Tattoos and the military have a long history – especially in the US Navy. For years, sailors would get tattoos to represent their time in the service, a deployment or detachment, or to bring good luck while underway.
Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 9, based at Naval Station Norfolk and assigned to the Gerald R. Ford recently took an opportunity to paint their “CAG” bird in a unique paint scheme – paying tribute to the relationship of tattoos and the Navy. Each squadron in the Navy will traditionally paint up one jet, helicopter or aircraft in a special paint – symbolizing Navy history, squadron history or something of special meaning.
On this MH-60S, many traditional Navy tattoos are present, such as the swallow, dragon or pig and the rooster. The swallow represents that a sailor has traveled several thousand nautical miles, while the pig and the rooster represents a story that traces back to the days of sail.
At HSC-9, AM2 Anthony Harmon helped design the paint – spending hours behind the computer designing the paint. He first reached out to his fellow sailors, asking for input on what tattoo symbols should be included. From there, the design work began – finding where on the aircraft the symbol could be placed.
Commander of HSC-9, Robert Knoerzer tells us that pretty much everything was done by hand. The numbers and text had to be independently stenciled – and much of the aircraft had to be wrapped or taped so it could be airbrushed. The overall paint process took around 2 weeks to complete.
The squadron recently took the helicopter to Navy Fleet Week in NYC – showcasing it to thousands of visitors. As one 5 that HSC-9 uses to carry out it’s mission, you may see the colorful helicopter flying around Hampton Roads as well!
Pics below courtesy of the HSC-9 Instagram/used with permission of base PAO.
