to fly helicopters. Helicopters used in the decade from 1962 to 1972 were the UH-34J Seahorse, a number of UH-1D Iroquois borrowed from the U. S. Army and beginning in 1968 a new helicopter designated the TH-57A Sea Ranger which was a variant of the popular commercial Bell 206 Jet Ranger. By the end of 1969 the Army's UH-1Ds were being replaced by Navy procured TH-1L Iroquois. By the early 70s the Seahorse was gone and HT-8 had reduced down to the TH-57A for basic training and the TH-1L for advanced training. In March 1974 HT-8 moved from Ellyson Field to its present location aboard Naval Air Station Whiting Field. Coincident with that move a new Helicopter Training Squadron was established and designated HT-18. HT-8 assumed responsibility for the basic training phase of helicopter flight instruction using the TH-57A Sea Ranger and HT-18 assumed the role of advanced helicopter training utilizing the TH-1L Iroquois. In the early 80s HT-18's TH-1Ls were being replaced with an instrumented version of the TH-57 designated the TH-57C Sea Ranger for advanced training. In October 1985 HT-8 and HT-18 became "mirror" squadrons with each teaching the full syllabus from basic helicopter training through advanced training and awarding of wings with both squadrons using both the TH-57A and TH-57C Sea Rangers. By the end of the 80s the TH-57As were replaced with a Bell 206B-3 designated the TH-57B Sea Ranger. Since that time HT-8 has been training and winging Naval Aviators using the TH-57B for primary helicopter training and the TH-57C for advanced helicopter training. Insignia The three basic colors of HT-8’s patch - red, white and blue - represent the colors of the U.S. flag, and are indicative of HT-8’s nickname, "America's Squadron", created in the 1980s. The three colors also commemorate the universality of our squadron's students, instructors and staff hailing from all parts of the United States. The overall field is sectored into three equal portions to symbolize training for the three sea services of the US Navy, the US Marine Corps and the US Coast Guard. A helicopter profile at the patch’s center symbolizes advanced rotary training, and is orange to reflect the traditional color of orange on all Navy training aircraft. There are three versions of the tail rotor on the right side of the helicopter profile. The original version is a simple cross to indicate the blades of a tail