Helicopter SEAL recovery
 

Helicopters are usefull for many things. They can haul cargo, be used as flying tanks insert infantry into tricky spots or, can be used as a mobile boat ramp. http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common...on_biggrin.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4icClG3JHE

God bless the U.S Military, they allways find the most kicka** wasy of doing things! :rock:

I tell ya it looks cool but i'd hate to be the crew chief who has to deal with the after effects of that stunt, especially if that's sea water like i think it is. Corrosion city.

Well there is a price for everything. And it cant be any worse than what a bunch of bullets could do. :roll:

I don't think anyone was shooting at them, nor could that stunt be pulled off in anything but an absolutely calm sea without crashing the helo, thereby making it fairly useless as a combat extraction method.

It's like the movie of the M1 making the huge jump. In real life the entire crew would be either dead or unconscious.

I ment by no way thay they where getting shot at I was just trying to say that milatary aircraft can put through much worse.

And From what I could see out the loding dor it looked like a lagoon of sorts so it might be possible. :hmm:

And I think a slight chop wouldnt affect it that much.

I dunno. Them SEALs are crazy buggers. And its always nice to have an extra ace up your sleeve in case you happen to be under fire in a calm sea.

Thats why you gotta love the special forces. They do all that crazy stuff. Stuff that sounds stupid but works.

When I was at Ft Bragg in 1989, I saw a guy repel out of a helicopter in the Burger King parkinglot, get lunch apparently, then climb back up the rope.

Supposedly, the got in big trouble.

Well having spent 3 years in a Special Forces outfit (MI Company 10th SFGA 1981-84) i'm somewhat familiar with their habit for experimentation. Star extractions, water deployments, experimental parachutes and equipment, i've seem a lot of things tried and don't get me wrong experimentation is a good thing.

But most of these turn out to be not very practical. Now maybe that method could eventually become viable with a helo made for the task but i'm telling ya that Chinook crew is going to have some serious maintenance headaches for a long time ones that could very easily effect the reliability of the aircraft. There's a lot of electronic equipment, wires and control cables running under that floor and dousing them with seawater like that cannot be a healty thing for them.

As for the safety issue of hovering a helo with it's bottom settled in the sea and it's rear deck open to the unbalancing effect of waves well, i'll bet the pilot knuckles were very, very white the whole time he was down there.

The SEALS have a huge operating budget. When they train they push the equipment to the breaking point, better to break in training than in combat.

As for corrosion. As long as the ramp and bay is given a goo fresh water flush. The damage will not mus different from that caused by the salt air operating off a carrier.

The practicality of it would be in inland coastal waters and river operations. Mark V is more suitable for offshore ops.

"Necessity is the mother of all invention"

It looks like a training exercise to me and it's just not practical IMO.

If the seals on the dinghy were under fire the helo would be very vulnerable, and a much jucier target.

Cool video though. :)

UPDATE!
 

It is a CH-46 Sea Knight.

To be fair, I suppose if your countrymen were yelling on the radio desperately for an extraction, I guess the last thing on your mind would be any detrimental long term effects on the airframe of a chopper.

Even if it was a write off after RTB, I suspect the brass would regard the propaganda value of such an episode on a mission as a bargain in exchange for a chopper that needed a major refurb.

If the pilots think they can handle it, I guess anything is a valid tactic. One read of books like Robert Mason's Chickenhawk and Marshall Harrison's A Lonely Kind of War (both great and recommended by the way) will show you that sometimes an unconventional approach with warplanes is the only way to go.

:D Chock

Look at the RN Marines flying in on the wings of an Apache - hey now that sounds like a cool title for a film.

Sadly it's only a cool title, that film sucks more than words can say:rotfl:

:D Chock