At about 730 CST this morning I went to take some garbage outside, so no phone for pics. Looking up (due to the sound) I saw a procession of 5 helicopters in a V formation. They all appeared to be grey or grey blue and I could not make out any livery.
The first was a large passenger type with the rear door open on the side I could see (right side); think the medivac / door gunner chopper from every Vietnam movie but with a sleeker front.
The remaining four were fully armed Apaches.
They were not very high up, much lower than the small planes that fly over from the nearby municipal airport. Actually, they were lower than the medical choppers that often pass by. Flying almost due east like they were following state highway 302 across northern DeSoto county in Mississippi.
Blatant curiosity make me want to know what was up! While I am not far from the highway it is not visible from my house - could they have been escorting a ground vehicle?
You sure it was a UH-1 Iroquois (“Huey” from Vietnam)? Only the USMC and the USAF still fly those- the Army and Navy fly variants of the UH-60 Blackhawk these days.
The Army flies the AH-64 Apache, while the USMC still flies the AH-1Z Viper (still being relative; the -Z model is pretty new, even if the basic design is 50 years old). They’re sort of similar looking, in a form follows function sort of way, since they’re both attack helicopters.
Based on that, my guesses are that you saw one of a pair of options:
US Army UH-60 Blackhawk flanked by AH-64 Apaches
USMC UH-1Z Venom flanked by AH-1Z Vipers
There’s not much in the way of aviation units nearby that I could find, so my guess is that they were just flying by.
In the “sorta-helicopter” category I saw a trio of V-22 Ospreys flying over my house the other day en route from 29 Palms to Camp Pendleton. Weird sounding suckers.
Unless you live between an arming point and the helicopter gunnery range it is doubtful they were armed at all.
It’s been quite a few years but I was in an Apache unit for a few years. The routine flying configuration for an Apache is one empty 2.75 inch rocket pod on each wing and one Hellfire rack with up to 4 dummy missiles on each wing. That equipment is not removed for routine flights and they are never armed with live ammo unless they are at the range.
The OP mentions a rear door down. I’m thinking it’s most likely a CH-53 and several Vipers/Cobras.
Due to the reported color he most likely saw Marine helicopters. Most people would describe the dark green of Army helicopters as black. No one would ever describe them as grey or grey/blue.
Thanks everyone for the replies! I am not knowledgeable about military aircraft beyond pop culture, therefore misidentification is almost certain.
bump - It was not the UH-1, I just didn’t know how else to describe it. From your list it was probably the second option since the images Google can find of both USMC UH-1Z Venom and AH-1Z Viper appear to be exactly what I saw.
Special thanks for this - the fact they seemed armed was really what made me curious. Guess I was just lucky to see some beautiful machines during their migration!
So is it normal for them to fly so low relative to civilian aircraft?
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadrons are typically made up of a mix of AH-1Z’s and UH-1Y’s. East Coast squadrons are in Cherry Point and New River, North Carolina, mostly. West Coast squadrons are in Yuma, AZ. Sometimes East Coast squadrons travel to the West Coast for training/range use. When they do, it would be normal to send the AH-1Z’s, which are the mission aircraft, escorted by a UH-1Y carrying a number of maintenance personnel onboard, just in case of a mechanical malfunction, as the trip can take 2-3 days. It would be common for the formation to use interstates for navigation. There could also be a number of chase trucks, carrying tools and spare parts, although the helos and trucks would not travel together.
They try to use military airfields, but most large civilian airports have Air National Guard facilities that can be used for fuel. The personnel are paid the local per diem rate for lodging and meals for each day. They usually get an advance on their travel allowances before they leave, and then settle up when they get back.