The first helicopters in French Indochina were two Hiller 360s in 1950. Four similar H-23As were taken over from the US Army in early 1952, and 51-16120 was one of them. The H-23A had quickly been withdrawn from the war in Korea. The French installed uprated engines later on. The ambulance pods seem to be the same as in photo 676511 and they were not practical. Photo taken somewhere in Cochinchina, the southernmost part of Vietnam. This airframe survives at La Ferté-Alais! Photo by: Raoul Coutard / ECPAD

There is doubt about the identity of this Raven. Some sources quote the c/n as 198 which would make it the genuine BuNo 128647, but it seems highly likely that it is in fact ex-USAF H-23A 51-4017 painted to represent an HTE-1, in which case it was previously on the civil register as N3HK

Data for the helicopter on the left, which has been preserved at Fort Rucker. The medical evacuation pods seen here were too small for a stretcher, so the wounded had to be transferred by hand. The H-23A was quickly withdrawn from Korea. Photo from: Hiller

Early H-23 helicopter. A batch of one hundred H-23As was delivered to the US Army in 1951. Many of these were used in Korea, several in Berlin. The H-23A model must have been out of service by 1962 as the designation was not updated with a role prefix. The H-23A had marginal engine power.

Displayed with casualty stretcher in position