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This is an attempt to locate all the aircraft that was assigned to the 179th, and write a brief history about them. If you remember any of those aircraft, please leave a note identifying there tail numbers so that I may track them and write there history. Thanks.

66-19061, Boeing build number B-319, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 28 February 1967. The administrative strike date was 26 January 1969. 66-19061 accumulated 742.0 aircraft hours. At some point, 66-19061 was assigned to the 179th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Shimpboats", located at Pleiku, in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), where it remained until it was lost due to enemy action on 26 January 1969. 66-19061 received enemy small arms and rocket fire while in-flight. A hit in the combining transmission area caused a lubrication oil leak and the aircrew was forced to land. The aircraft subsequently took off and received a rocket hit in the forward rotor system. Two blade pockets were lost. The aircrew was forced to land a second time. Enemy forces set fire to the elephant grass that the aircraft landed in and fire consumed the aircraft before recovery operations could be initiated. The aircrew was extracted. The last known location of 66-19061 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Shot down in combat.

19050

66-19050, Boeing build number B-308, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 2 February 1967. The administrative strike date was 1 April 1967 or 19 February 1968. 66-19050 accumulated 491.0 aircraft hours. At some point, 66-19047 was assigned to the 179th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Shrimpboats", located at various times at either Dong Ha, Phu bai, or Camp Holloway, Pleiku, in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). On 1 April 1967 or 4 November 1968, while assigned to the 179th ASHC, 66-19050 was lost due to enemy action. The complete details are unknown. However, while on a mission, 66-19050 received large caliber fire in one engine. The engine failed and the aircraft crashed and burned. There were no fatalities, but all crewmembers were injured. The last known location of 66-19050 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Shot down in combat.

66-19067, Boeing build number B-325, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 10 March 1967. The administrative strike date was 5 October 1968. 66-19067 accumulated 1,227.0 aircraft hours. At some point, 66-19067 was assigned to the 179th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Shrimpboats", located at Pleiku, in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), where it remained until it was lost due to an accident on 5 October 1968. The details are unknown. The last known location of 66-19067 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Crashed.

66-19069, Boeing build number B-327, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 14 March 1967. The administrative strike date was 26 April 1968. 66-19069 accumulated 735.0 aircraft hours. After replacing two engine gear boxes to transmission drive shafts and reinspecting, the A/C departed on the flight. It was observed to explode and fall to the ground burning. The rotor blades became desynchronized due to lack of lubrication in the combining transmission.. Eleven members of the 179th ASHC were lost. Aircraft status: Crashed

65-07971, Boeing build number B-143, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 14 December 1965. 65-07971 accumulated 3,859.6 aircraft hours. On 1 July 1985, 65-07971 was inducted into the D model program and converted to 85-24351. The last known location of 65-07971 was at Boeing during the conversion. Aircraft status: Converted to D model.

65-07976, Boeing build number B-148, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 25 January 1966. 65-07976 accumulated 421.0 aircraft hours. The administrative strike date was 7 May 1967. At some point, 65-07976 was assigned to the 179th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Shrimpboats", in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), and remained there until it was lost due to enemy fire. On 7 May 1967, 65-07976 received enemy ground fire. While attempting to land, the aircraft struck a rock, rolled over, and burned. The last known location of 65-07976 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Shot down in combat.

65-07967 , Boeing build number B-139, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 24 November 1965. 65-07967 accumulated 3,962.5 aircraft hours. At some point, 65-07967 was assigned to the 179th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Shrimp Boats", located at Pleiku, in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). On 9 July 1986, 65-07967 was inducted into the D model program and converted to 86-01667. The last known location of 65-07967 was at Boeing during the conversion. Aircraft status: Converted to D model..

19091

66-19091. The Army purchased this helicopter as 0567 and was attached to the 179th Assault Helicopter Company assigned at Camp Holloway, Pleiku, SVN. On February, 24, 1969, the crew of:

Pilot; W2 AS Ventura, IP W2 JW Wilkes; Crew Chief, Sp4 Roy Davis; Gunner, Sp4 SC Martin; and Flight Engineer, Harold Lewis were aboard aircraft 19091 resupplying an external load of 105 rounds to Firebase Tango. As the ship approached the LZ and a hover, the ship started a low flat spin moving off the firebase. As it continued to spin, the ship made contact with the ground and started to come apart. Fire and explosions occurred, with the 105 ammunition exploding, and ultimately, the aircraft destroyed. The last location of the aircraft was the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Destroyed

65-07984, Boeing build number B-156, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 4 February 1966. 65-07984 accumulated 4,133.8 aircraft hours. In approximately 1973, 65-07984 was assigned to the 92nd Aviation Company, 6th Army, Washington Army Reserve, located at Paine Field near Everett, Washington, where it remained through at least 1985. On 8 January 1986, 65-07984 was inducted into the D model program and converted to 86-01639. The last known location of 65-07984 was at Boeing during the conversion. Aircraft status: Converted to D model.

86-01639, Boeing D model kit number M3144, was a CH-47D helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 26 November 1986. As of 22 June 1998, 86-01639 had accumulated 1,228.0 D model hours and 5,361.8 total aircraft hours. 86-01639 was a conversion from the original A model Chinook 65-07984. On 8 January 1986, 86-01639 was inducted into the D model program, converted, and initially scheduled for assignment to Fort Lewis, Washington. As of 1 January 2002, this aircraft was 35.9 years old. As of 8 January 1986, the last known location of 86-01639 was at Boeing during the conversion. Aircraft status: Unknown. This airframe is now 45 years old!