D-Troop3/5th Air Cavalry
I. Introduction: The purpose, operation,
mission, composition,
and a typical day's operation of D troop 3/5 Cav.
II. Mission: To extend by aerial means the reconnaissance
and security capabilities of the
ground units. To engage in offensive defensive,
or delaying actions within its capability
and to seize and dominate lightly defended areas
or terrain features. * (note: real mission
was to search and destroy.)
III. Composition:
A. TOE Authorized
1. 216 enlisted men
2. 14 officers
3. 36 warrant officers
B. Presently
1. 221 enlisted
2. 18 officers
3. 29 warrant officers
C. Aircraft
1. 8 UH-1H lift ships
2. 10 OH6 scout ships
3. 9 AH-1G cobras
4. total 27 A/C - we have on hand 22.
D. Troop
makeup
1. Hq section
2. Aero Scout PLT (War Wagons)
3. Aero Weapons PLT (Crusaders)
4. Aero Lift PLT (Longknives)
5. Aero Rifle PLT (Doughboys)
6. Maintenance PLT (Scavengers)
IV. PLT makeup and tactics
1. Scout Platoon (Warwagons)
A. 2 Sections
(1) 2 teams each section
(2) 2 ships each team
B. OH6 Armament
(1) M6O on bunji cord-operated by door gunner
(2) 4000 rounds per minute mini gun operated by pilot
(3) 40 lbs of explosives
(a) frags
(b) CS gas
(c) smoke
(d) baby bombs-also known as W.W.A.S. (Warwagon air assault)
[1] 1 lb tnt 2 lbs C4
[2] 1 lb C4 a can of transmission fluid.
C. Tactics:
The scouts are given an area to work by the C & C (command and control)
A/C. Only 1 team will work an area at any one time. They move into an
area at tree top level and check any suspicious areas thoroughly. Some
of the things the scout looks for are fresh trails, military clothing and
equipment, fresh activity in abandoned areas and suspicious military age
males. To help the scout to perform his mission of finding and killing
VC, he uses a variety of armament which are utilized to blow bunkers,
clear underbrush and kill VC. The lead scout is the one that does most
of the work. The trail scout ship is closely behind the lead to give him
cover at all times, and in case the lead is shot down the trail ship will
be right there to pick up the downed crew. Some of the other function of
the scout team was to screen for troops moving into an area, giving them
constant air cover. Also, the scouts will pick out a suitable LZ
for lift
ships to insert troops.
2. Aero Weapons Platoon (Crusaders)
A. 2 sections
(1) 2 teams to each section
(2) 2 ships to each team
B. AH-1G armament
(1) 2-M59 Rocket Pods holding 19 rockets
(2) 2-M27 Rocket Pods holding 7 rockets
(3) 1 XM-28 turrent
(a) 1 mini gun- 1500 RPM, or 4,000 RPM
(b) 40 mm - 340 RPM
(c) or any combination of the above
C. Tactics:
(1) The cobra is a vital part of the Area weapons platoon. The aircraft
commander is in charge of the aircraft and sits in the rear seat and
controls the firing of the rockets. The gunner (also a lot) pilot control
the firing of the turret and sits up front. He can also fly
from the
front seat to relieve the pilot.
(2) As with the scouts, the cobras only have 1 team on station at any one
time (usually). The cobras cover the scouts in the A/O (area of
operation) and usually orbit around them about 1200 feet. Anytime the
scouts call "taking fire", the lead cobra automatically rolls in to cover
the scouts exit a~t of the area. While the lead cobra is rolling in the
gunner in the front seat is already putting down a heavy volume of mini
gun fire into the area the scouts received fire. When the lead ship is
in position he fires rockets into the area. Also at this time the trail
cobra is putting rockets into the area to cover the leads break and to
keep constant fire in the area. By the time the trail ship is ready to
break the lead cobra has already gained altitude and is ready cover the
trails break. This cycle can continue until the cobras feel it's safe
for the scouts to return or until the target is destroyed. Some of the
other functions of the cobras is to cover the lift ships on insertions
and extractions, and to destroy targets given to them by either the
scouts or the ground troops. The cobras can provide close support to the
ground commander.
3. Lift Platoon (Longknives)
A. 2 sections - 7 ships for each section
B. UH-H (Huey)
carries 2 M6O machine guns
troop capacity 8 U.S. or 10 ARVN
C. Tactics:
The lift platoon uses 4 A/C to carry troops. They usually will fly a
staggered formation or trail formation. The main purpose of the lift
platoon is to insert and extract troops into the LZ. The lift ships are
usually staged out of a staging area which is usually a base camp close
to the AO. Another function of the lift ships is to be used as a
medivac, or ash and trash missions.
