EMU UH-1s refuel while supporting ARVN 7th Division operations
Active
1967–1971
Country
United States/Australia
Branch
United States Army/Royal Australian Navy
Role
Helicopter assault and transport
Size
Company
Nickname(s)
The Emus
Motto(s)
"Get the Bloody Job Done"
Military unit
The Experimental Military Unit (EMU) was a joint Australian-American company-sized helicopter assault force which operated during the Vietnam War. The unit was created in 1967 following a request from the United States military for Australia to send more helicopter pilots to the conflict. As the only available personnel were from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm (with Australian Army and RAAF pilots already heavily committed), the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV) was formed and integrated into the 135th Assault Helicopter Company of the United States Army. The EMU unit name was selected by the Americans as a backronym for the Australian bird, a choice which amused the Australians: despite being large, fast, and highly mobile, the emu cannot fly.
The EMU flew multiple variants of the UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, and was primarily tasked with providing transport and support for units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States Army and Marine Corps, and Australian Army. A typical day's operations consisted of ten transports (supported by four gunships and a command unit) collecting a unit of soldiers, performing a combat assault, then returning the unit to base. Other operations included dawn and dusk assaults, night hunter-killer patrols, and supporting United States Navy SEAL units in the capture of senior Viet Cong personnel. Although the RAN contingent was significantly smaller than the rest of the unit, the Australian personnel frequently found themselves in senior positions, due to having more extensive training and experience than their American counterparts.
Initially operating out of Vung Tau Air Base, the EMU was relocated to Blackhorse Base Camp at the end of 1967. In late 1968, the unit was moved to near Biên Hòa. In mid-1970, the EMU was tasked to operations into Cambodia, but as the rules of engagement for the Australians forbade them from operating outside Vietnam, the unit operated under-strength for several days until being retasked back to Vietnam operations. Later that year, the unit was relocated to Đồng Tâm. The RANHFV was withdrawn from Vietnam in 1971, ending the joint unit. The Australian contingent was the most highly decorated RAN unit to serve in the Vietnam War, and the one with the highest casualty rate.
and 24 Related for: Experimental Military Unit information
The ExperimentalMilitaryUnit (EMU) was a joint Australian-American company-sized helicopter assault force which operated during the Vietnam War. The...
Paratroopers GROM MilitaryUnit (Polish: Jednostka Wojskowa GROM im. Cichociemnych Spadochroniarzy Armii Krajowej), simply known as the GROM MilitaryUnit (Polish:...
The United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU or NAVXDIVINGU) is the primary source of diving and hyperbaric operational guidance for the US Navy...
Union Evangelical Members within the Uniting Church in Australia ExperimentalMilitaryUnit, a US/Australian helicopter force Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine...
1936, Unit 731 expanded to include 3000 staff members, 150 structures, and the capacity to detain up to 600 prisoners concurrently for experimental purposes...
different evolution prototypes were built. They were tested in an experimentalmilitaryunit, on the proving grounds of the Ministry of Defense, and in the...
Landing ExperimentalUnit, abbreviated BLEU, was a unit of the British government tasked with creating an early autolanding system for military and civilian...
The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at...
Jednostka Wojskowa Formoza, (MilitaryUnit Formoza) (2007-2011 Morska Jednostka Działań Specjalnych, MJDS) (Naval Special Operations Unit), previous names: Sekcje...
The Military Engineering Experimental Establishment (MEXE) was a British defence research unit. It was formed from the Experimental Bridging Establishment...
Parasol. It should also be noted that the headquarters detachment of the militaryunit also carries traditions from World War II, which are those of Batalion...
Mamori. She is a former Soldier (code name C7), a member of an experimentalmilitaryunit which tested Mirei and her partner's A Virus powers for warfare...
Reproducibility of experimental results is central to the scientific method. A standard system of units facilitates this. Scientific systems of units are a refinement...
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) organization founded to help the U.S. military make faster use of emerging...
experiments typically follow the form of the clinical trial, where experimentalunits (usually individual human beings) are randomly assigned to a treatment...
scrapped; the other was claimed by a U.S. Navy Technical Air Intelligence Unit in late 1945, dismantled, and shipped to the United States. The sole surviving...
drones that could penetrate North Korea with the creation of a new militaryunit. The South Korean Defence Ministry announced a new series of anti-drone...
control unit designed to be controlled by the following tank. Cancelled. Mine Exploder T11: Six forward firing mortars to set off mines. Experimental. Mine...
slated by 2010. In 1947, Fort Knox hosted the Universal Military Training ExperimentalUnit, a six-month project that aimed to demonstrate the feasibility...
This is a list of military communications ('Signals') units and formations of the Royal Air Force. In the Royal Air Force sense, wings, groups, and commands...
balloons) were established, they were quickly adopted for military duties. The first military balloon unit was the French Aerostatic Corps, who in 1794 flew an...
January 1943, Lieutenant Samuel Warren Carey, a Z Special Unit officer based at Z Experimental Station, Cairns, Queensland, approached General Thomas Blamey...
"nuclear fission" – a term coined by Frisch. Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939. On 22 April 1939, after hearing a colloquium paper...
Spetsnaz brigades (10th and 22nd) an experimental reconnaissance brigade (the 100th), plus one Russian Airborne Troops unit also stationed in the district:...