- Member since
December 2002
- From: Valrico, FL
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Posted by HeavyArty
on Sunday, September 10, 2006 9:05 PM
Jason82nd wrote: | The guy I'm building it for wants it to look like the ones from Blackhawk Down. |
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The Academy MH-60L DAP is a post Somalia bird. Some deletions need to be made to build it into one from Somalia. Here is some info on Operation Gothic Serpent (Somalia '93) Blackhawks, gathered from crewmen and pilots on the mission:
For an Operation Gothic Serpent MH-60L, here’s what I can tell you as told to me by a Doorgunner from the 160th who flew the mission on Oct 3-4 1993. The Blackhawks were all MH-60L, They were black with OD markings, no IFR probe, pilot doors were removed for missions, FLIR and Radar dome were fitted but not the angled missile detectors on the nose. No ESSS wings were used during missions, the AH-6 was used for fire support. The internal fuel tanks were removed for missions due to small distances flown and to fit more passengers in the back. The aircrafts call sign was painted on the window of the cargo door on both side e.g. Super 68 had "68" painted on the windows. As for the Crews they all wore Desert sand colored flying suits with a pistol usually on the thigh and their survival vest (unsure what type) and helmet personal weapons were MP-5 or M-16 usually. M-134 was the only weapons carried no .50s and the miniguns were fed by 2 individual 20mm ammo box one per gun not the huge central one like the MH-60G in the Kit.
1) The 160th MH-60L's didn't use internal aux tanks as the ranges flown were minimal, and they were primarily configured for max pax. Some of the regular army -60's used ESSS and the MedEvac -60's as well. 2) There are actually two internal aux tanks mounted side-by-side against the rear bulkhead. Sometimes we use only one, sometimes both, and sometimes neither. The mission and environment dictated how many. 3) Since we're talking about Gothic Serpent, only the M-134 miniguns were used. Every insert bird also carried two (sometimes 3) Delta snipers. The D-boy snipers used M-25's (accurized M-14's) M-4's and I think a saw a couple SR-25's or AR-10's. 4) While the 160th guys brought two DAP kits with them and even used them for training (to keep currency, etc.) they were never used operationally during Gothic Serpent. For that fact, I don't remember ever seeing an MH-60L using ESSS during my deployment there. 5) Weapons, a personal thing for each crewmember. MP-5's were sometime carried in thigh rigs but were generally stowed up front somewhere. Crewchiefs had M-4 carbines and M-16A2's usually stowed behind the pilot's seats but they were also stowed elsewhere. We stowed them hanging off the webbing on the H-bar directly over the minigun ammo bins. All crewmembers also usually carried at least one pistol (issues M-9, but some had Sigs and 1911's) in a thigh rig or in a vest holster. 6) IFR probes were not used in Gothic Serpent for the same reason as Item 1). And that the only refueling assets were two USMC KC-130's based out of Mombasa Kenya but I think they left when the Marines left prior to Gothic Serpent.
I vividly remember that some MH-60L's had the nose radar and some did not. All had the FLIR turret mounts but didn't have FLIR installed for every mission. There were no plume detectors that I saw but each one had nose and tail mounted APR-39 radar detectors.
What are the serial numbers for the two MH-60Ls downed in Mogadishu? 91-26350 and 91-26324
Super 61 was named 'Thunderstruck' 91-26324 Walcot's bird Super 64 was named 'Venom' 91-26350 Durant's bird Super 68 was named 'Razors Edge' 90-26288 Super 66 was named 'Gun Slinger' 91-26363 And then there was 'Southern Comfort' which I'm not sure their operational codenumber was.
Super 62 - carried Shughart and Gordon Super 64 - reserve bird Super 66 - carried chalk 3 Super 67 - carried chalk 4 Super 68 - carried the CSR team
Other OPGS aircraft I am sure I am going to leave a couple out. These were from my platoon. Some were the MH-60A others were MH-60L. Most were DAPS.
85-24395 The Predator, The 1st ever DAP 83-23908 Heavy Metal 83-23887 Heavy Metal, We had to give ACFT 908 to our sister unit. I took the engine cowlings off of 908 and put them on 887. 83-23839 Iron Maiden 84-24000 The Liberator 84-24010 Bounty Hunter 83-23853 Bat Copter ===Batman logo on engine cowlings 89-26184 Flatliner The 1st L model DAP 91-26360 Thrasher 91-26276 Dirty Deeds
"The aircraft always flew with the cockpit doors off. Super 61 had a hoist mount, but no hoist was installed. It would be a U shaped piece of metal about a foot long and about a foot forward of the right hand engine air inlet. One other thing, the fairings around the main landing gear strut weren't installed on any of the Black hawks in D Company and cargo hooks weren't installed on the aircraft. There was a tube, about 3 inches in diameter installed in its place. The tube had 4 rings (in a clover leaf pattern) attached to it in the center. The system was installed in place of the cargo hook for securing the aircraft during fixed wing transport of the helicopter..." (Pat Powers crew chief Super 65)
2. Super 64, 160 SOAR, Michael Durant’s bird.
Durant’s Blackhawk was Super Six-Four. It had 64 painted on the front cabin door windows. As for the helicopter's nickname, Durant never referred to it in his book other than Six-Four. Looking at the photo of his crew posing with the helicopter, on the right engine nacelle (looking forward from the pilots' positions, there is a word written in what looks like Arabic under a square root symbol. It is hard to make out, but in another picture, this time of 64's crew chief Tommy Fields, you can make out the bottom half of the left engine nacelle. “VENOM” is on the nacelles, with the V forming the right leg with a line extending across the whole word so it looks like a square root sign.
Also from Durant’s book: "Tommy, in his late twenties, had a race car back in his garage in Lisbon, Maine, and he treated 'his helicopter' no differently from that hot rod. The wheels were always slick with Armor All, the windshield washed after every mission. There wasn't a drop of oil on that thing." So you don't have to dirty the model up too much to accurately represent the real thing.
If you need any refernace pics, send me an email and I can send you some.
One more question. What are those two diagonal objects protruding from the nose on either side of the ground following radar? |
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They are missile plume detectors. Part of the counter-measures system on the aircraft. They warn you if there is an incoming missile. They were not present on helos in Somalia. Also, on the L it is not a terrain-following radar protruding from the nose. That is a doppler weather rader. Only the K model has the terrain-following radar.
Good luck.
Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!
Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
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