" ... we didn't have cargo hooks. "

Ron, I flew 66-16317 from April70 to Standdown 31Oct70 - and got her fresh from a retrofit. It was one of the few aircraft we had which did have a cargo hook. I even used it one time: WAR STORY

Several of us we sitting at Blackhawk after refueling late on afternoon, waiting for a cloudburst to peter out so we could get on home to An Khe, when a grunt Lt came over and said some beams had given way at a dugout and it had caved in and several guys were trapped and hurt and could we help lift them off. I couldn't see past the windscreen, and I think Chris nearly drowned leaning out the door and getting us set up over the dugout so they could get a rope over the broken beam and on the hook. I think there were three of us who took hurt guys over to the hospital at Pleiku, about 8 or 9 as I recall.

I was asked to take a 105-mm cannon out from Enari one time, but had to beg off, thank god, as that day I was in a bird with no hook. Lord knows I had enough trouble flying straight and level as it was, without some dang thing dangling out. Was that a reasonable request, or were they counting on me being too dumb to know what they weighed? Which I didn't.

Pickett