Greenland Airforce UH-34, January 1967

The Wings of Independence

In the frosty winter of 1962, a clandestine secret buried beneath the icy expanse of Greenland's tundra shattered the tranquility of international relations. The revelation of "Project Iceworm" and the presence of the hidden nuclear arsenal within the pristine snow-covered landscape triggered a seismic wave of outrage in Denmark and Greenland.

As the news of the accident at "Camp Century" spread like wildfire, the once-sturdy alliance between Denmark and the United States began to crumble. The uproar reached a crescendo, prompting the United States to abandon "Project Iceworm" and dismantle the covert installations. However, the damage was done, and the spark of discontent ignited a fervor for independence in Greenland.

In the early days of 1963, a resounding call for autonomy reverberated through the snow-laden valleys and fjords of Greenland. Propelled by the desire to forge their destiny, the Greenlandic population voted overwhelmingly—85% in favor of an independent, neutral Greenland. The birth of a new nation was slated for January 10, 1965.

Independence brought challenges, and among them was the need for a defensive force. Greenland, strategically located in the North Atlantic, required a means to safeguard its sovereignty. During the tumultuous protests leading to independence, resourceful Greenlanders seized four UH34 helicopters from the United States.

In a collaborative effort with neutral nations Sweden and Switzerland, these helicopters were transformed into the pioneers of the Greenland Air Force. Adorned with a polar bear logo, symbolizing both strength and resilience, the helicopters earned the moniker "The Flying Bears."

By mid-1966, the four UH34 helicopters were ready to take to the skies, their wings upgraded to carry various weapons in defense of their newfound independence. The Flying Bears became a symbol of Greenlandic determination, a testament to a nation's ability to rise from the ashes of secrecy and assert its sovereignty.

For more than 15 years, the Flying Bears soared above the icy landscapes, serving dual roles in training, patrolling, and protecting Greenland's fisheries. However, the harsh Arctic winters took their toll, claiming one of the helicopters during a treacherous storm over the Prins Christian Sund in December 1968.

After years of dedicated service, the remaining helicopters were eventually decommissioned. Yet, one of these stalwart machines found a new home at the National Air Force Museum in Qaqortoq, a testament to the pivotal role these Flying Bears played in Greenland's journey towards freedom. As visitors gaze upon the preserved helicopter, they are reminded of a time when the spirit of independence took flight over the vast, snow-covered landscapes of Greenland—a spirit encapsulated in the wings of the Flying Bears.








The model:
This is a 1/72 scale UH-34 kit by HobbyBoss. The wings are resin 3D printed and taken from a MiMil 24 3D model. Painted in a arctic camo with Revel Aqua, decals are mostly taken form the original model, only the Greenland logos are self made. Had some real trouble making them this time, looks as if my new printer is not so good for decal printing.

An inventive model and a SUPERB backstory. Excellent work there.       

Quote from: PR19_Kit on January 21, 2024, 04:49:36 AMAn inventive model and a SUPERB backstory. Excellent work there.       

Indeed it is 

Quote from: PR19_Kit on January 21, 2024, 04:49:36 AMAn inventive model and a SUPERB backstory. Excellent work there.       

Agreed. I'm ashamed to say that I had no idea that Greenland had a flag or what it looked like.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Greenland

This looks like a cheap movies attempt at a Hind 

The build tho is excellent and as this is a fav chopper of mine I love the conversion..very very cool mate     

Really impressive, great idea and great work

Thanks all.

For the logo, I was inspired by the Greenland flag, and yes, I had to look it up, too.

For the background story, I tried something new. I made the "usual" story which was the following:

The real life

In 1951, the USA started to build its Thule Airbase on Greenland. This base was build based on an agreement between the USA and Demark which owned Greenland at this time. But unknown to Demark and the population on Greenland, the USA also started "Project Iceworm" to host mobile nuclear missile launchers under the ice of Greenland.
"Project Iceworm" had four locations, Thule Airbase and three remote sites, "Camp TUTO", "Camp Fistclench" and "Camp Century". The last one, about 240 Kilometers away from Thule Airbase, had a nuclear reactor for energy production. Project "Iceworm" was kept in secret until 1977, although Denmark knew about certain aspects of this project since the mid 1960s.

The what if

In 1962, the existence of "Camp Centruey" got leaked into the Danish and Greenland public after an accident with the reactor on base occurred, causing an uproar in Denmark and Greenland. The USA was forced to cancel the project as caused a major disturbance in the relations between the USA and Denmark.
But protests in Greenland continued and the call for getting independent from Denmark got louder and louder. With rising protests, a referendum was held in early 1963 where 85% of the Greenland population voted for an independent, neutral Greenland. 

Independence came on January 10, 1965. Knowing of the strategic importance of Greenland and their will to be a neutral country, Greenland needed some kind of military force to protect itself.
During the protests and independence movements, protesters had seized four US build UH34 helicopters which now should for the first aircraft of a small Greenland air force.  With the help of other neutral nations, Sweden and Switzerland, those helicopters were upgraded and equipped with small wings, holding mounts for different kind of weapons.
In mid 1966, the four helicopters were ready to enter service in the Greenland air force as the flying bears with their polar bear logo.

For more than 15 years the UH-34 were used for training, patrol purposes and fishery protection. One of them got lost during a heavy winter storm in December of 1968 while flying over the Prins Christian Sund.

After being decommissioned, one of them is preserved at the National Air Force Museum in Qaqortoq.


But then I thought, everybody is talking about AI now, so what can an AI tool make of it. So i used ChatGPT with the prompt: "Write a story based on the following test". With the text form above. And the result was what I posted with the model. A nice interpretation of the original text. And with some different prompts you can get some "intersting" results.     

Well done  , given me a few ideas of my own.

 

Defo has a Hind vibe to it. Especially that rear 3/4 view ! Looks great tho. The story, the wing, the armaments, the colour and markings. Great stuff !