Heave Ho: The Time The US Shoved Multiple Choppers Into The Sea (Pictures)
Why did they do it?
During April 1975, an odd occurrence happened not once, not twice, but multiple times. In each instance, a group of people was called together and ordered to shove military helicopters off the decks of US Navy ships and into the churning ocean below. The groups worked frantically to heave and shove until the helicopter tipped perilously over the side before tumbling into the water. These helicopters were not light. Many of them weighed multiple tons and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
These helicopters were not damaged. In fact, most of the time, the engines were still hot from landing. You can find images of this strange phenomenon dotting the internet if you know where to look. Each image shows a similar scene. A group of people gathered together for the sole purpose of pushing choppers into the sea.
This raises an obvious question. Why on earth were people shoving expensive helicopters into the ocean?
Operation Frequent Wind
These strange instances happened between April 29th and April 30th, 1975, during Operation Frequent Wind. Operation Frequent Wind was a mission to evacuate US and Vietnamese civilians from Saigon. Saigon would fall on April 30th, and this…
