WITH MARINES IN OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT                               19

F/A- 18  Hornets, Gru~nman  A-6  Intruders, EA-6 Prowlers,  Lockheed  S-3
Vikings, and Grurnman E-2 Hawkeyes on board the Theodore Roosevelt (CVN
71). Another source of air support was the U.S. Navy's Mediterranean-based
Combat Support Helicopter Squadron 4 (HC-4) from Sigonella, Italy, which flew
Sikorsky Cll-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift cargo helicopters.
   The mainstay of llMM-264 was the Boeing Vertol Cll-46E Sea Knight. It
was a shipborne, twin-engine, tandem-rotor, medium-lift transport helicopter.
Although the CH-46 was officially named the Sea Knight, most Marines called
these aircraft "Frogs" because of the dark green paint and squatty appearing
high-nose/low-tail posture on the ground. In tactical situations the crew consisted
of two pilots, a crew chief, and a door gunner. A Sea Knight was supposed to
fly at a cruising speed of 158 miles per hour with a ceiling of about 9,000 feet
and a combat radius of about 75 nautical miles, but age had taken a toll. Safety
factors, terrain, and weather, and extended use, severely limited the performance
of these old work horses during Operation Provide Comfort. So many of HMM-
246's Frogs had patches covering combat scars from Vietnam, it was a squadron
joke that a pilot couldn't fly a "Forty-six" unless the aircraft was older than he
was.23 Service-life extension programs added years of operational usefulness and
marginally increased capabilities, but the CH-46s were ready for replacement by
more capable aircraft in 199124


Two Marine CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-hft cargo helicopters prepare to lift off the deck of die
Guadalcanal (LPH 7) in Iskenderun Harbor. An AH-iT Bell Sea Cobra attack helicopter sits in the
left foreground.