Photo Pages of: "Dolphin 016" Dolphin Door Gunner and Crew Chief June 1967- June 1968 All captions listed are above their described photos. |
Below is a sequence of five photos after the 29 May 1968 mortar attack
in which everybody’s best friend, SP5 Carl McCoy, was killed.
Below, 2nd flight platoon's enlisted hootch
SP5 Carl McCoy
Trash can hit by mortar shrapnal outside 2nd platoon hootch.
Close-up of trash can.
Mortar damage to one of the hootches.
Phillip Luft (left) and Sam Davis, 1968.
Photo property of Dennis Pelliccia
The Last Flight of Dolphin 864
The last flight of UH-1H 66-00864 (Dolphin 864) occurred in May 1968. Her crew members
were aircraft commander Hank Tews, co-pilot Jerry Johnson, crew chief SP4 Sam Davis,
and door gunner PFC Allen Weamer.
At 1300 hours on 7 May, while flying missions in the battle of Dai Do,
we were asked to check out noises from an unidentified tracked vehicle. We made one pass and saw numerous tracks.
The second pass, flying at 110 knowts at 25 feet, we were hit by a .51 caliber armor piercing round.
I was in the gunner's seat at the time. The round came up through the right fuel cell, hitting a smoke grenade
box of belt ammunition for my M-60 machine gun. The round lodged in the chest protector I was sitting on, saving me from a serious wound.
The only damage was to the helicopter. Fuel was pouring into the cabin and out of the belly from the large
entrance and exit holes. Tracer rounds were ignited from the .51 round going through the M-60 ammo.
I started slinging belts of machine gun ammo out the door.
We made it about half-a-mile. We went from a full
tank of fuel down to 400 pounds in less than 20 seconds. We had resupplied an Army platoon and made it to their
location before we set the helicopter down. A Chinook later picked up us and the helicopter and took us to Camp Evans.
The next day I repaired the fuel cell using wooden plugs I cut from a sappling tree. I safety wired them in place. We
flew the helicopter to Chu Lai, making numerous stops for fuel. The airframe was damaged so severely it had to be sent
back to the States for repair. It cost the U.S. government $228,544 for the repairs.
=======================
Below, the nationally-published Time/Life Photo of Dolphin 864 at My Lai, March 1968.
Remains of Smoke Grenade box and ammo.
.51 calibre bullet hole in fuel cell
This is the cut out fuel cell -- looking for damage.
Fuel cell
Below are two photos of the building we took cover in when we went down.
A little night work on the transmission… Doing what all crew chiefs did
to keep THEIR ship flyable (sometimes 24/7).
Below, a Dennis Pelliccia photo
Return to Page One of: Sam Davis' Photo Pages.
Return to top of: 1967 Page.
Return to top of: 1968 Page.
Go to top of:
174th AHC Home Page.
Click here
to e-mail us at the website
in which everybody’s best friend, SP5 Carl McCoy, was killed.
Below, 2nd flight platoon's enlisted hootch
SP5 Carl McCoy
Trash can hit by mortar shrapnal outside 2nd platoon hootch.
Close-up of trash can.
Mortar damage to one of the hootches.
Phillip Luft (left) and Sam Davis, 1968.
Photo property of Dennis Pelliccia
The Last Flight of Dolphin 864
The last flight of UH-1H 66-00864 (Dolphin 864) occurred in May 1968. Her crew members
were aircraft commander Hank Tews, co-pilot Jerry Johnson, crew chief SP4 Sam Davis,
and door gunner PFC Allen Weamer.
At 1300 hours on 7 May, while flying missions in the battle of Dai Do,
we were asked to check out noises from an unidentified tracked vehicle. We made one pass and saw numerous tracks.
The second pass, flying at 110 knowts at 25 feet, we were hit by a .51 caliber armor piercing round.
I was in the gunner's seat at the time. The round came up through the right fuel cell, hitting a smoke grenade
box of belt ammunition for my M-60 machine gun. The round lodged in the chest protector I was sitting on, saving me from a serious wound.
The only damage was to the helicopter. Fuel was pouring into the cabin and out of the belly from the large
entrance and exit holes. Tracer rounds were ignited from the .51 round going through the M-60 ammo.
I started slinging belts of machine gun ammo out the door.
We made it about half-a-mile. We went from a full
tank of fuel down to 400 pounds in less than 20 seconds. We had resupplied an Army platoon and made it to their
location before we set the helicopter down. A Chinook later picked up us and the helicopter and took us to Camp Evans.
The next day I repaired the fuel cell using wooden plugs I cut from a sappling tree. I safety wired them in place. We
flew the helicopter to Chu Lai, making numerous stops for fuel. The airframe was damaged so severely it had to be sent
back to the States for repair. It cost the U.S. government $228,544 for the repairs.