The Experimental Military Unit (EMU) was a joint Australian-American company-sized helicopter assault force which operated during the Vietnam War. The unit was created in 1967 following a request from the United States military for Australia to send more helicopter pilots to the conflict. As the only available personnel were from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm (with Australian Army and RAAF pilots already heavily committed), the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV) was formed and integrated into the 135th Assault Helicopter Company of the United States Army. The EMU unit name was selected by the Americans as a backronym for the Australian bird, a choice which amused the Australians: despite being large, fast, and highly mobile, the emu cannot fly.
The EMU flew multiple variants of the UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, and was primarily tasked with providing transport and support for units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States Army and Marine Corps, and Australian Army. A typical day's operations consisted of ten transports (supported by four gunships and a command unit) collecting a unit of soldiers, performing a combat assault, then returning the unit to base. Other operations included dawn and dusk assaults, night hunter-killer patrols, and supporting United States Navy SEAL units in the capture of senior Viet Cong personnel. Although the RAN contingent was significantly smaller than the rest of the unit, the Australian personnel frequently found themselves in senior positions, due to having more extensive training and experience than their American counterparts.
Initially operating out of Vung Tau Air Base, the EMU was relocated to Blackhorse Base Camp at the end of 1967. In late 1968, the unit was moved to near Biên Hòa. In mid-1970, the EMU was tasked to operations into Cambodia, but as the rules of engagement for the Australians forbade them from operating outside Vietnam, the unit operated under-strength for several days until being retasked back to Vietnam operations. Later that year, the unit was relocated to Đồng Tâm. The RANHFV was withdrawn from Vietnam in 1971, ending the joint unit. The Australian contingent was the most highly decorated RAN unit to serve in the Vietnam War, and the one with the highest casualty rate.
Organisation and role The EMU was formed around the US Army's 135th Assault Helicopter Company.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 180 The 135th had previously flown Caribou transports as a tactical air transport company, but was reoriented for helicopters following the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966, when all fixed-wing aircraft were transferred to the United States Air Force and all rotary-wing aircraft to the United States Army.
The 135th was integrated with the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam, an Australian contingent of eight pilots, four observers, four aircrew, 24 technical sailors and mechanics, and six administrative personnel, all drawn from 723 Squadron RAN. Four of these contingents were deployed during the Australian participation in the joint unit (RANHFV 1 through 4).Farthing, Sea power ashore and in the air, p. 214. The Australian officer in charge of the RAN contingent became the executive officer of the 135th Company, and because of their more extensive training and experience when compared to the American personnel (for example, one US Army flying instructor assigned to the company had only 125 hours flying experience, while each RAN pilot had over 1,000 hours), Australian personnel commonly filled out leadership positions throughout the company.Farthing, Sea power ashore and in the air, pp. 214–5, 220.
The collective name for the combined unit was the Experimental Military Unit, or EMU.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 181 The name was a backronym for emu, and was selected by the 135th before their deployment for being a large, fast, and highly mobile Australian bird. The designation amused Australian members of the company, because emus cannot fly.
The EMU was officially part of 12th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade, and was part of the US Army chain of command.Farthing, Sea power ashore and in the air, p. 219. A separate chain of command for RAN personnel was maintained to the Commander Australian Forces Vietnam. The Australian command chain was rarely used: David Farthing, who led RANHFV 3, claims he only had to use it once during his twelve-month deployment.
The main role of the EMU was to provide transport and support for units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States Army and Marine Corps, and Australian Army.Farthing, in Sea power ashore and in the air, p. 216 For this purpose, the company was equipped with UH-1 Iroquois helicopters: 30 UH-1D or UH-1H 'Slick' troop-carrying helicopters (the EMU was the first Assault Helicopter Company to be equipped with the 'H' model), and eight UH-1C gunship helicopters (nicknamed Taipans, after the venomous Australian snake).Naval Operations in Vietnam, Royal Australian Navy.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 180–1 The company was divided up into five platoons: two troop transport, one gunship, one maintenance, and one headquarters.
A typical daily deployment consisted of ten Slicks (plus a spare), two teams of two gunships, and a Command and Control helicopter (designated 'Charley Charley').ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 182–3 The helicopters would depart base at dawn, collect a unit (typically from the United States 9th Infantry Division, the United States 199th Infantry Brigade, the South Vietnamese III and IV Corps, or the 1st Australian Task Force), perform a combat assault, then return the unit to their base before dark.ANAM, Flying Stations, pgs. 182–3, 188 Other duties performed by the EMU, particularly from 1970 onwards, included dawn and dusk assaults; night hunter-killer patrols, which consisted of one Slick armed with flares, two gunships, and a Charley Charley armed with a high-power searchlight and a twin 0.50 calibre machinegun; and joint operations with the United States Navy SEALs, which typically involved locating and capturing senior Viet Cong (VC) personnel.Farthing, Sea power ashore and in the air, pp. 216–7.
