20th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) “Green Hornets”
On 10/08/65, the 20th Helicopter Squadron (later redesigned the 20th Special Operation Squadron) was formed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, outfitted with 14 Sikorsky CH-3C helicopters. Later, the CH-3Cs would be replaced with more powerful CH-3Es and Bell UH-1 Hueys. The 20th began combat operations in December 1965. By March of 1966, the squadron was flying an average of nearly 1000 sorties per month from Tan Son Nhut (home base to ‘A’ FLIGHT, with five aircraft), from Da Nang (‘B’ Flight with three aircraft) and from Nha Trang (‘C’ flight, with six aircraft). When the 14th Air Commando Wing was activated in March 1966, the 20th was assigned to the new wing.
In April, the entire flight at Nha Trang was transferred to Udorn Air Base in Thailand and became known as the “Pony Express.” In June 1967 15 Bell UH-1F/P Huey helicopters, originally assigned to the 606th Air Commando Squadron at Nokhon Phanom, were transferred to the 20th Helicopter Squadron in South Vietnam when the Thai government no longer needed their services. They returned to Nha Trang as the “Green Hornets” and were soon chosen to support SOG units.
The Air Force originally chose the Bell UH-1F that was based on the civilian Bell 204B but was equipped with the same powerful General Electric T-58 turbo-shaft engine used on the CH-3. The T-58 produced more than 1,200 shaft horsepower, driving a 48-foot main rotor. UH1-F “Slicks” was used as a troop carrier. They were usually armed with “free” 60s, Infantry, model M-60 machine guns suspended on bungee cords. Flown by the “Green Hornet,” the 20th UH-1Ps were UH-1Fs that had been modified to accept a pair of GAU-2B/A miniguns, one in each cargo door, and two LAU-59/A 2.75-inch rocket pods mounted to hard points. The miniguns were mounted on a pintle and could either be locked to forward fire position and fired by the pilot or aimed and fired by gunners in the cabin. The P-model Hueys were used as Gunships, flying escort missions for Slicks.
The Green Hornets became the mainstay for the northern AO of C5 & CCS, operating out of Ban Me Thuot with both Slicks and Gunships. Occasionally they went to the southern AO to provide assistance on special occasions, such as on Thanksgiving Day 1968. It was on one of these 20th SOS missions that 1LT James P. Fleming earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism to extract B-50 Recon RT CHISEL from certain death on 11/26/68. The Green Hornets continued to do unconventional warfare missions for seven distinguished years until deactivation of the 20th Helicopter Squadron in 1972.” The 20th SOS lost 13 men during all their support of CCS. [http://ccs-sog.org/]
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- On March 14, 1970, Thorburn was on a mission in Duc Lap in South Vietnam aboard a UH-1P (“Green Hornet”) with the 20th Special Operations Squadron, when the chopper was shot down by enemy fire which resulted in the captain’s death and three wounded soldiers, including Thorburn.
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- Typical gunner position. Had to get our feet off the pod if the Pilot was going to fire one. Forgot once and got some shrapnel on my leg. Not good. 20th SOS Gunner Alfonso-rt Rivero
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- An SOS chopper on its way to an extraction, with a rolled-up ladder outside the door. (© Jim Green 20th SOS)
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- A 20th Helicopter jungle extraction – a chopper hovers over the popped red smoke on the left hand side of the photo. (© Jim Green 20th SOS)
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- A Forward Air Controller and a 20th SOS helicopter on their way to an extraction (© Jim Green 20th SOS)
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- A Gunship attacks (note wisping smoke in the bottom left hand corner of the photo). (© Jim Green 20th SOS)
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- A more usual emergency SOG extraction, the team clinging from ladders far above the jungle during the daylight.
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- A 20th SOS Huey gunship team waiting near the Vietnamese border for a pickup call from a SOG team in Laos or Cambodia. Note the rocket pods (Jim Green).
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- Jim, 4th from the left on front row, and his team RT Auger with the 20th SOS air crew preparing to board a Huey for a more conventional SOG mission to the Sihanouk Trail.
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- A 20th SOS Huey gunship skims the Cambodian jungle on a SOG extraction mission inside Cambodia. (Jim Green).