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Final mission for venerable MH-53

Born from a helicopter designed to pluck aircrews out of the jungles of Vietnam, the MH-53 Pave Low will die just like it was born — quietly in combat.

Six Pave Lows touched down at 1:53 a.m. on Sept. 27 at an undisclosed base after the storied heavy-lift helicopter’s last mission.

Air Force Special Operations Command officials said the MH-53s flew special operators and equipment to an undisclosed destination in Iraq.

Operational security concerns protected kept official from sharing anything else about the MH-53s’ historic final mission.

The fact the MH-53s’ last mission was in Iraq and one that needed to be protected because of its sensitive nature is a source of pride for its current and former aircrews, said Maj. Derrick Stamos, a MH-53 pilot and 20th Special Operations Squadron’ assistant director of operations.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling. There is a lot of pride it’s going out on a high note because it stayed relevant and it’s fighting to the end,” he said.

The Air Force has gradually phased out the Pave Low with plans to have the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor replace it while also flying missions the MH-53 couldn’t.

“The CV-22 is not a direct replacement of the MH-53,” said Matthew Durham, an AFSOC spokesman. “The CV-22 can conduct many of the missions of the MH-53, but it gives us much more capability.”

AFSOC has nine CV-22s with plans to buy 41 more by 2017, but AFSOC Commander Lt. Gen. Donald C. Wurster said during a speech at the Air Force Association conference in September his command needs them faster.

Wurster said he also expected the requirement of 50 Ospreys to grow using the continued need for the MH-53s in Iraq as an example of the high demand for large helicopters.

“This platform gives us critical vertical lift and speed-to-target capabilities we need to support SOF operations,” Durham said. “However, the current delivery schedule is too slow to meet those needs and we are doing everything we can to hasten delivery and fielding.”

Six MH-53s remain in Iraq with the corresponding crews that include two pilots, two flight engineers and two aerial gunners for each Pave Low.

The remaining MH-53 crews deployed to Iraq will return home sporadically throughout October.

The MH-53s themselves will return aboard C-5s to aircraft bone yards or be enshrined at aviation museums.

The last Pave Low stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., with the 20th Special Operations Squadron left on Sept. 16.

It flew a few miles away to the Air Force Armament Museum in Shalimar, Fla. Both current and former Pave Low aircrews marked the helicopter’s last flight from Hurlburt after calling it home for 28 years with a barbeque, Stamos said.

The MH-53 Pave Low is an upgraded version of the HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, first brought into the Air Force in the 1960s.

The HH-53s eventually evolved into the MH-53 Pave Low IVs that have advanced radar and avionics suites .

The new suites include a terrain-following and terrain-avoidance radar, forward-looking infrared sensor, inertial navigation system with global positioning system, and a projected map display that allows the pilots to insert and extract special operations teams.

Pave Lows have flown historic missions including the air strike that kicked off Operation Desert Storm in 1991 After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pave Lows flew reconnaissance missions over Ground Zero.

They were even called on to recover the bodies from the Jonestown, Guyana massacre in 1978 when 918 members of a cult led by Jim Jones committed suicide.

Despite the Pave Lows retirement, Stamos said all of its aircrews will stay in Air Force Special Operations Command.

The younger aviators will transfer over to the Osprey and others will move to the 318th Special Operations Squadron and fly the U-28 — an intra-theatre lift aircraft.

Pave Low aerial gunners will transfer over to AFSOC’s gun ships.

Stamos said officials plan to deactivate the 20th SOS on Oct. 17. The following night a reunion of all Pave Low aircrews will occur outside Hurlburt’s gate at the Soundside Club.

“It’s open to anyone who has every flown or worked on a Pave Low,” he said.

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