The Army
activated the 1st Transportation Helicopter Company
at Fort Sill, OK, on 1 December 1950 under
provisions of Tables of Organization and Equipment
(TO&E) 55-57T. It was redesignated the 6th
Transportation Helicopter Company on 1 August 1951.
Officers of the company were all veteran helicopter
pilots. Enlisted men were selected on the basis of
prior mechanical experience. Many of them were sent
to the Helicopter Mechanics Course at Fort Sill.
The warrant officers started training on 1 June 1951
in the Army Helicopter Transport Pilots Course.
Department of Air Training, Field Artillery School,
Fort Sill.
No cargo helicopters were available for the training
of either pilots or mechanics. The pilots trained in
H-23 Hiller and H-13 Sioux aircraft, of which there
were insufficient quantities. Much of the
maintenance training consisted of theoretical
classroom work.
The first operational mission of the unit was
Operation Southern Pine, Fort Bragg, NC, in August
1951. The unit was equipped with seven Hiller H-23A
reconnaissance helicopters.
Officers performed all of the flying as the warrant
officers were not yet qualified. The first class of
warrant officer helicopter pilots graduated on 1
December 1951.
In Exercise Snowfall at Camp Drum, NY, in January
and February 1952, warrant officer aviators had
their first experience in operating as a unit; they
used 10 H-13 helicopters in this maneuver.
The Army obtained its first Sikorsky H-19 cargo
helicopter just before the next unit operation –
Exercise Longhorn. This maneuver was conducted as a
joint exercise with the Air Force at Fort Hood, TX,
in March and April 1952. In addition to the one
H-19, the company used nine H-13s.
There were clashes between the Army and the Air
Force over two policy questions during this
exercise. First, the Air Force blocked the Army from
several functions. These functions were conducting
maneuvers involving resupply of a surrounded unit,
movement of an infantry company to a frontline
position, and the evacuation of an infantry company
from an exposed position.
Air Force spokesmen contended it was contrary to
established policy for the Army to conduct such
missions. Consequently, Army helicopters were
consequently used only for aeromedical evacuation
from front line to battlefield clearing stations.
The second dispute with the Air Force during
Exercise Longhorn concerned aeromedical evacuation.
On the orders of an Air Force officer and for the
purpose of enforcing the Air Force interpretation of
established policy, a casualty was unnecessarily
unloaded from an Army aircraft and transferred to an
Air Force aircraft for movement to a medical
facility.
In the summer of 1952, the 6th Transportation
Company moved to Fort Bragg where it was placed
under command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In the
late summer of that year (almost 2 years after it
was organized), the company received 21 Sikorsky 19C
helicopters and began a concentrated training
program, including ship to shore operations. On 10
September 1952, the company was reorganized under
TO&E 55-57A of 8 August 1952.
In the meantime, two other transportation companies
had been organized and were being trained. The 13th
Transportation Helicopter Company was activated in
August 1951 and the 506th several months later.
According to General Orders 76. Dated 11 August
1952, all logistical support functions for Army
aircraft were transferred from the Ordnance Corps to
the Transportation Corps.
In February and March 1953, the 506th Transportation
Helicopter Company, along with the 152d Cargo
Helicopter Field Maintenance Detachment, conducted
Exercise Snowstorm using one H-23 and 11 H-19
helicopters. The company moved from Fort Benning,
GA, to Camp Drum, NY, with organic aircraft – the
first helicopter unit movement over such a long
distance.
During Exercise Snowstorm, there was another dispute
with Air Force personnel over evacuation of
casualties. The Army evacuated casualties according
to its interpretation of the 1952 memorandum of
understanding (MOU), and insisted that, especially
in cases of actual casualties, the evacuation be
done by the fastest available means. The Air Force
did not concur and demanded only the Air Force
evacuate casualties by air before linkup by ground
forces.
What were the purposes of these and other exercises
conducted by helicopter transportation companies
during 1952 and 1953? To train personnel and to test
Army doctrine, tactics, techniques, and equipment
under various climatic conditions. The equipment
proved to be generally adequate, but several supply
and maintenance problems were encountered and
partially corrected.
