• intro
• Essays
• Discuss

Centaur Helicopter Identification Research
Unit Historian Research Files and Emails for those who want to dig into the details and mysteries of our aircraft
……………………………………………………………………………………

The Centaur Unit Historian, Michael Peake, goes to great lengths to find every little shred of information about the helicopters that served us during our tours in Vietnam in order for us to identify them and honor them. Most of his info and photos are then posted in various appropriate places on our website. This page means to capture all the additional details in one place.

see also: Centaur Aircraft page, Aircraft Photos, Ordinance and in several reports he has produced like AH-1 Helicopter Name, Kentucky Woman and 20mm Cannon.

...................................Details.............................................

22Jun2-23: OH-6A 70-17204 is probably 68-17204 "Luv Bug."
One of my pet projects born of researching tail numbers has been to reach out to sites across the country that currently have Centaur aircraft on display. Readers may remember that together with Brian Harrison, we had a very satisfying experience with our friends at American Legion Post #65 in Statesville, North Carolina, who restored AH-1G 68-17050 "Kentucky Woman" once they learned what they had displayed in front of their post.

Based on a reference in Military Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present, I recently contacted the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Military Museum at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania about Centaur aircraft Hughes OH-6A Cayuse 68-17204 "Luv Bug." An entry in the reference for 1968 showed that postwar, the aircraft served with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and was later placed on static museum display at the Muir Army Airfield, Pennsylvania in October 2007.

In my initial contact I explained the Centaur mission and provided currently available information on the Centaur's "Luv Bug." Captain Michael Sprowles, Museum Curator and Staff Officer, Headquarters-Headquarters Company 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, responded that among the aircraft on static display along Fisher Avenue was one OH-6A, however it was identified as 70-17204. Captain Sprowles was kind enough to forward two images of the aircraft now mounted on site, including a shot of the aircraft information panel clearly showing OH-6 70-17204.

Actually, unsure because I had never encountered Army OH-6 models above 1969, I informed Captain Sprowles that I believed the U. S. Army adopted the Bell OH-58A as replacement, and that 1969 was the final production year for the OH-6A. I afterward verified that in fact, the Army had reopened competition bids for the light observation helicopter (LOH) in 1967 allegedly because Hughes Aircraft Division could not meet the contractual production demands with the OH-6 models. That also explains why years later the Special Operations Command adopted highly modified Vietnam-era OH-6 airframes as "little birds" for units such as the 160th Aviation "Night Stalkers." I can only make an assumption that somewhere along the line of the aircraft's restoration for display, someone made an error in creating a stencil resulting in the image Captain Sprowles supplied. Given the evidence, I have no doubt this is "Luv Bug." Also see #044 in Tom Doolings Album.

16Jun2023:

Powell to All: Located this photo of LOH 15338 in Jim Messina's old website files. Don't know for sure if it is one of ours. I pasted it into the LOH Photos page (scroll down) and in the draft July Newsletter.

Peake to All: I see it, but it isn't supposed to be there! There isn't supposed to be a Loach 15338. Only one manufacturing year, 1969, had the end number beginning with 15 and that was 69-15960 to 69-16075. The only years for the end number to have been 338 was 1967 with 67-16127 to 67-16686, or 1968, with 68-17140 to 68-17369 (we lost three Centaurs in 68-17337). We had an original entry on:
(OH-6A ??-16338) OH-6A 67-16338 Dale Dow’s Centaur Aircraft 66-73 Excel Database #2 shows OH-6A 67-16338 Jim Hoag Photo. MASN—1908 to Present for 1967 shows: Hughes OH-6A Cayuse 67-16338 assigned to F Troop, 8th Cavalry Armored Division [sic]; Accident June 12, 1972 South Vietnam; Registered N6254Y to the California Department of Justice, Mather, California, December 11, 1997; Registered to County of Butte, Oroville, California March 25, 2003; cancelled July 29, 2011.I went through Jim Hoag's Slide Show and didn't see any Loach images that had a visible tail number, so I'm assuming Jim has other images. I ran both 67-16338 and 68-17338 and found both had served in Troop F, 8th Cav but Goldbook entries on both mention no service with Centaur units. However, I have already come across several aircraft we know with certainty served with Centaurs, but Goldbook entries reflect something else, such as service in CONUS or someplace like Thailand at the time combat hours were being accumulated.

16Jun2023: Peake to All: I tripped over an error that diverted my attention into creating a new entry for AH-1G 68-15135 "Kansas Killer/ California Dreamin." We don't have a photo of that Cobra

This is an unusual aircraft in that it served the entire documented service with both Centaur units and rejoined them in Hawaii as an S-Model Cobra.

The problem lies in another error from:
MASN—1908 to Present for 1967 shows: Hughes OH-6A Cayuse 67-16135 Asgnd. to D Trp., 3rd Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt. Named “Calif. Dreaming” [right side]; “Kansas Killer” [on left side of pylon]; Asgnd. to A Trp., 2nd Sqdn., 17th Cav. Regt., 101st Abn. Div. Sept. 1969-Feb. 1970; Shot down Feb. 24, 1970, Quang Tri Prov., RVN. The A/C was flying interference for Dustoff when it received heavy automatic weapons fire, crashed and burned.

