| Operation Chopper | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of TheVietnam War | |||||||
 an H-21 flying over South Vietnam | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 South Vietnam United States |  Viet Cong | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Nguyễn Xuân Vinh | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,000 | 50 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 6 killed | ||||||
Operation Chopper occurred on 23 December 1961 and was the first time U.S. forces participated in major combat in theVietnam War.
On 11 December 1961, theUSS Core (T-AKV-41) docked inSaigon with 32U.S. ArmyPiasecki H-21 helicopters and 400 crewmen of the 8th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) and the 57th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter). A little more than 12 days later, Operation Chopper commenced.[2]: 3
The helicopters transported over 1,000Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)paratroopers for an assault on a suspectedViet Cong (VC) stronghold 10 miles (16 km) west of Saigon. The VC were surprised and soundly defeated.[2]: 3
This operation heralded a new era ofair mobility for the U.S. Army, which had been slowly growing as a concept since the Army formed twelve helicopterbattalions in 1952 as a result of theKorean War. These new battalions eventually formed a sort of modern-daycavalry for the Army.[2]: 4
On 15 April 1962 theUnited States Marine Corps beganOperation Shufly, the rotating deployment of Marine helicopter squadrons, associated maintenance units and air traffic control detachments to South Vietnam to improve the mobility of ARVN forces.[3]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.