HMX-1
The Marine Helicopter Squadron One ( HMX-1 ), "The Nighthawks", stationed at the Marine Corps Base Quantico , is for the helicopter transport of the United States of America President , the Vice President, Cabinet members and VIPs responsible. When the President is on board, the callsign " Marine One " is used. In addition to VIP transportation, the HMX-1 is also responsible for testing new Marine Corps helicopters.
history
In 1946, while observing atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll , General Roy Geiger realized that atomic bombs made amphibious landing maneuvers much more difficult (due to the concentration of troops, ships and material on the beach). Therefore, the commandant of the Marine Corps convened a special committee (called the "Hogaboom Board"), which recommended that the Marine Corps develop transport helicopters to enable more dispersed landings on opposing beaches. The committee also recommended that an experimental helicopter squadron should be established for this purpose.
HMX-1 was established on December 1, 1947 and stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico. The choice of home base was based on the relative proximity to the Sikorsky plant in Stratford, Connecticut , and the Marine Corps schools, from which the majority of the new staff should come. The decision was made for the Sikorsky HO3S-1 and the Piasecki HRP-1 and a first test was carried out in which 5 helicopters from the squadron 66 transported Marines from the deck of the USS Palau to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina . Although the machines used for the test could only transport 3 Marines each and therefore had to fly the route several times, the procedure itself could be confirmed.
In 1948, the Marine Corps schools published the first manual for airborne operations, Amphibious Operations - Employment of Helicopters (Tentative), or Phib-31 . The Marines used the term vertical envelopment for this . HMX-1 performed the first ship-to-shore transfer of troops from the deck of an aircraft carrier in a training exercise in May 1948.
After the start of the Korean War , four HMX-1 helicopters were transferred to Marine Observation Squadron 6 (VMO-6) and sent to aid the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in the Battle of the Busan Perimeter in 1950. The helicopters were used for battlefield surveillance and control, medical evacuation and the rescue of pilots. During the battle of the Changjin Reservoir , the helicopters were used to maintain contact between the individual Marines units lined up on the west bank of the reservoir. The requirements of the Korean War exceeded the training of the Navy pilot, so that HMX-1 was drafted as a training unit in the first years of the war. In this unit, the pilots trained who would later form the core of HMR-161, the first Marines helicopter transport squadron.
On September 7, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was badly needed at the White House while on vacation at his summer residence in Newport, Rhode Island . Typically, the journey home to Washington, DC would have been an hour crossing over Narragansett Bay , followed by a transfer to Air Force One , a 45-minute flight to Andrews Air Force Base , Maryland, and a 20-minute drive to the White House.
Realizing the urgency of his presence in Washington, President Eisenhower urged his staff to find a quicker connection with Air Force One. An HMX-1 helicopter, a UH-34 , was waiting in Rhode Island and could be used to transport the President to his waiting aircraft. The President agreed, and after a 7-minute flight, the precedent was set.
Shortly thereafter, a Presidential Marine officer asked HMX-1 to investigate the possibility of a helicopter landing on the southern lawn of the White House. Preparatory assessments and test flights showed that sufficient space was available for safe take-offs and landings. After completing the necessary formal procedures and instructions, the HMX-1 began its long career as a presidential air transport between the South Lawn of the White House and Andrews Air Force Base, Air Force One's home base . Originally, this task was done in collaboration with the Army , it wasn't until 1976 that the Marine Corps was given sole responsibility for transporting the President by helicopter anywhere in the world. Today HMX-1 is also to transport the Vice President , Defense Minister , Secretary of the Navy in charge, commander of the Marine Corps and all visiting forming heads of state.
Aircraft
The first official “presidential helicopter” was the VH-34 Choctaw , which entered service in September 1957 and was replaced by the VH-3A in early 1962. In the late 1970s, the VH-3A were decommissioned and replaced by the modernized VH-3D. The current helicopter fleet consists of the VH-3 Sea King and VH-60N "WhiteHawk" , which entered service with the squadron in 1988.
