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4/8/66 from Tropic Lightning NewsMore Troops Land at Cu Chi
The 25th Inf. Div. flexed its military muscle anew last week when more than 2,000 “Tropic Lightning” troops arrived at Vung Tau aboard the USNS Gordon.
Met by Air Force C130s, the troops were transported to Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base outside Saigon and further transported to their base camp at Cu Chi by CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
The soldiers are the latest contingent of the division presently based in the Republic of Vietnam. The newly arrived men arrived five days after Maj. Gen. Fred C. Weyand, division CG, landed in Vietnam to assume command of the 25th Infantry Division's soldiers in the III Corps Tactical Zone.
Last Saturday's arrival marked the completion of the division soldiers' 6,000-mile move from Hawaii to Vietnam, although the 1st Bde.Task Force still remains in the Aloha State.
The incoming contingent included the remaining elements of Support Command under Colonel Herbert S. Lowe, and Division Artillery, commanded by Colonel Daniel B. Williams.
The latest arrival climaxes the deployment of “Tropic Lightning-aires” to Vietnam beginning in December when 3d Bde. arrived at Pleiku, 240 miles north of Saigon. They took over a bivouac area secured by elements of the 1st Cav. (Airmobile) Div. as part of the U.S. challenge to six or seven North Vietnamese regiments reported operating in the mountains.
Second Bde. arrived in January and is presently in the Cu Chi area.
Members of 25th Avn. Bn. arrive at Cu Chi.
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Cobra to Be Successor To Armed Iroquois
The streamlined, high-speed UH-1H “Huey” Cobra helicopter will soon replace the five-year-old UH-1B Iroquois as the Army's workhorse armed helicopter, according to an Army announcement.
It will do the job of its predecessor - escort troop-carrying helicopters and provide suppressive fire on landing zones until the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System becomes operational.
The Cobra was developed by the Bell Helicopter Co. to meet the Army's needs for an interim weapons ship fitted with an improved armament system and available for immediate low-cost deployment.
Its high-performance fuselage gives the Cobra greater range, speed, maneuverability, and weapons payload than the UH-1B, also made by Bell. It uses, however, the same transmission, engine, and rotor system to provide similar operational characteristics and parts interchangeability. Little pilot and mechanic retraining and few supply changes will be needed. The Cobra has a crew of two; the gunner sits directly forward of the pilot and mans a General Electric Minigun mounted in a turret beneath the nose of the fuselage. Short wings permit the mounting of grenade launchers, rockets, and other weapons.
First deliveries of the Cobra are scheduled for mid-1967. They will be deployed as soon as possible, gradually replacing the UH-1B. (ANF)