South Vietnam H-34 helicopter airmobile operation southeast Asia Airailimages NARA National Archives

Color footage from the U.S. Air Force shows South Vietnamese Air Force Sikorsky H-34 helicopters carrying South Vietnamese soldiers during action listed as taking place in August 1968. The H-34, rugged and reliable, was a piston-engine helicopter powered by a single R-1820 radial engine. The H-34C could carry up to 18 troops. It had a sling load capability, and was photographed carrying a damaged Cessna O-1 with the wings removed. Cruising at around 97 miles per hour, the H-34 had a top speed of 123 miles per hour. Scenes in this film show flexible .30-caliber door machine guns. As the U.S. Army upgraded to a turbine-powered helicopter force, H-34s were delivered to the South Vietnamese. A few scenes, not identified in the notes accompanying the footage, show turbine-powered UH-1 helicopters as airmobile warfare developed its equipment and rationale during the war in Vietnam. UH-1s replaced H-34s in South Vietnamese service. Records and recollections from the war in southeast Asia give credit to a number of South Vietnamese H-34 pilots who flew harrowing missions to save stranded and surrounded troops. I’m Fred Johnsen for the Airailimages Channel. Thanks for watching, and thanks especially for giving this video a Thumbs Up. Channel views, and recommendations from YouTube, are up for the year, and we appreciate your help in getting there.