Need help with Vietnam HMM-163 UH-34D

[KursadA]

I need a good period photo showing an HMM-163 Marine UH-34D helicopter in Vietnam for an upcoming decal sheet. The photo needs to clearly show the BuNo and the serial number (YP-xx), AND have the "evil eyes" painted (these seem to have been painted sometime in 1966, so this means post-1966). I already have another pre-1966 HMM-163 option on the sheet without the eyes painted, so I am not interested in these.

Basically I need a Vietnam period photo of a helicopter just like the one below, where the BuNo is visible:

I am not interested in photos of restored aircraft or museum examples painted like this (so please don't post a photo of YP-20 or any other current restored examples). I need an actual Vietnam-period photo, preferably taken "in country". As a rule, if you can find it in Google in 5 minutes, I have most likely already seen it and it will not work for me. I have looked at most of the obvious sources (popasmoke.com etc.) and could not find any. By this time many units have been painting the BuNo in black, which makes things a lot harder. If I am really desperate, I can use a BuNo from the after-action reports available online, but I would rather use a real photo as the reference.

Needless to say, the first person who can help will get a free copy of the decal sheet when it's ready. Thanks!

Edited April 3, 2013 by KursadA

[rotorwash]

No eyes on this one, but still a beautiful HM-163 bird.

[KursadA]

No eyes on this one, but still a beautiful HM-163 bird.

Thanks - I had seen this photo and thought about adding it to the sheet; but as I mentioned I already have an HMM-163 bird on the sheet from the same period. There must be some photos somewhere..

[hawkwrench]

What about this?

[KursadA]

What about this?

It's a bit small and I can't make out any details - do you have a larger version?

Thanks.

[Wizard_rkt]

http://www.google.com/search?q=HM-163+H-34&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=PqhdUfauJcWkyAHa8oHwBw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=943#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=HMM-163+H-34&spell=1&sa=X&ei=Q6hdUYXcL6rfyQHtloEg&ved=0CFEQBSgA&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.44770516,d.aWc&fp=51f2b4a719b98092&biw=1600&bih=943

[Wizard_rkt]

http://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemDescV4&item=350752914665&t=0&tid=10&category=50297&seller=pohusband2&excSoj=1&rptdesc=1&excTrk=1&lsite=0#

[Wizard_rkt]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=HMM-163+H-34&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=3PEpn269SgPQ0M&tbnid=0cFPPdruZwEiEM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3A150219_YP-20_a_Sikorsky_UH-34D_in_HMM-163_marks_(3266721359).jpg&ei=ZaldUZesAaS7ygGFt4HIAQ&psig=AFQjCNHFbLXlhK1XfY37550bw4Ojl6DynQ&ust=1365178829395164

[Wizard_rkt]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=HMM-163+H-34&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=PrJWvtDFTp33VM&tbnid=PH_YvVLnZp3RuM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fair-and-space.com%2F2003%2520Miramar%2520Airshow%2520statics%2520page%25203.htm&ei=mqldUbO6HImfyAH3-IH4DQ&psig=AFQjCNHFbLXlhK1XfY37550bw4Ojl6DynQ&ust=1365178829395164

[Wizard_rkt]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=HMM-163+H-34&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=GX9upFMk-5beaM&tbnid=ulfJCuMUYGTxLM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Flh%2Fphoto%2FRtU65R9nYAGxjl7OkLpIuw&ei=xqldUe_iMMjhyQGM14CwBg&psig=AFQjCNHFbLXlhK1XfY37550bw4Ojl6DynQ&ust=1365178829395164

[KursadA]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=HMM-163+H-34&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=GX9upFMk-5beaM&tbnid=ulfJCuMUYGTxLM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Flh%2Fphoto%2FRtU65R9nYAGxjl7OkLpIuw&ei=xqldUe_iMMjhyQGM14CwBg&psig=AFQjCNHFbLXlhK1XfY37550bw4Ojl6DynQ&ust=1365178829395164

Thanks, but I have seen every single photo you have posted and none of them are usable to me. I am not interested in the museum example marked as YP-20. There is absolutely zero evidence that this helicopter was marked this way during the war and I am simply not going to slap these markings on my decal sheet. Perhaps my request was not very clear:

Just to reiterate and clarify, I am looking for an actual photograph showing an HMM-163 helicopter (with the eyes) with the BuNO visible, taken in the theater of operations during the Vietnam War. I have gone through Google, Flickr and many printed sources (Lundh's book, various editions of the Squadron book etc.) already, what I am after probably exists in a magazine or book and can not be found in five minutes online.

Edited April 4, 2013 by KursadA

[rotorwash]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=HMM-163+H-34&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=GX9upFMk-5beaM&tbnid=ulfJCuMUYGTxLM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Flh%2Fphoto%2FRtU65R9nYAGxjl7OkLpIuw&ei=xqldUe_iMMjhyQGM14CwBg&psig=AFQjCNHFbLXlhK1XfY37550bw4Ojl6DynQ&ust=1365178829395164

Disregard this post

Edited April 4, 2013 by rotorwash

[hawkwrench]

I don't know if this worked,but here it goes:

Sorry, it didn't work!

Edited April 4, 2013 by hawkwrench

[modelldoc]

Hey,

Here is a website with a lot of pictures, all from VNAF:

http://vnafmamn.com/index.html

There you can find a lot of different pictures.

modelldoc

Edited April 5, 2013 by modelldoc

[KursadA]

There you can find a lot of different pictures.

Interesting photos there, especially the Kingbees UH-34s. There is nothing about US Marines UH-34D's that I can use, but the VNAF photos will come handy for a later sheet. Thanks.

Edited April 5, 2013 by KursadA

[jaggedadze]

I need a good period photo showing an HMM-163 Marine UH-34D helicopter in Vietnam for an upcoming decal sheet. The photo needs to clearly show the BuNo and the serial number (YP-xx), AND have the "evil eyes" painted (these seem to have been painted sometime in 1966, so this means post-1966). I already have another pre-1966 HMM-163 option on the sheet without the eyes painted, so I am not interested in these.

Basically I need a Vietnam period photo of a helicopter just like the one below, where the BuNo is visible:

I am not interested in photos of restored aircraft or museum examples painted like this (so please don't post a photo of YP-20 or any other current restored examples). I need an actual Vietnam-period photo, preferably taken "in country". As a rule, if you can find it in Google in 5 minutes, I have most likely already seen it and it will not work for me. I have looked at most of the obvious sources (popasmoke.com etc.) and could not find any. By this time many units have been painting the BuNo in black, which makes things a lot harder. If I am really desperate, I can use a BuNo from the after-action reports available online, but I would rather use a real photo as the reference.

Needless to say, the first person who can help will get a free copy of the decal sheet when it's ready. Thanks!

Good pics of a faded scheme, but no way you can pick out Bu No. You can barely see the insignia on the side. The one across the spine is clearer.

http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/1960svietnam/past07.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UH-34D_HMM-163_over_Vietnam_1967.JPEG

Edited April 7, 2013 by jaggedadze