It so happens OH-6A Cayuse 67-16135 is listed in the VHPA database as a Centaur aircraft with D Troop, but the Goldbook entry only states data of it being assigned to A/2 of the 17th and its combat loss. This is another case where Goldbook listed an assignment to an Engineer Group in Thailand for a Centaur aircraft that was serving in-country. This is not the only case, and it seems to be only for OH-6 and UH-1 aircraft. Like the MASN entry for "Kentucky Woman," this Loach entry is another mixture of a Cobra entry. SO, I created a new entry for the Cobra.

Notice that I have noted two different hour/date entries to reflect that the aircraft served in both Centaur units:

AH-1G 68-15135 TAIL NUMBER: 68-15135; PURCHASE DATE: 6905; BEGIN IN UNIT: 6908 & 7103; BEGIN HOURS: 1 & 1614; FINISH IN UNIT: 7102 & 7111; FINISH HOURS: 1614 & 2058; TOTAL HOURS: 1613 & 444; REMARKS: Bluebook entry shows began in-country service with D Trp., 3rd Sqdn., 4th (Air) Cav., 25th Inf. Div. with one hour Aug 1969; transferred to F Trp., 4th (Air) Cav. with 1613 combat hours Mar 1971; transferred for one month to 334th A. H. C. with 1777 hours May 1971; returned to F Trp., 4th (Air) Cav. with 1829 hours Jul 1971; returned CONUS with 2058 hours Jan 1972; last service noted with 3/4 Cav., 25th Inf. Div., Hawaii with 2117 hours Jan 1974. AH-1G #68-15135 (photo: SP5 Don Vaughan (left), CPT Lee Cranney. and CPT Don Phillips. “The Kansas Killer” 1LT John L. Taylor, Cobra Pilot D Troop and F Troop 1970-71, provides image of AH-1G 68-15135 “The Kansas Killer,” belonging to Captain Rudy Parris, undergoing maintenance by crew chief Don Vaughan with Captains Cranny and Phillips. Centaur 57 CW2 Ray E. Stanton, Gun Pilot Dec 1970-Dec 1971, Slide Show Image RayS-16 Cobra "California Dreamin' #68-15135" on unidentified flight-line. Author John Brennan, Vietnam Aircraft Nose Art, provides listing showing AH-1G 68-15135 named “The Kansas Killer,” D Troop, 3/4 Cavalry, 1970-71 with SGT. Don Vaughn crew chief, CPT Rudy Parris Aircraft Commander (Mr. Brennan also states AH-1G 68-15135 was named California Dreamin', D Troop, 3/4 Cavalry, 1970-71 with SGT. Don Vaughan crew chief, CPT Rudy Parris Aircraft Commander). MASN—1908 to Present for 1968 shows: Bell AH-1G Cobra 68-15135 among 103 serial number sequenced AH-1G models converted to AH-1S models [NOTE: Error in MASN—1908 to Present for 1967 shows: Named “Calif. Dreaming” [right side]; “Kansas Killer” [on left side of pylon] attributed to Hughes OH-6A Cayuse 67-16135.]

8Jun2023: Peake to All: I contacted the Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum, Fort Indiantown Gap, Muir AAF, Pennsylvania about our aircraft OH-6A 68-17204 "Luv Bug," because Military Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present for 1968 shows: Hughes OH-6A Cayuse 68-17204 assigned to US Army National Guard-Pennsylvania. On display at Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum, Fort Indiantown Gap, Muir AAF, Pennsylvania October 2007. In turn, Captain Michael Sprowles was kind enough to forward the two attached images, one including the aircraft information panel showing OH-6 70-17204.

I responded to Captain Sprowles that the U. S. Army adopted the Bell OH-58A as replacement, so 1969 was the final production year for the OH-6A. I based that on a total inability to find any production models after 1969 in any available reference, including the VHPA database. I can only make an assumption that somewhere along the line of the aircraft's life someone made an error in creating a stencil resulting in the image Captain Sprowles supplied.

As some of you may already know, there were two production years, 1967 & 1969, where 75 models of each year of the OH-6A aircraft share the same tail numbers, from 16000 to 16075, with a good many serving in Vietnam at the same time. I haven't a clue the reasoning behind that and can't seem to find any source addressing that issue. These are the only years this has occurred. We also find this occurring with some UH-1Ds being converted to H-models, but that includes a range of years of D models that survived to be converted. I would certainly appreciate any input, but most especially if I'm in error in my assumptions. I've never encountered a tail number change except when transferred to U. S. M. C., and I can't find any models of the Loach post 1969. Even later SOCOM models were beefed up Vietnam-era airframes.

5Jun2023: Peake to Charlie,Oellig: