1965 drone helicopter restored for debut at Jacksonville Naval Museum

JACKSONVILLE — As the Jacksonville Naval Museum prepares to make its debut this summer, one local company has stepped up to help make that grand opening even bigger and better.

Action News Jax has been tracking the progress of the Jacksonville Naval Museum -- from the time the USS Orleck docked along the Northbank Riverwalk in March.

Through the months, a QH-50C Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH), nicknamed ‘Snoopie’ has received some much-needed attention.

USS ORLECK INSIDE LOOK: USS Orleck to be the centerpiece of the Jacksonville Naval Museum

Local group Aviation Systems Engineering Company (ASEC) led a restoration project, and the drone will soon be craned onto the flight deck of the USS Orleck.

Action News Jax spoke with Bryan Wooley, a 26-year Navy veteran who works with ASEC.

“If you can imagine a soda can sitting on the Louisiana coastline since 2004 -- bearing down all the hurricanes and inclement weather that passed through there,” Wooley said. “This thing was a mess.”

So, they made the decision to give the drone the restoration they felt it deserves.

“Me and a few fellow employees completely tore it down, took the engine off, sandblasted the whole thing and then started putting it back together and painting it,” Wooley said.

ASEC and several local vendors have been working on the drone since February.

“It just instills a lot of pride in myself to be able to participate in such a unique piece of history and give it back to the warfighters -- and at the same time bringing the community together to support the Orleck,” Wooley said. “It means a great deal.”

So far that renovation process has cost more than $31,000.

“They have a set of torpedoes they’re going to put under it,” Wooley said. “It carried two Mark 44 torpedoes that flew up to a distance of 40 miles away from the ship to engage the enemy during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.”

The USS Orleck had the same type of drone onboard during wartime.

Action News Jax spoke with Wayne Johnston (USS Benner DD807) who served in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1969.

He was a ship navigator and says watching this drone unveiled brings back memories.

“The way we used it in Vietnam was we took the torpedoes off of it, we wrapped flak jackets around it, put a camera on it and we’d fly it up the rivers,” Johnston said.

He said he recalls a few of the drones getting lost.

“We used to come back from flying upriver, spotting our ordinance and you’d see the flak jacket would have holes in them and things like,” Johnston said. “You could see on the camera guys shooting at it.”

Soon veterans and community members of all ages will have the chance to reflect on this piece of history -- saved and remembered.

Navy veteran Justin Weakland is the vice president of the Jacksonville Naval Museum. He expressed his gratitude for the local vendors who have helped turn the vision into reality.

“Building a museum in Downtown Jacksonville takes a community effort,” Weakland said. “You guys have shown that.”

The museum will open to the public this summer.

According to ASEC, this project was also made possible with the help of the following local vendors: Chris Leech, Pat Moore, Tim Petrich, Mike Marrinan, Glenn Plower, Powdertech Plus, Tony Diaz, Single Source Inc, Brad’s Custom Auto & Sales, Scorpion Racing Product Inc, Copeland Welding & Muffler Shop and Logo Depot.

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