New pave hawk colour

Grandad,

Yep.  Actually all of the ANG/AFRES rescue squadrons do civil SAR.  In fact I also know that most of the AFSOC Pave Pig squadrons also do civil SAR on occasion.  My squadron here in Alaska (actually 3 Squadrons; 210 RQS-HH-60G, 211 RQS-HC-130, 212 RQS PJ/CRO) have a peacetime SAR alert commitment as spelled out in the National SAR Plan.  We do about 300 Missions a year with about 70-110 Saves and 30-60 Assists per year.  That's in addition to deploying to OEF/OIF and elsewhere.  The boys at Moffit, New York and Patrick do the same.  Pretty sure that all USAF/Navy SAR units do civil SAR.  Your taxpayers dollars at work.  The Sugarbears (USARAK CH-47Ds) bring in the NPS camp on McKinley every year and C/1-52 (Medevac UH-60A+) are the only (I believe) US Army that still has a MAST agreement with the AK State Troopers.  Of course, saying all that you rarely hear about this in the news but then we could care less.  It's all about doing the mission "These Things We Do That Others May Live"

Grant,

Yeah, it's a weird deal.  Our slicks and Hc-130s still have it painted on the side but our HH-60Gs came back from the latest round of depot without it painted on the doors.  Everybody I talked to at the squadron doesn't know why that is.  It's an Air Guard HH-60 wide deal though.  Oh...and yes....we've been known to put our own "touch" on our aircraft from time to time.  The USAF has gotten a lot more strict about that type of thing though.  As far as the big dipper, it's alreadt been done.  The AK ARNG UH-60s have it across the top of the nose.  Personally I'm thinking of a white predatory arctic bird that you may just see in the Pavehawk replacement group build

The 302nd was actually flying HH-3Es but since it was an AFSOC SOS they were officially CH-3Es.  Actually riro to that CH-3Es could be distinguished by not having the A/R boom and sometimes didn't even have a hoist.  Of course there were always exceptions.  Here in Alaska (I say that a lot don't I) the 71st actually had a mix of CH-3Es and HH-3Es for a while.  Besides not having a boom, some of the CH-3Es had fixed landing gear (no sponsons) and were used primarily for range support and to fly/slong loads at the many DEW Line radar sites up here.  The 5040th Helicopter Squadrons SH-21Bs did the same thing.

Sal

I appreciate your looking into that color for us.

No more Alaska Air Guard on the doors? Last I heard, your HC-130s still had that on the main gear sponsons, so why remove it from the HH-60s? (They may have thought you guys would apply that upon return) That sucks! You know, y'all could make your own stencils... maybe even something involving the big dipper...

Ah, is this a case where CH-3E and HH-3E are the same thing, the prefix just indicates who operates it, an SOS vs. an ARRS? Kind of like MH-60G/HH-60G in AFSOC or ACC service?

Hey Grant,

I'll ask some of the maintenance dudes if they know anything about the lighter and darker greens with the Euro paint schemes.  I know we had a mix at one time.  Basically they'd come back from depot painted like that.  I think I remember hearing a guy say something like if they went to depot in Korea they came back with the darker green, but if they went down to Corpus Christi they came back with the lighter green (since we're in Alaska we sent them to both).  I'll see what I can dig up.  I will say that we're pretty pissed off that all our birds no longer have Alaska Air Guard on the doors ever since they came back from the latest depot trips.  They do have the "AK" on the tail.  It's kinda funny....they preach heritage in NCO and SNCO academy and all other PME, but then they do something like this making our birds look just like the active duty folks.  DOn't get me wrong...I understand Total Force Integration.  Hell, I even agree we should be more combined ("One team, One Fight"), but I still think units need to be proud of who they are and their heritage. 

Oh, and yer right about the CH-3E's in desert attire.  Pretty sure they were from the 302nd SOS (AFRES) birds from Luke AFB, AZ.  There were 5 acft deployed: 67-14703, 67-14707, 6714718, 67-14724 & 69-5798.  SOme places list them as HH-3E's but since they were assigned to a Special Ops Sq they're really CH-3E's (even though they were fit out just the same as HH-3E's).  Sure would be a nice paint scheme too with the invasion stripes, that is of course IF SOMEBODY WOULD JUST MAKE A NEW HH-3!

