1951: Operation Summit

After years of field tests, Operation Summit proved that delivering troops by helicopter could improve operations on enemy shores. 
 
In just four hours, an HMR-161 helicopter squadron completed 65 flights while transporting a total of 224 Marines and 17,772 pounds of supplies to an outpost in Korea.  
 
This was the first ground attack assisted by helicopter transport in military history. 
 
The overwhelming success of the mission proved the indispensable quality and power of helicopters, and this innovation became the center of strategic operations in subsequent conflicts.