Sikorsky CH-54A Tarhe with M-121 bomb
The CH-54A heavy helicopter was successfully used by the US Army in Vietnam during military operations. It transported various types of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, including excavators, bulldozers, trucks and boats. In addition to transporting military equipment, the CH-54A was also used as a carrier of M-121 high-power bombs. Such bombs were dropped in order to quickly clear the forest under the airfield for helicopters. This made it possible to reduce the time of arranging the territory designated for the landing zone and helped to respond flexibly to the tactical situation. For such tasks, the M-121 bomb was partially modernized - the rear part of the hull and tail stabilizers were dismantled and a special parachute was added to slow down its fall. Also, the bombs were equipped with an elongated nose detonator to provide a height of explosion of about 3 feet from the ground. Bombs modernized in this way were used until their reserves were completely exhausted, the last one was used on August 8, 1970.
