The OH-6A Cayuse

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The McDonnell Douglas 500 MD Defender

She may be small, but she packs a big wallop. Click on the thumbnail image to see the detail in Thomas Maloney's sketch. Then click your browser's BACK button to return here.

Miss Clawd IV

Click on the thumbnail for a larger view, then click the BACK button on your browser to return here. "Miss Clawd IV was a Hughes OH-6A Cayuse flown by Captain Hugh Mills in Vietnam in 1972. The OH-6A was nicknamed the ‘Loach’ from the initials LOH of Light Observation Helicopter. It was the principal scout helicopter used by the US Army in Vietnam. The Loach was armed with the XM-27 Armament Subsystem comprising an M-134 minigun mounted on the left side of the aircraft with 2,000 rounds of ammunition. The crew normally consisted of a pilot and a crewchief who sat in the right rear seat armed with a M-60 machine gun on a bungee cord with 3,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition to this, assorted armament was carried by the crew depending upon their personal preferences. Doors were removed from the aircraft since they obstructed vision and made it difficult to get out in the event of a crash.

Flying in the aero scouts was one of the most dangerous of all flying duties in Vietnam, only equaled by that of Dust Off pilots. During Hugh Mills’ 1969 tour, the pilots of the Aero Scout Platoon of D Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division, with a normal duty complement of 15 pilots, lost 32 men killed or wounded in action and was not considered an exceptional level of casualties.

In two years of combat flying, Hugh Mills received 95 decorations including three Silver Stars, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Stars with "V", sixty-six Air Medals, six Air Medals with "V", the Army Commendation Medal with "V", six Purple Hearts, the Vietnamese DFC, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, the Vietnamese Medal of Honor, the Vietnam Service medal and the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon. He flew 3,300 combat hours in 1,019 combat missions — 75% of them were in Scouts and the rest in Cobra Gunships. He was shot down sixteen times."~Tom Maloney, 1997.

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