The helicopter Gino is building is one of four that carried that very unofficial scheme for just over a year (03.03—03.04). The colors are mil-spec and correspond to the FS595a (33446, 33303, 30051). The scheme works very well against the desert during the day, but it sticks out like a sore thumb when viewed through NVGs. The following airframes carried the scheme: 90-26224, 90-26225, 90-26227 & 90-26229. For a time, it was possible to see both European 1, AFSOC Gray and Desert Tan HH-60Gs on the ramp at DM.

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As for the MH-60Gs in Desert Storm - Sal, I haven't seen or heard anything that contradicts you about the 55th SOS being the only Pave Hawk operators deployed. I've been told buy a guy from the 305th that a good number of their helicopters were re-painted in the two-town brown and tan scheme when they were deployed. And I'm pretty sure some H-3s were deployed in the last days of ODS that were painted in a similar two-tone scheme (however the dark brown wasn't as dark as the brown on the MH-60G)

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 European One Scheme:

I've been working with a guy over on ARC to find out what's up with that black-green color is. The Pave Hawk wore the MAC version of Euro1 which specified 34092 green, 34102 green and 36118 gray. 34092 green is a bluish green (look between the windows on the main cabin door and on the tail) and what's on this machine is nearly black. It's not just MH-60Gs, but I've seen MAC/ANG C-130s, C-141s, C-5s, HH-3Es and even an OV-10A wearing that color.

I'll chime in and say that I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that the only USAF 60's in Desert Storm were MH-60G's from the 55th SOS.  The USAF CSAR units were in the middle of transitioning to the HH-60G from HH-3Es and were therefore for the most part not C-1 at the time.  There were however rescue aircrews and PJs sent over. 

And good on ya Gino for doing an Air Force Reserve bird from DM.

HeavyArty wrote:

There may be a few other one-off schemes out there that I don't know about, but these are all I have seen.

During Desert Storm, a few MH-60Gs wore a two-tone brown scheme

And there have been some variations on the Euro1 scheme (one of the greens was replaced by an almost-black) back in the 80s and 90s

As a note, the 160th SOAR markings are all OD Green on the black helos.  You can get OD decals from Cobra Company to use on them.  Or make your own like I did on my MH-60L DAP. The Academy AH-60L DAP kit (actually an MH-60L since the US military doesn't use the AH designation for blackhawks) comes with incorrectly colored yellow markings.  The 365 on the aux tanks inside mine below are the original yellow Academy decals.

Here's mine:

More here.

Good luck.

Sweeet! Thanks Arty! I might have to buy another pavehawk kit and do a USAF one and the Army one, I wonder where a guy could get decals for the Army unit...

*EDIT*

Nevermind, I found them... Pretty simple decals, just numbers and US Army decals?

I don't know of any AM decals for Pavehawks.  For color schemes, they are basically in two common schemes, and at least one not so common.  The old scheme is the Light Green, Dark Green and Gray scheme you mention, known as the Euro 1 scheme.  It was used primarily till the late '90s to early 2000s.

The newer scheme is known as AFSOC Gray.  See above for how to reproduce it.  It is an overall Gunship Gray color and began being seen around 2000.  It is the current scheme for most MH/HH-60Gs today.

The anomaly are the HH-60Gs out of Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ as seen in OIF.  They are in a 3-tone desert scheme of sand, khaki green, and brown.  I am building this one now.

There may be a few other one-off schemes out there that I don't know about, but these are all I have seen.

Oh that decal on the nose of the PC-6 Roooooooools!!!!!

Love it!

 I like the look of the new all grey machines, never really cared for the sandy brown barber poles.

 David

As usual, many thanks for the info!  The gunship grey looks just right.  Nice aircraft too - very unusual subject.

 Jim

It is being unofficially called AFSOC Gray.  The closest match is Testors Model Master Gunship Gray.  I just used the same color on an AFSOC PC-6 Porter.  You can see how it looks here.

I too just started the Academy MH-60G.  It is a great kit.  I have already done both the UH-60L and MH-60L DAP versions.  I will be building mine as an OIF HH-60G out of Davis-Monthan AFB in a 3-tone desert scheme.  Here is a pic.

Good luck on yours.