Navy Helicopter Light Attack Squadron 3
The Birth of the HA(L)-3 and the Seawolves In 1966, Naval Special Warfare (NSW) rotary support was originated as part of the response to the ongoing war in South Vietnam.[5] Starting with Helicopter Combat Support Squadron ONE (HC-1), detachments of helicopter gunships supported the Navy effort in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. HC-1, the “Fleet Angels”, operated two-plane detachments of surplus Army UH-1B gunships, staged from amphibious vessels. Providing a quick reaction, close air-support (CAS) role for units of the Navy's Special Warfare Groups and Navy Mobile Riverine Forces (also known as the Brown-water Navy), the effectiveness of the helicopter attack mission was quickly realized.
In response, the Navy began to widen the mission requirements.[6] This created a need for a specific Squadron in support of the mission requirements. In April 1967, HC-1 was divided into four separate units, Helicopter Combat Support Squadron THREE (Navy Vertical Replenishment), and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron FIVE (LAMPS, or Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System), and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (Navy Combat Search and Rescue), and Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3 (HAL-(3)), nicknamed the Seawolves.[7]
In 1966, the Navy sent a message fleet-wide, asking for volunteer Naval Aviators to man HA(L)-3. From the response, eighty Aviators were chosen to be the first "Seawolves" and transferred to Vietnam. On 1 April 1967, HA(L)-3 was officially commissioned in South Vietnam under the command of LCDR Joseph B. Howard.[8]
Fighting in Vietnam[edit] A HA(L)-3 UH-1E escorting a river patrol, circa 1968.The Seawolves would first major action while still part of a detachment of HC-1. On 31 October 1966, two Navy boats encountered a superior force of over 80 boats transferring a Viet Cong battalion. Encountering fierce resistance from them, the Navy boat commanders requested close air support (CAS). Scrambling and arriving within approximately fifteen minutes, the Seawolves would claim 16 Viet Cong boats sunk or destroyed.[9]
After the commissioning of HA(L)-3, the Seawolves continued to support Navy Operations. Missions included Search and Destroy patrols, reconnaissance, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), and SEAL Team insertion and extraction. By the time of their decommissioning on 16 March 1972,[10] the Seawolves flew over 120,000 combat sorties over Vietnam and Cambodia. Over 200 Seawolves would be wounded in combat and 44 would be killed in action.[11]
The Birth of the HA(L)-3 and the Seawolves In 1966, Naval Special Warfare (NSW) rotary support was originated as part of the response to the ongoing war in South Vietnam.[5] Starting with Helicopter Combat Support Squadron ONE (HC-1), detachments of helicopter gunships supported the Navy effort in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. HC-1, the “Fleet Angels”, operated two-plane detachments of surplus Army UH-1B gunships, staged from amphibious vessels. Providing a quick reaction, close air-support (CAS) role for units of the Navy's Special Warfare Groups and Navy Mobile Riverine Forces (also known as the Brown-water Navy), the effectiveness of the helicopter attack mission was quickly realized.
In response, the Navy began to widen the mission requirements.[6] This created a need for a specific Squadron in support of the mission requirements. In April 1967, HC-1 was divided into four separate units, Helicopter Combat Support Squadron THREE (Navy Vertical Replenishment), and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron FIVE (LAMPS, or Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System), and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (Navy Combat Search and Rescue), and Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3 (HAL-(3)), nicknamed the Seawolves.[7]
In 1966, the Navy sent a message fleet-wide, asking for volunteer Naval Aviators to man HA(L)-3. From the response, eighty Aviators were chosen to be the first "Seawolves" and transferred to Vietnam. On 1 April 1967, HA(L)-3 was officially commissioned in South Vietnam under the command of LCDR Joseph B. Howard.[8]
Fighting in Vietnam[edit] A HA(L)-3 UH-1E escorting a river patrol, circa 1968.The Seawolves would first major action while still part of a detachment of HC-1. On 31 October 1966, two Navy boats encountered a superior force of over 80 boats transferring a Viet Cong battalion. Encountering fierce resistance from them, the Navy boat commanders requested close air support (CAS). Scrambling and arriving within approximately fifteen minutes, the Seawolves would claim 16 Viet Cong boats sunk or destroyed.[9]
After the commissioning of HA(L)-3, the Seawolves continued to support Navy Operations. Missions included Search and Destroy patrols, reconnaissance, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), and SEAL Team insertion and extraction. By the time of their decommissioning on 16 March 1972,[10] the Seawolves flew over 120,000 combat sorties over Vietnam and Cambodia. Over 200 Seawolves would be wounded in combat and 44 would be killed in action.[11]
