66-19010

 

SP5 Gary J. Stefanini standing at the nose of CH-47A 66-19010 at Bearcat, circa 1968.

 

66-19010, Boeing build number B-268, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 15 November 1966. The administrative strike date was 12 December 1974. 66-19010 accumulated at least 1,513.0 aircraft hours. At some point, 66-19010 was assigned to B Company - "Longhorns", 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion (ASHB) - "Winged Warriors", 1st Calvary Division, in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). At some point in the early 1970s, 66-19010 was transferred to the 249th Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF), in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and remained there until it was lost in combat. On 12 December 1974, 66-19010 was struck by an infra-red guided, shoulder fired SA-7 heat seeking missile. There were approximately 50 personnel on board. There were no survivors. This was the worst combat loss of life in the history of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The last known location of 66-19010 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Shot down in combat.

 

 

SP5 Gary J. Stefanini on the top of 66-19010 at LZ Sharon, circa 1968. Note the early version of the engine FOD (foreign object damage) screen present on the A model Chinooks. The FOD screens were changed to a different type by the time the C models were produced to allow for bypass panels to be removed in the event flight into icing conditions were anticipated. This would prevent ice from blocking the engine inlet which would lead to flameout.

 

 

This aircraft was piloted by:

 

Your Name Here.

 

 

This aircraft was crewed by:

 

SP5 Gary J Stefanini, FE, 1968.

 

Your Name Here.

 

 

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