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| |  Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3
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HAL-3 Seawolves
| 1967 to 1972 |
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In 1965 increasing american operations in Vietnam resulted in
Operation Game Warden the creation of Task Force 116 ( a so called brown water navy )
in order to deny Viet Cong access to the resources in the Mekong Delta .
Among the air units withiin TF116 were
Heavy Attack Squadron 21 ( VAH-21 Roadrunners ) flying gunships AP-2H Neptunes,
Light Attack Squadron Four ( VAL-4 Black Ponies ) flying 18 OV-10A Broncos borrowed from the USMC
and Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three ( HAL-3 Seawolves ).
In March 1966 when operations begun and the promised helicopter squadron wasnt created yet, TF116 used
men and UH-1B Hueys from US Army 145th Combat Aviation Battalion (197th Aviation Co)
In June 1966, navy pilots from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron One (HC-1 at the time flying
UH-2 Seasprites
for the pacific fleet aircraft carriers ) joined TF116 and began the transition to the Huey taking over the missions from the Army by September.
HAL-3 was formally created April 1st, 1967 at Vung Tau and up to nine detachments will be created until the squadron is finally disbanded on January 1972.
From the beginning their helicopters not only operated from land bases but also from support ships:
USS Belle Grove (LSD-2),
USS Comstock (LSD-19),
USS Tortuga (LSD-26),
USS Floyd County (LST-762),
and USS Jennings County (LST-846).
From 1970 , USS Garrett County (LST-786), USS Harnett County (LST-821) and USS Hunterdon County (LST-838),
were reassigned to the AGP role (patrol craft / boat tender) .
Among the helicopters used by HAL-3 were Army UH-1B/C/M Huey variants,
Marines UH-1E and Navy
HH-1K and
UH-1L
Huey landing on USS Harnett County, notice the one on background still with Army Markings
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