While Company L was developing defensive positions at the airbase, HMM-365’s crews continued to provide support for both flood relief and military operations throughout I Corps. On 7 December, 17 Marine helicopters and eight Army UH-1B transports were called upon to help trap a Viet Cong force known to be hiding in a village less than five miles west of Da Nang. Code named DA NANG SIX, the operation began at daybreak when the American helicopters lifted 240 men of the 11th ARVN Ranger Battalion into the objective area. Two UH-1B gunships teamed with two armed UH-34Ds to suppress ground fire that erupted as the first wave of transport aircraft began their approach to the landing zone. One Army gunship sustained minor damage when hit three times during the exchange of fire. After the enemy had been silenced, the landing proceeded without incident and the Vietnamese rangers quickly secured their objective. In the process, nine Viet Cong were killed and four others captured along with nine rifles and one automatic weapon. Successful though it was, the action on the outskirts of Da Nang confirmed previous reports that the Communists were tightening their grip on Quang Nam Province.[12-6] Another indication of the enemy’s growing strength in I Corps came only two days later when a large Viet Cong force overran an ARVN outpost four and a half miles southwest of Tam Ky. I Corps Headquarters quickly drew up plans for a multi-company search of the area even though the Communists had withdrawn from the badly damaged government position shortly after their final assault. At 0845, 18 Marine UH-34Ds (three armed) and four Army UH-1Bs (two armed) helilifted a 208-man Tiger Force from Da Nang to Tam Ky where it had orders to stage with other units for the operation. While the U.S. helicopters were in the process of transporting the Vietnamese troops to Tam Ky, an aerial observer sighted a large formation of Viet Cong moving southwest from the scene of the previous night’s battle. The observer immediately brought air strikes and artillery fire to bear on the enemy, blocking his escape.