Circa 1970, coastal South Vietnam. Eight Sikorsky CH-53 heavy transport helicopters cross the sky above a base perimeter of Quonset huts, power lines, a wooden guard tower and karst hills. CH-53s of Marine squadron HMH-463 provided the lift for Operation Tailwind in September 1970, carrying a MACV-SOG Hatchet Force company deep into southern Laos and extracting it under fire four days later; the type's range and payload made the operation possible at all. This print is preserved among the Tailwind photographs in the Donald L. Engebretsen collection. The date, unit and location are not recorded on the image. Project: 219516