Robert Stidd Vietnam Color Slides

Color slides taken or collected by Robert Stidd relating to his involvement in the operations and missions of Bell UH-1H Iroquois "Huey" Smokey III while he served in Vietnam with the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion, 1967-1968.

In 1995, the National Air and Space Museum acquired a Bell UH-1H Iroquois "Huey". This aircraft, U.S. Army serial number 65-10126, began its military career as a brand new UH-1D accepted by the Army in October 1966. One month later, 65-10126 was flying in Vietnam with Company A of the 229th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. It remained in Company A for ten months before the Army transferred the helicopter to Headquarters Company, 11th Aviation Battalion, where it served through June 1968 as Smokey III, a name given to the aircraft by its crew. These particular Hueys were fitted with a device that produced dense smoke by spraying oil into the exhaust system. The smoke screened friendly helicopters from the enemy, but because the operation worked best when the smoke was deployed low and slow, flying the smoke ships was an especially risky mission. Robert Stidd (1944-2021) enlisted in the Alaska Army National Guard and served three years before being recruited into active duty due to the Vietnam War. Stidd was the door gunner on 11th Combat Aviation Battalion's Smoke Ship, Smokey III