The Magnificence of the Ugly Angel

Nikon D810, 1/400 sec, f/20, 105mm, ISO 800

There are a lot of photographic opportunities in Pearl Harbor, besides the USS Arizona. Here is the nose of a CH-53D from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, the World Famous Ugly Angels.

“On 30 November 2012, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 (HMH-362) was deactivated following its return from a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. At that time, HMH-362 was the last remaining squadron in the Marine Corps to use the CH-53D helicopter. The Squadron’s remaining aircraft were to be retired.”

This aircraft is located at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum on Ford Island. In a previous life I spent over 2,000 hours flying these aircraft. It was a sad day when they retired the aircraft that I spent so much time flying.

World Famous Ugly Angel: 21.358806° -157.962592°