The 'V' in the name indicates the “VIP” version of the helicopter. The Executive Flight Detachment is the only unit in the Marine Corps that has these Sikorsky helicopters in service. The VH-3D can carry 14 passengers, while the VH-60N can carry 11 passengers. Both helicopter types each require a pilot, co-pilot and group leader, the VH-60N crew also includes a communication specialist. Because the VH-60N folds up easily for transport in an Air Force C-5 Galaxy or C-17 Globemaster III , this model is ideal for assignments outside of America. The Marines can prepare a VH-60N for a C-5 transport in less than 2 hours.
Due to the uniqueness of the VH platform, all pilots and the responsible maintenance personnel are specifically trained by instructors trained by Sikorsky. This training lasts - depending on the student's specialization - between 1 and 5 months and takes place in the squadron. Sikorski employees then also monitor the maintenance and use of the machines by the Marines.
It was planned that the HMX-1 would get 23 new Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel helicopters to replace the current fleet, but in April 2009 it was announced that the Kestrel program was no longer in the budget. In May 2014, the US Navy announced that the Model S-92 had won another tender. The order for six helicopters and two simulators is valued at $ 1.24 billion. The machines are to be given the designation VH-92A.
HMX-1 also operates a small number of VH-53Ds (modified CH-53Ds) and CH-46 Sea Knights for utility and service purposes . These are to be replaced by CH-53Ks and MV-22B Ospreys by 2017 . These aircraft are also painted in HMX-1's own dark green color scheme.
Subgroups
The President and VIP flights are operated by Whiteside (White Side), the executive flights division. Most of this division's activities are coordinated by the White House Military Office . Even if the "white side" is officially stationed in Quantico, the department operates on a large scale from the alarm facility at the Navy base in Washington, DC. The VIP helicopters can be seen on the white paintwork on the top. ) differ from their "normal" counterparts.
The Greenside (Green Side) activity , which provides the rest of the HMX-1, includes the testing and evaluation of flying machines such as the V-22 Osprey , a tilt rotor aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities, as well as assistance with training and exercise activities of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Marine Corps Base Quantico .
The "X" in the squadron name originally stood for experimental, as a label for the original order to test helicopters and flight systems. Since the VIP transport became more important than the tests over time, the "Experimental" was deleted from the squadron name, but not from the abbreviation.
literature
- Chapin, John C. Fire Brigade: US Marines in the Pusan Perimeter , Washington DC; Marine Corps Historical Center, 2000
- Dorr, Robert F. Marine Air - The History of the Flying Leathernecks in Words and Photos , Penguin Group, 2005 ISBN 0-425-20725-0
- Mersky, Peter B. US Marine Corps Aviation - 1912 to the Present . Annapolis, Maryland; Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1983. ISBN 0-933852-39-8 .
- Rawlins, Eugene W. Marines and Helicopters 1946-1962 , Washington DC; History and Museums Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1976
- Shettle Jr., ML United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II , Bowersville, Georgia; Schaertel Publishing Co., 2001, ISBN 0-9643388-2-3
- Brent, PT, "Marine One" - Welcome Aboard , Leatherneck Magazine , Marine Corps Association, February 2009 issue
Web links
- The HMX-1 Executive Flight Detachment (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ US Marine Corps Aviation - 1912 to the Present , page 125
- ↑ United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II , page 131
- ↑ Fire Brigade: US Marines in the Pusan Perimeter , page 15.
- ^ Marines and Helicopters 1946--1962 , p. 47
- ↑ a b c d e f History of the Executive Flight Detachment
- ^ Gibbs: Obama puts new presidential helicopters on hold , Feb. 24, 2009
- ^ Gates outlines military spending overhaul , April 6, 2009
- ↑ Rick Burgess: Presidential Helo designated VH-92A - News Column . In AIR International February 2015, p. 15
- ↑ 2007 Marine Aviation Plan ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , LtGen John Castellaw, Headquarters Marine Corps