4. The Aero Rifle Platoon (Doughboys)
A. 4 squads - 40 men (10 men each squad)
B. Armament
(1) 8 45 cal pistols
(2) 8 M-79's
(3) 32 M-16 rifles
C. Tactics:
The Doughboys are equipped and trained to be ground pounders. Their main
purpose is to give a ground reconnaissance of areas that the scout ships
cannot check out by air. They are strictly a recon element. They are
not a main fighting force and only about 32 soldiers are inserted at any
one time. They can handle small numbers of VC. Anything of a larger
size would have to be dealt with by a regular infantry company which
would be brought in by an Assault Helicopter Company.
Another function of the Doughboys (outside of details) is to secure any
of our downed aircraft until it can be extracted.
5. Maintenance Platoon (Scavengers)
A. 4 sections and a platoon Hq
(1) A/C maint section
(a) Cobra maint team
(b) Huey maint team
(c) LOH maint team
(2) Allied Shops section
(a) engine shop
(b) prop and rotor shop
(c) sheet metal shop
(d) electrical shop
(e) avionics shop
(3) Armament Section
(a) Cobra armament
(b) LOH armament
(4) Tec supply section
PLL
B. Mission:
To maintain and repair our A/C. 110 soldiers sometimes working 24 hours
a day.
V. Typical days operation.
During the night the aviation battalion TOC will
give our troop operations a mission. The
crews are already scheduled for the next days operation.
Wake up 4:15 a.m. shower, shave and
eat breakfast. Briefing is at 5:15 a.m. for the lead
scouts, lead cobra pilots, and lead lift
pilots. At this time they are briefed on the mission
and any special instructions. Meanwhile
the "Pete's" are out preflighting their aircraft.
The troop takes off at 0600 a.m. and reports to
the staging field st 0700 hrs. The mission
commander goes into the TOC to receive his briefing on
the days mission. At this time he meets
his backseat (US Advisor) and the ARVN counterpart. The
backseat has given us several areas that he would like to check out. At
this time the mission commander will ask for "free fire" in those areas
and rules of engagement. Also the U.S. Advisor will indicate where the
ARVN Troops are located and if there are any friendly troops in the area.
We have been given several areas along the canal
to check out. These have been designated as
free fire areas. The scouts move into the area along
the canal checking for camouflaged hooches
and bunkers and dropping CS into those areas with fresh
activity around them. Meanwhile the
C & C aircraft is orbiting about 800 feet above the
scouts and the cobras are covering the scouts
at 1120 ft. (commonly called cutting doughnuts)
After working about an hour the scouts report
a lot of fresh signs and activity. The lead
scout has taken fire and the cobras are "inbound". The
scouts return into the area for damage
assessment and continue to work the area. The scouts
just reported that this would be a good
area to insert troops. The mission commander agrees and
coordinates with the backseat and he in
turn gets approval from his counterpart. The mission
commander cranks up the lift ships to bring
the troops out into the A.O.. Meanwhile the scouts have
found a good L.Z. near the area, to be
checked out. The lift ships are in the area and called
"on long final" The scouts drop smoke
in the L.Z. and depart the area. The cobras's pick up
the lift ships (they're in position
behind and high above the slicks and lay down continuous
fire into the tree line in case they
receive fire). The slicks are on the ground and are coming
out. The lead cobra has broke right
and the trail has picked up the slicks to cover their
exit from the L.Z.. As soon as the lift
ships are clear the cobras break off and cover the scouts
who have moved back into the area to
give constant air cover to the ground troops. The troops
are moving slowly into the area. They
have come across a few hooches and are continue into
the target area. The ground troops have
reported coming into thick underbrush that has slowed
them up. They have also reported finding
several booby traps and bunkers. The ground troops also
confirmed two KBA's for the scouts.
The troops are moving back out into the P.Z. and
are waiting for the slicks. The scouts
move out of the area and the cobras again pick up the
lift ships for the extraction.
The troops have been extracted and are being
returned to their base camp. The scouts make a
final check to see that no one was left behind.
The mission commander notices that there
isn't much daylight left and asks for a release
from the backseat, which he gets and then returns the
backseat and counterpart back to their base
camp. It's already 1903 hrs and the troop reaches Vinh
Long at 2000 hrs.- refuel, rearm fill
out forms and a do a good post flight.
The mission commander returns to operations
to spend another hour filling out after action
reports .
This concludes a typical day.