As we continue our “Graveyard Archives” series, which showcases some of the parked davis-monthan air force base Today’s story takes place in Tucson, Arizona in the late 1960s, and tells the story of the Vertol H-21C Shawnee through the lens of Neil Aird.Munson MemoriesThe H-21 Shawnee is an American helicopter designed by Piasecki Helicopter and later known as the Boeing Vertol. This multi-mission helicopter is often called the “flying banana” because of its appearance. In 1949, Piasecki proposed the YH-21A to the United States Air Force (USAF). The helicopter is an all-metal upgrade of the HRP-1 model. It uses two sets of three blades that rotate in opposite directions and is powered by a nine-cylinder Curtis-Wright R-1820-103 Cyclone engine that delivers 1,150 horsepower. After its first flight in April 1952, the U.S. Air Force ordered 32 H-21A search and rescue aircraft and 163 more powerful H-21B transport aircraft. The H-21B has a more powerful engine producing 1,425 horsepower, and its rotor blades are 6 inches longer. This version can carry 22 fully equipped troops or 12 stretchers and can accommodate two medical personnel for medical evacuation.
The H-21A and H-21B are also used by the U.S. Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in cold environments to support long-range early warning (DEW) radar sites from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska to Greenland and Iceland. In 1952, the U.S. Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron HMX-1 tested some H-21A helicopters for air assault. In 1957, the U.S. Marine Corps borrowed an H-21B to see if it could tow disabled landing craft and amphibious vehicles onto beaches. In this test, the H-21B successfully towed a landing ship at a speed of 5 knots and towed a simulated tracked amphibious vehicle from the water to the shore. The H-21B helicopter engine was also used in a version later sold to the U.S. Army (known as the Vertol H-21C Shawnee) as well as the militaries of other countries. In 1962, the U.S. Army changed the designation of the H-21 to CH-21. The Vertol H-21C Shawnee is used extensively by the U.S. Army to transport troops and supplies. The Army is also trying to arm the H-21C as a gunship. Some of these helicopters have the machine gun mounted under the nose, while others have the machine gun mounted on the door. An experimental version of the helicopter was also tested Within the United States A Boeing B-29 Superfortress has a remotely controlled turret that can mount a 0.50-caliber gun installed under the nose.
The Vertol H-21C Shawnee, later known as the CH-21C, entered service in Vietnam in December 1961. It was deployed by the 8th and 57th Transportation Companies in support of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In the Army, the CH-21C Shawnee can have a door-mounted 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun. The CH-21 was relatively slow and had unprotected control cables and fuel lines, making it vulnerable to ground fire from North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong forces. The helicopter was designed for cold weather but had difficulties in Vietnam’s hot climate. Although it can carry 20 passengers, it usually only carries 9 passengers in Vietnam. In July 1962, a CH-21 Shawnee was shot down near the Laos-Vietnam border, killing four pilots. This was one of the earliest casualties of U.S. troops in Vietnam. Despite these challenges, the Shawnee remained the Army’s workhorse helicopter in Vietnam until it was replaced by the UH-1 Huey in 1964. In 1965, CH-47 Chinook helicopters arrived in Vietnam, and later that year most CH-21 helicopters were retired from service with the U.S. Army and Air Force. The military began retiring Vertol H-21C Shawnees in 1964, with most retired by the end of 1965 and then sent to davis-monthan air force baseknown as the “cemetery”. Read more Boneyard Files articles here.
