Famous painter & Vietnam Vet Bill Phillips did a painting of an F Troop Pink Team in flight (1972)
This page allows us to show that great painting and to tell our viewers about the "Pink Team" concept. Discussions
Lloyd Goldsmith (Nov 2011):
One small piece of Centaur history was captured by Bill Phillips in a Vietnam print. This print is from after I left F Troop and the troop moved North. At the time I bought the print in Germany there was a question about the IR suppressors that are shown in the picture – they were not on the Cobras when I was with the troop and there was a question about them being installed in Vietnam. It’s hard to see in this picture but the Cobras do have the Centaur shark teeth on them. One sales pitch for the print is below and a picture of the print is attached.
Bill Phillips served in Vietnam, so it is from personal experience that he paints the conflict there. He describes "Heading for Trouble" in these words:
"As dawn breaks in Northern South Vietnam, two AH-1G's of F Troop, 4th Cavalry, begin a search-and-destroy sweep led by an OH-6A Loach. Though heavily armed, both the scouts and the gunships were in constant danger from hostile ground fire. These conditions and the close proximity to the ground required the utmost in skill and courage from each crew for every time they flew they were 'heading for trouble.' "
"Whites" were the scouts. "Reds" were the gunships. "Blues" were the troops in slicks.
A "Pink Team" was a scout (OH-6A Loach) and a gunship (AH-1G Cobra) working as a "Hunter-Killer Team". The Loach would fly very low seeking targets visually or by drawing fire. The Cobra or Cobras would fly high in a position to bring immediate fire on the target and cover the escape of the Loach. Extensive training, tight teamwork/communications, and big balls were required for the Hunter Killer "Pink" team to be successful and survive.
Bruce Powell (1967-68): In the early days, before the LOH and Cobra we "Scouted" or "Reconned" with two Huey gunships; a Heavy Scout down low, covered by a Heavy Weapons or "Hog" up high in cover position. We didn't know about the color codes then (Red, Pink, White, Blue). When the Division wanted a fight in a specific area, we always provided. We didn't have near the maneuverability of the Loach, but we did have 4 sets of eyeballs and a lot of weapons on that Heavy Scout. Radio communications got more efficient as different crews worked together. Good Hog pilots followed the flight patterns of the low bird and were often rolling in on target before receiving a radio call or seeing a smoke marker. True teamwork. During the pacification period it was hard to get the VC to fire at us, since we could no longer recon by fire. We sometimes resorted to wearing gas masks and using CS Gas grenades to flush out the VC and get them to fire at us (God I hated those masks). If we decided to fire our weapons it was best to have a bullet hole or two in the low bird to prove that we received fire. It was a dangerous game but exciting as hell.