH-1 was demonstrated in late 1970[clarification needed], when five EMU helicopters were shot down in the Kien Hoa province by a single VC soldier armed with an AK-47 rifle.[31] Nobody was killed in the resulting crashes, but all five helicopters had to be airlifted out by CH-47 Chinooks.[31]
On 4 December, an Australian EMU pilot rescued a South Vietnamese patrol boat, which had been disabled and was drifting towards the VC force that had attacked it and sunk a companion craft.[32][33] Despite coming under fire, the pilot achieved this by entangling his Iroquois' landing skids in the boat's superstructure and towing it away.[32] He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions.[32]
Operations continued into the new year, and on 16 January 1971 an EMU helicopter was shot down, crashing upside-down.[32] The American pilot was killed, but the other personnel survived the crash, linked up with South Vietnamese troops fighting in the area, and remained with them until helicopters of the 1st Cavalry Regiment drove the PAVN off.[32]
During late February and early March, South Vietnamese and American forces were involved in Operation Lam Son 719, an attempt to cut North Vietnamese supply lines (known as the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.[32] Because of the Australian contingent, the EMU did not participate in this operation, but found that American pilots and aircrew intended for the unit to replace draft completers were instead being diverted to helicopter companies supporting the operation.[32]
Early in 1971, it was announced that the RANHFV would be one of several Australian units to withdraw from Vietnam by mid-1971.[32][33] The Australian personnel of the EMU ceased flying operations on 8 June, and departed on 16 June, marking the end of the joint-force Experimental Military Unit.[32]
Awards and honours
A UH-1N helicopter that was flown by Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam personnel in 1968, on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in 2015
The Australian personnel received a number of honours and decorations: three were appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), eight received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), five the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), and one received the British Empire Medal (BEM).[34] 24 were Mentioned in Despatches, and 34 received Naval Board Commendations.[34] This was over half of the honours and awards presented to RAN personnel serving in the Vietnam War.[15] Australian personnel were also awarded several Vietnamese and United States decorations.[33]
723 Squadron RAN, the parent unit of the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam, was awarded the battle honour "Vietnam 1967–71".[33]
Five RAN personnel assigned to the EMU were killed during the conflict, with another ten seriously injured: the highest casualty rate of any RAN unit in Vietnam.[35]
In 2018, the Australian government awarded the Helicopter Flight Vietnam a Unit Citation for Gallantry, which was presented at a ceremony held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.[36]
HMAS Sydney (R17/A214/P214/L134) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built for the Royal Navy and was launched as HMS Terrible (93) in 1944, but was not completed before the end of World War II. The carrier was sold to Australia in 1947, completed, and commissioned into the RAN as Sydney in 1948.
The Battle of Đồng Xoài was a major battle fought during the Vietnam War as part of the Viet Cong (VC) Summer Offensive of 1965. It took place in Phước Long Province, South Vietnam, between June 9 and 13, 1965.
The Battle of Ấp Bắc was a major battle fought on 2 January 1963 during the Vietnam War, in Định Tường Province, South Vietnam. On 28 December 1962, US intelligence detected the presence of a radio transmitter along with a sizable force of Viet Cong (VC) soldiers, reported to number around 120, in the hamlet of Ap Tan Thoi in Dinh Tuong Province, home of the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) 7th Infantry Division. The South Vietnamese and their US advisers planned to attack Ap Tan Thoi from three directions to destroy the VC force by using two provincial Civil Guard battalions and elements of the 11th Infantry Regiment, ARVN 7th Infantry Division. The infantry units would be supported by artillery, M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs), and helicopters. However Viet Cong forces anticipated a major attack from the South Vietnamese government from a variety of sources, including movement of supplies, an undercover VC agent and decoded radio communications from the ARVN. Accordingly the VC prepared for an attack by US and South Vietnamese forces.
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA), known formerly as the Australian Navy Aviation Group, is the division of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) responsible for the operation of aircraft. The FAA was founded in 1947 following the purchase of two aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy. FAA personnel fought in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and participated in later conflicts and operations from host warships.
Bien Hoa Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about 25 km (16 mi) from Ho Chi Minh City, across the Dong Nai river in the northern ward of Tân Phong, and within the city of Biên Hòa within Đồng Nai Province. The boomburb city is densely populated and rings the base, despite significant levels of agent orange toxins simply left there for decades. The base is scheduled to begin cleanup by 2019.
Phan Rang Air Base is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) (Khong Quan Nhan Dan Viet Nam) military airfield in Vietnam. It is located 5.2 miles north-northwest of Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm in Ninh Thuận Province.
Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War (1959–1975), stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there. Following the Fall of Saigon, it was taken over as a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) facility and remains in use today.
The Battle of Bình Giã was conducted by the Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) from December 28, 1964, to January 1, 1965, during the Vietnam War in Bình Giã, Phước Tuy province, South Vietnam.
The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, was the aerial branch of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the official military of the Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975.
Operation Sure Win 202 was a 1964 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) operation carried out with US support. ARVN commandos were transported by U.S. helicopters behind entrenched Viet Cong (VC) positions, attacking them with shoulder fired rockets and flame throwers. Sniper teams then tracked the fleeing rebels and engaged them.
The Battle of Binh Ba, also known as Operation Hammer, was a battle during the Vietnam War. The action occurred when Australian Army troops from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment fought a combined force of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC), including a company from the PAVN 33rd Regiment and elements of the VC D440 Battalion, in the village of Bình Ba, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province. The battle was unusual in Australian combat experience in South Vietnam as it involved fierce close-quarter house-to-house fighting, although the majority of enemy killed was through heavy artillery and air-bombardment. In response to PAVN/VC attempts to capture Binh Ba the Australians assaulted the village with infantry, armour and helicopter gunships, routing the VC and largely destroying the village itself. Such battles were not the norm in Phuoc Tuy, however, and the heavy losses suffered by the PAVN/VC forced them to temporarily leave the province. Although the Australians did encounter PAVN/VC Main Force units in the years to come, the battle marked the end of such large-scale clashes, and ranks as one of the major Australian victories of the war.
723 Squadron is a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. The squadron was first raised in 1952 and throughout its history has served operationally during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and in East Timor. It currently operates as a helicopter training squadron and is based at HMAS Albatross at Nowra, New South Wales.
Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) Five, known by the US Navy designation HA(L)-5, was the initial designation of a Naval Special Warfare and close air support helicopter squadron in the period following the Vietnam War, which, along with its sister squadron HA(L)-4 "Red Wolves", was one of the last two US Navy squadrons using HH-1K "Huey" gunships. In October 1989 the squadron was redesignated Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Special Five (HCS-5), it adopted the name "Firehawks" and it traded in its "Hueys" for HH-60H Seahawk Combat Search and Rescue helicopters. The squadron was deactivated on 13 December 2006.
Operation Coronado XI was the eleventh of the Operation Coronado series of riverine military operations conducted by the U.S. Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) and units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), designed to secure Cần Thơ in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive. It ran from 12 February to 3 March 1968.
The first involvement Australia had with naval aviation was in 1911, when an Australian-born Royal Navy officer became one of the first four naval officers to receive pilot qualifications. During World War I, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) experienced several forms of airborne operation, with HMAS Brisbane operating a seaplane, while HMA Ships Sydney and Australia were used for experiments with aircraft launch platforms. An aircraft embarked aboard Sydney was also involved in one of the first naval air battles. Several Australians also flew as part of the Royal Naval Air Service.
Operation Thayer, Operation Irving and Operation Thayer II were related operations with the objective of eliminating People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) influence in Bình Định Province on the central coast of South Vietnam. The operations were carried out primarily by the United States (US) 1st Cavalry Division against PAVN and VC regiments believed to be in Bình Định. South Korean and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces also took part in the operation.
Operation Byrd was a security operation conducted during the Vietnam War by the U.S. 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 44th Regiment in Bình Thuận Province, South Vietnam from August 1966 to 1 December 1967.
The attacks on Biên Hòa, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968 and continued until 2 February 1968. The attacks by Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces were one of several major attacks around Saigon in the first days of the Tet offensive. The attacks were repulsed with the VC/PAVN suffering heavy losses, having inflicted minimal damage on the bases.
Operation Quyet Chien, was a United States Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) security operation during the Vietnam War that took place from 3 August to 31 November 1968.
Operation Shufly was a United States Marine Corps operation to improve the mobility of Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces in the early phases of the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1965. Beginning on 15 April 1962, Marine helicopter squadrons, associated maintenance units and air traffic control detachments deployed to Sóc Trăng Airfield in the Mekong Delta and later to Da Nang Air Base rotating every four months in order to provide assault support and CASEVAC assistance during combat operations. By early 1965 half of the Marine Corps' medium helicopter squadrons had rotated through a "Shufly" deployment. The operation ended on 8 March 1965, when the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade came ashore in Vietnam as the vanguard of the United States' commitment of large numbers of regular combat units into South Vietnam.
References
Books
Australian Naval Aviation Museum (ANAM) (1998). Flying Stations: a story of Australian naval aviation. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN1-86448-846-8. OCLC39290180.
Cooper, Alastair (2001). "The Korean War Era (pp 155–180); The Era of Forward Defence". In Stevens, David (ed.). The Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Centenary History of Defence (vol III). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-555542-2. OCLC50418095.
Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey; Morris, Ewan; Prior, Robin (2008). The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History (2nded.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-551784-2. OCLC271822831.
Farthing, David (2007). "The RAN and Air Mobile Operations: The RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam". In Stevens, David; Reeve, John (eds.). Sea Power ashore and in the air. Ultimo, NSW: Halstead Press. ISBN978-1-920831-45-5. OCLC271328006.
Hobbs, David (2011). "A history of Australian naval aviation". In Oldham, Charles (ed.). 100 Years of the Royal Australian Navy. Bondi Junction, NSW: Faircount Media Group. OCLC741711418. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
Eather, Steve (1998). Get the Bloody Job Done: The Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight – Vietnam and the 135th Assault Helicopter Company 1967–1971. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. pp.86–87. ISBN1-86448-802-6.
External links
Huey Vets – EMU Inc.: a non-profit organisation promoting the history of the EMU and Vietnam helicopter units in general, primarily through the operation of an airworthy replica of an EMU helicopter.
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