Living Ship Day- The Pride of the HS-85

/Living Ship Day- The Pride of the HS-85
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Living Ship Day- The Pride of the HS-85

August 20, 2016 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

 The Pride of the HS-85

The USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum Celebrates the Legacy of the Sea King Helicopter with a Special Squadron Reunion

 This Helicopter Played Key Role in the History of Space Recovery Missions

Taking center stage during the USS Hornet Museum’s Living Ship Day on August 20th will be the Sea King helicopter, which played a key role in the recovery of the Apollo 11 astronauts upon their return to earth. The Museum will host a special Sea King squadron reunion, whose original home base was Alameda’s very own Naval Air Station. The squadron members will be reuniting to share their incredible stories.

The special guest speaker will be Rob Blickle, Commander of Squadron HS-85 in Alameda, who became a pilot in 1973 and was a squadron pilot of Sea King.  Mr. Bickle will be speaking at 1:00 PM in Hanger Bay 3.

Rob Blickle: Commander of Squadron HS-85 in Alameda, he became a pilot in 1973 and was a squadron pilot of Sea King. CAPT Robert Blickle is a native of Woodland, California, born on August 28, 1948, graduating from Woodland High School in 1966. Commissioned in March 1971 through the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate (AVROC) Program, he completed Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida, and was designated a Naval Aviator in March 1972. By the end of his flight career, he amassed over 2500 hours of flight time, primarily in the H-3 Sea King. Notable highlights: Receiving the Sikorsky Winged “S” for two rescues at sea in the H-3; Meeting and flying Vice Admiral Jim Stockdale; Becoming a Trusty Shellback on May 10, 1975 on USS Coral Sea. In April 1972, he reported to NAS Imperial Beach and trained in the SH-3G prior to reporting to HC-1 for his first squadron assignment. He completed two WESTPAC cruises on the USS Hancock and USS Coral Sea.

MC* First Class Petty Officer RET Joseph Martinez, Joe served over 21 years as a Navy jet engine mechanic and helicopter crewman. He is our current expert helicopter restoration specialist. Joe is also an aviation photographer. Joe currently lives in Fairfield, California and also lectures on manned spaceflight history for the W Foundation annually at the San Francisco Fleet Week Airshow.

The day’s other activities include a big band performance by the Hornet Band beginning at 11:00 AM.

About HS-85:

Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 (HSC-85) Firehawks is a United States Navy Reserve helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. HSC-85 currently flies the HH-60H Seahawk. With the deactivation of HSC-84 in March of 2016 this squadron remains as the only Navy helicopter squadron dedicated to Special Operations support as a primary role.

The squadron was established as a Naval Reserve squadron on July 1, 1970 as Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS-85) “Golden Gators.” It flew the Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King, later transitioning to the D and H models. In October 1994 the squadron was redesigned Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC-85), it retained the nickname “Golden Gators” and traded in its Anti-Submarine H model Sea Kings for utility model UH-3H Sea Kings. In February 2006 the squadron was again redesignated, this time to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-85). It was equipped with the MH-60S Seahawk helicopter and it operated in a utility role. At that time the squadron changed its nickname from “Golden Gators” to “High Rollers”.

Details

Date:
August 20, 2016
Time:
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Venue

USS Hornet Museum

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