History
Creation In 1966, the United States requested that Australia send more helicopter pilots to Vietnam, as the increase in the number of US and allied soldiers had increased beyond the capability of helicopter transport and support units.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 179 Because of Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) commitments in Vietnam and elsewhere, the only available pilots were from the RAN Fleet Air Arm. It was originally intended to integrate them with the RAAF's No. 9 Squadron, although the United States Army requested that the RAN pilots be integrated with one of their helicopter companies. On 14 July 1967, it was announced that the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV) would be created and combined with the US Army's 135th Assault Helicopter Company to form the Experimental Military Unit (EMU).
October 1967 – September 1968 The components of the EMU arrived in Vung Tau during early October 1967: the 135th during the first week, and the RANHFV contingent during 16–18 October. The company was declared operational on 3 November 1967. The company operated from Vung Tau Air Base during November and December, then was relocated to Blackhorse Base Camp (operating base of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) in the Xuân Lộc district on 31 December.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 183–4
In mid-February, while delivering the ARVN 9th Division to a landing zone near Mỹ Tho, the EMU encountered multiple companies of heavily armed North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) soldiers.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 185–6 One helicopter was shot down by a rocket, killing the American aircrew, and eight other aircraft were damaged. On 22 February 1968, a RAN EMU pilot was killed while leading a mission to extract ARVN soldiers from a VC assault.Cooper, in The Royal Australian Navy, p. 208. He was the first Australian pilot to be killed in the Vietnam War.
A program started in late February, where pilots from No. 9 Squadron RAAF were invited to fly with the EMU for two-week stints: although officially conceived to promote knowledge-sharing between the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and the United States Army aviation branch, the plan also helped counteract pilot shortages in the EMU as United States personnel completed their twelve-month draft period and were not immediately replaced.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 186
On 18 May, the EMU was assigned to transport the ARVN 25th Division.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 187 During the landing, the force was ambushed by VC: ten aircraft were hit and several ARVN were killed or wounded, although the only injury suffered by EMU aircrew was a bullet through the earlobe of an American pilot. It was later found that the attack resulted from an intelligence leak within the ARVN unit, resulting in a tightening of procedures and the creation of 'Smoky'; an Iroquois modified to generate a smoke screen during landings.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 188
On 21 August, a gunship was struck by a rocket and crashed, killing the three aircrew.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 188–9
Starting from 9 September, the second RANHFV contingent was rotated in, with the EMU's Australian Executive Officer relieved on 30 September, and the last members of the first contingent departing on 15 October.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 189 During RANHFV 1's deployment, the EMU had flown 30,670 hours, with seven American and three Australian aircrew killed, plus eleven Americans and four Australians seriously injured.
October 1968 – September 1969 On 23 October, the EMU met heavy resistance near Bến Tre while performing insertions and extractions of the 9th Division. Two helicopters crashed and were destroyed, and another seven damaged, but there were no aircrew casualties.
From November, the EMU was assigned to operate from Bearcat Base (operating base of the 222nd Aviation Battalion) near Biên Hòa, at the same time as their duties expanded to include supporting Royal Thai Army forces.Dennis et al, The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 441
In January 1969, a RAN pilot was killed when his helicopter made contact with power lines during bad weather.ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 191
In mid-February, a gunship was shot down in Vĩnh Long by a VC force. The aircrew survived, and used the gunship's door-mounted M60 machine guns to keep the VC at bay until another EMU helicopter could rescue them. The VC commenced sporadic mortar attacks on Bearcat on 22 February, forcing the EMU to evacuate their helicopters and support personnel to Blackhorse six times over the next seven days.
On 31 May, an EMU gunship escorting a formation near Đồng Tâm Base Camp came under heavy fire and crashed, killing all aboard. Door Gunner, Leading Aircrewman Noel Shipp, the only Australian in the crew, continued to fire as the helicopter hit the ground, a campaign to bestow Shipp with the Victoria Cross failed and he was instead honored with a Recruit Division in his name at the RAN, Recruit School.
On 16 June, an Australian gunner aboard a Slick was wounded while providing covering fire for a medical evacuation of South Vietnamese soldiers near Cái Bè.
Despite the start of the wet season in June, PAVN activity increased. This, combined with the loss of several helicopters and the replacement of the US 9th Infantry Division with the less professional ARVN 7th and 9th Divisions as part of the 'Vietnamization' process, increased the EMU's workload.ANAM, Flying Stations, pp. 192–3
RANHFV 3 began to rotate in from 10 September, and was completed by late September.
October 1969 – September 1970