The
California Military Museum
The
California Military MuseumA historic treasure from the Vietnam era takes off from the central coast.
A Vietnam era Chinook military helicopter is being transported from Camp San Luis Obispo all the way to Kentucky.
Boeing/Vertol produced 355 Chinook CH-47A helicopters in the early 1960's.
On Friday, quite an operation was performed at Camp San Luis Obispo to make that five.
For over thirty years, the piece of U.S. military history has been grounded near the front gates at Camp San Luis Obispo.
It was used to transport men and equipment during the Vietnam War.
It's said to be one of the last Chinook 47-A helicopters around.
"It's an obsolete piece of equipment. They're always developing newer equipment so we usually put them into museums when they become obsolete," said William O'Brien from the California National Guard.
That's exactly what's happening with this piece of obsolete equipment.
But because of its size it requires an army of men. Only Friday, they're not driving tanks or humvees. There are no machine guns either.
But rather, a blow torch to cut off and strip portions to bring the weight down from 22,000 pounds to around 12,000.
"We had to have 5 people over here and it took four days, they had to take the rotors off. The rotors are attached like to a transmission and they had to pull those out and they had to pull the tail section off of the chopper to bring down the height of it," said O'Brien.
Then for the first time in three decades the chopper becomes airborne.
Its wheels leave the ground thanks to a massive crane.
But the Chinook's flight lasts only minutes, as a crew helps it touch down on to the specialized trailer below.
Then a few hours later, this oversized piece of U.S. military and central coast history takes off.
It's headed over 2,100 miles away to a U.S. military museum in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Organizers said the Chinook will be hanging in the air in one of the museum's exhibits.
It's expected to arrive in Kentucky next Wednesday or Thursday.
To view a video of the helicopter leaving Camp San Luis Obispo, CLICK HERE
by John O'Brian, LTC Retired, Ft, Campbell KY Historian
Camp San Luis Obispo's transfer of the CH 47-A to Ft Campbell Kentucky will be completed in the month of April. This aircraft is a very special artifact being sent from Camp San Luis Obispo to Ft. Campbell and the Wings of Liberty Museum, soon to be the newest museum in the Army Museum System, replacing the Don F. Pratt Museum at Fort Campbell.
The CSLO Chinook was the eleventh one made and may be the oldest surviving Chinook. It has been confirmed that it was the first airframe bought in the FY1961 buy, which was the first major production run of the Chinook.
Most CH-47A's were transferred to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), upgraded to B, C, and D models, or destroyed in Vietnam.
The Wings of Liberty project is a $40 million dollar, 80,000 square foot facility on a 33 acre campus located on Ft. Campbell, KY. The museum storyline covers the history of Ft. Campbell, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the tenant units assigned to Ft. Campbell (TF 160 SOAR and 5th Special Forces Group), as well as the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) and the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.
In a letter to the Adjutant General, John O'Brian, LTC Retired, Ft, Campbell KY Historian explains. "A major theme in the storyline is the history and development of vertical envelopment. The CH-47 is such an important part of that story, especially in Vietnam, Desert Shield/Storm, Afghanistan, and OIF.
As you well know, there are very few of these aircraft available because of operational deployments and the F model upgrade program."
"We are beginning the building of the new facility in April--years of preparatory work have gone into Memorandums of Agreement, site preparation, governmental oversight, and most importantly, the fund raising to make this project possible. We are working with the Exhibit Design contractor, a three year program that includes the design and installation of the exhibits. Attached is a recent schematic of how this wonderful air craft will be displayed in the museum.
Again, a special thank you to all of you in the California National Guard on behalf on General Binford Peay, Ft. Campbell Historical Foundation CEO, and Major General Thomas Turner, commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)"