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Phrogs Phorever

Well, I'm glad to hear that. After our last brief, all us young company-grade were fearing that we'd be left sans a paddle. I hope, for my sake, that it turns out to be as easy as you say.
 
So when did we retire the USN phrogs? Looks like they still could have been a useful unrep asset...no?
 
MIDNJAC said:
So when did we retire the USN phrogs? Looks like they still could have been a useful unrep asset...no?
Click to expand...

The Navy retired their last H-46's a few years ago. While they may have been a good VERTREP asset they were very old and needed replacement and from a 'big Navy' perspective it made sense to cut down the number of helo types in service. I will leave it to the HC guys who actually did the mission to say whether or not it really was a good decision from their perspective.
 
MIDNJAC said:
So when did we retire the USN phrogs? Looks like they still could have been a useful unrep asset...no?
Click to expand...

The last Navy Phrogs were retired sometime around 2005-06. They had been flown hard doing vertrep, PMC, and SAR for almost 40yrs and the airframes were at the end of their life. Towards the end of their service, the USN Phrog fleet was having an engine failure a week. Not exactly the kind of performance you want when you're flying with 4000lbs of bombs on the pendant at 100'.

The story of why we don't have 46Gs instead of 60Ss goes something like this:
At some point, Boeing asked the Navy if they were ever going to want more Phrogs. The Navy said "no". So, Boeing sold the plans, rights, and tooling to the Japanese. A few years later, the Navy realizes that the Phrog fleet is in need of an upgrade, so they ask Boeing what it would cost to get new Phrogs. Turns out the cost would be prohibitive since Boeing would have had to buy the rights back from the Japanese and then restart the line. At the same time, the Army had purchased new Blackhawks from Sikorsky expecting to expand their aviation capabilities. Shortly thereafter during the peace dividend, the Army found itself in a money crunch. It couldn't afford all the aviation expansion and the Comanche program. The Army decided to spend it's money on the Comanche and now had Blackhawks on the Sikorsky line that it couldn't afford to use. These Blackhawks happened to come on the market at the same time that the Navy was in desperate need of a replacement for the Phrog. So, the Blackhawks became MH-60S Knighthawks.
 
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011019-N-7265L-003 At sea with USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Battle Group (OCT. 19, 2001)-- The guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) maneuvers just aft of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during a replenishment at sea. A CH-46D "Sea Knight" from the "Gunbearers" of Helicopter Support Squadron One One (HC-11) delivers ordnance to the aircraft carrier. Carl Vinson and her embarked carrier air wing are conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographers Mate Airman Inez Lawson (Released)
 
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011230-N-2383B-507 KANDAHAR (December 30, 2001) -- A U.S. Marine Aircrewman directs a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter to park at a forward operating base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. U.S. Sailors and Marines are in Afghanistan operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera, Fleet Combat Camera Atlantic (RELEASED).
 
STOM in practice

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011214-N-2383B-528 Operation Enduring Freedom (Dec. 14, 2001) -- U.S. Marines assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) deploy to an undisclosed location within Afghanistan aboard a CH-46E “Sea Knight” from aboard the amphibious command ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group is deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera. (RELEASED).

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011202-N-6520M-005 Camp Rhino, Afghanistan (Dec. 2, 2001) -- A United States Marine Corps. CH-46 “Sea Knight” helicopter lands on the desert landing strip code named “Rhino.” Rhino is a forward-base of operations strategically located inside Afghanistan. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Greg Messier. (RELEASED)
 
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011226-N-6520M-014 At sea aboard USS PELELIU (LHA 5) Dec. 26, 2001 -- A CH-46 helicopter approaches the flight deck of USS Peleliu (LHA 5). USS Peleliu is the flagship of an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photograph by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Greg Messier. (Released)
 
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960324-N-0000C-001 A CH-46 helicopter assigned to the Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Five (HC-5) embarked with the Military Sealift ship USNS Niagara Falls (TAF-3), conducts late evening vertical replenishment operations with the U.S. Navy's forward deployed aircraft carrier USS Independence (CV 62), March 24, 1996. The Independence was recently moved closer to the island of Taiwan, as a show of military presence during live fire war games by China in the Taiwan Straits. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer's Airman Dennis Cantrell (Released)
 
The Beginning of the End

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020208-N-0000L-001 Naval Air Station, North Island, CA (Feb. 8, 2002) -- Adm. Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations, praises the virtues of the Navy’s new MH-60S “Knighthawk” helicopter during a “Fleet Introduction” ceremony. The “Knighthawk” will replace the aging inventory of CH-46 “Sea Knight” helicopters, which has been the “workhorse” of the fleet since the 1960’s. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Jason D. Landon. (RELEASED)
 
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020430-N-3889M-003 Yigo, Guam (Apr. 30, 2002) -- A maintenance crew performs routine maintenance on a CH-46 ?Sea Knight? helicopter attached to the ?Providers? of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Five (HC-5). The CH-46 is a tandem-rotor transport helicopter designed for both land and sea based operations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer?s Mate 2nd Class Marjorie McMillen. (RELEASED)
 
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020323-N-9815L-002 At sea aboard USS Essex (LHD 2) Mar. 23, 2002 -- Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) board a CH-46E ?Sea Knight? in preparation for a mock amphibious assault. The assault was part of Exercise Foal Eagle, an annual joint and combined field training and maritime exercise between the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) armed forces. The exercise is designed to strengthen relationships and improve interoperability between both nations through real world training scenarios. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Michael Lewis. (RELEASED)
 
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020326-N-5961C-003 At sea aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Mar. 26, 2002 -- A pair of CH-46E ?Sea Knight? helicopters assigned to the ?Gunbearers? of Helicopter Composite Support Squadron One One (HC-11) work in unison during a vertical replenishment at sea (VERTREP). HC-11 is embarked aboard Bonhomme Richard conducting combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Spike Call. (RELEASED)
 
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020307-N-5067K-001 At sea aboard USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 199) Mar. 7, 2002 -- A CH-46 ?Sea Knight? from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Three (HC-3) approaches the aft flight deck on board the Military Sealift Command ship USNS Guadalupe during routine training. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer?s Mate 2nd Class Michael Kennedy. (RELEASED)
 
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