These USMC CH-53s wore a Sexy Paint Scheme during Operation Desert Storm

Check out the Sexy Paint Scheme worn by these USMC CH-53s during Operation Desert Storm

By Dario Leone
Apr 24 2019
Share this article

The photos are of 2 different aircraft, but there might have been as many as 4 aircraft painted up like these during Operation Desert Storm.

The interesting photos in this post feature U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters sporting quite a sexy paint scheme.

These USMC CH-53s wore a Sexy Paint Scheme during Operation Desert Storm

In fact as John Faith explains in an interesting piece for Aircraft Resource Center, if you look closely you’ll see the outline of a woman on both sides of the fuselage of the CH-53s.

According to Faith the photos are of 2 different aircraft, but there might have been as many as 4 aircraft painted up like these during Operation Desert Storm (ODS). These choppers were with Helicopter Marine Heavy Helicopter 466 (HMH-466).

These USMC CH-53s wore a Sexy Paint Scheme during Operation Desert Storm

As Louis Lofton (who was a crew chief on one of the CH-53s) told to Faith, the helicopters ended up that way due to the rapid need for deployment to the Gulf. With so many to be painted, the Marines were allowed to paint their squadron aircraft in their own hangers before deploying. HMH-466 was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Tustin, California back then. The unit is located at MCAS Miramar, CA since 1996.

HMH-466) flies CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. The squadron, known as the “Wolfpack”, falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW).

These USMC CH-53s wore a Sexy Paint Scheme during Operation Desert Storm

Photo credit: John Faith via Aircraft Resource Center and U.S. Marine Corps


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

Error: Contact form not found.


Share this article
Back to top
My Agile Privacy
This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

List of some possible advertising permissions:

You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices