I've finally had the chance to put together this travel log of the trip my Dad and I took a couple of weeks ago to Quantico, Virginia to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps. This was a reunion of sorts for my Dad and for at least one of the Sikorsky HRS helicopters which he actually piloted.
When Dad was recalled for the Korean war in April, 1951, he began flying fixed-wing aircraft like R5D's and R4D's at El Toro. When he heard the Marines were looking for helicopter pilots, he volunteered. He began training in Hiller HTE-1's and Sikorsky HO3S's at Ellyson Field, Pensacola, Fl. in June of 1951 and in July, graduated as the 523rd Naval helicopter pilot.
He returned home to Southern California and in September reported to Marine Corps Air Facility, Santa Ana where he was assigned to HMR-162. HMR-162 was the USMC's second operational helicopter transport squadron. Flying however, would have to wait a few weeks until delivery of their new Sikorsky HRS-1 helicopters.
Sikorsky HRS-1, Bureau Number 127828, was accepted on charge by the Marine Corps on September 22, 1951. It was then flown cross-country from Bridgeport, CT., arriving at MCAF Santa Ana on October 3, 1951. It was assigned to HMR-162 and given the squadron callsign of HS-10 (How-Sugar Ten, using the phonetics of that period) and painted accordingly.
In the meantime, Dad had made his first flight in an HRS (BuNo127817) on October 1st. It would be 18 days later on October 19th, when he would make the first of his twenty-two flights as the pilot of 127828. It was a local training flight which lasted 1.1 hours. Dad would later fly 127828 during carrier qualifications and during military exercises such as Lex Baker I, testing and improving the concept of vertical envelopment.
His last flight in 127828 was in August of 1952 and by this time he had logged over thirteen hours in the aircraft. 127828 was sent to San Diego for Overhaul and Repair in October of 1952 and did not return to MCAF, Santa Ana until January of 1953. Dad left active duty for the last time the following April.
BuNo127828 soldiered on at MCAF, Santa Ana for the next several years being assigned to HMR's 163, 362 and 363 and even spent a few months at NAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii before returning to Southern California in 1956. At some point during that period, it became the subject of a plastic model kit made by Revell Models of nearby Los Angeles. It was marked as HS-10 and even the decals had the BuNo127828.
The Revell HRS-1 kit box top and decal sheet:
In July, 1957 BuNo127828 was assigned to NATTC Memphis as a training aid with a total time of 1812 hours. Sometime after that it was sold as surplus to the civilian market. Here is where it's history gets a little murky but, we do know this. It's last civilian owner was Harry Doan of Daytona, Florida. Whether Doan used it for crop dusting or any other uses is not known. However, in June of 1987, in exchange for at least one surplus T-28, Doan traded 127828 back to the Marine Corps. The contract called for the aircraft to be restored in an accurate paint scheme and Doan and his team did their best. According to Ben Kristy, curator at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, it is unknown why the aircraft was given the incorrect markings of BuNo127834.
Fast forward to October 2008. It's been a few months since I began my website project to track down and assign identities to the 250 plus HRS's delivered to the USMC. I've tracked down at least three and possibly four survivors that my Dad logged time in and we are off to visit 127828.
First though, we stop in at the Udvar-Hazy Annex to visit what is possibly BuNo127799. The problem here is that 127799 has been owned by Orlando Helicopters and as they zero-timed their aircraft, very little (read, no) consideration was given to keeping actual identities intact. In fact, the sign in front of this helicopter identifies it as the first S-55 (totally bogus) and it is painted as a USAF version.
Dad with the purported BuNo127799:
The next day it's off to Quantico and the excellent National Museum of the Marine Corps. As you enter the main rotunda, BuNo127828 is beautifully displayed in a diorama-like setting disgorging it's fighting Marines.
We visited with curator Ben Kristy and shared a copy of Dad's logbook with him while he provided us with a copy of 127828's Naval History Card.
Just like my Dad, BuNo127828 has weathered the years pretty well. Ben told me that prior to it's move into the new museum, the nose doors were repainted. There are a couple patches on the skin which may be the result of it's use as a training aid and it could use a touch-up in a few places. Of course, it should really be identified correctly but, that can come with time. Overall, I was very pleased with it's condition and the very realistic and dramatic manner in which it is displayed.
Ben was excited to get a PDF file of Dad's logbooks and something tells me he's going to be haunting ebay looking for a certain Revell model kit!
In closing, it was a great visit, a wonderful reunion for Dad, and a real history lesson for me. Hope you enjoy!
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