LETTERS to the EDITOR
Steve,
I noticed on the
home page that in the paragraph about where H-43s were assigned, you forgot to
mention that some were assigned to SAC bases in the 1961-1962 timeframe. We had
2 assigned to Ellsworth, AFB, SD. While I was back at
Stead checking out in the 43, Harlan Gorkowski did a
hovering autorotation; the right front gear collapsed and spoiled the H-43. The
821st Cdr, MGen. Francis Nye said "those
god-damn helicop-ders" will not fly on my base
again. They were quickly dismantled and shipped by train to Pease AFB, NH. I
returned and never got to fly an H-43 again!
Don Carty
Don: Compliments
of Wayne Mutza’s “KAMAN H-43, An Illustrated History”, here are the early
dispositions of H-43s throughout the Air Force.
18 – H-43A to ATC
Of the initial 98
H-43Bs
34 to SAC
33 to ADC
06 to Air
Research and Development Command
10 to Air
Material Command
05
to MATS
06 to ATC
04
H-43Bs plus 18 H-43As transferred to TAC
*****************************
Steve,
Well that is one of the best H-43
drawings you will ever find. You might note in the next newsletter that
it is of one of the first production group. How can you tell? The
inboard rudders are tall and often were cut off during maneuvering. That
resulted in a modification of the configuration and the lowering of the system
to that you see in your front-page renditions.
Don: If you look closely, the aircraft is an H-43A with the
engine cover in place. Rarely seen, as the cover was seldom used
due to engine heating issues. A side note; the H-43B being
restored at the DOD Firefighting
School, Goodfellow AFB, TX is the last
example of a “Square Tail” HH-43B