50 years HMH-463
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 463 Pegasus ('YH-xx') arrived on Oahu (Hawaii) in 1971. Since then, the squadron has been providing rotary wing heavy lift, disaster response, and community support services to the Hawaiian Island chain and across the globe throughout those 50 years.
Since 2016, the CH-53E squadron has been part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
To validate the squadron’s readiness and in celebration of HMH-463’s 50th year on Oahu, Pegasus executed a max aircraft launch on 27 May 2021, flying seven CH-53Es around the island of Oahu.
Within the next year, HMH-463 will be decommissioning and distributing its aircraft across the Fleet Marine Forces. See the Scramble Magazine news item of 16 March 2021 on the deactivation of all conventional helicopter squadrons in Hawaii.
Photo by USMC by Lance Cpl. Samantha Sanchez