and its allies well into the 21st century, but they will be remembered most for their starring role in the skies over Vietnam. The last version to see combat in Vietnam, the twin-engine UH-1N, entered production in 1970. The first of the USAF’s UH-1Ns, a twin-engine utility version capable of cruising on one engine, was obtained in 1970. The USAF ordered these in 1970 as local base rescue helicopters to replace the HH-43 Huskie. The HH-1H incorporated a longer fuselage and larger cargo area. The final single-engine variant was the UH-1H, which was introduced in 1967 and became the most produced model. The USAF later ordered more capable versions of the Huey. Bell took this concept and applied it to the UH-1. They evacuated more than 120,000 casualties, saving thousands of lives.īy war’s end, more than 8,000 Hueys had been built, with over 1,000 outfitted as gunships, and 7,013 served in Vietnam, where 2,820 were lost. The stabilizer bar made the Bell 47 exceptionally easy to hover and fly compared to previous or contemporary helicopters. Hueys flew missions that included troop movements, cargo transport, signals intelligence, psychological warfare, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, command and control, search and rescue-and, of course, medical evacuation. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order (1-to-Z). All five major armed services employed them. There are a total of 150 Helicopters Ranked-by-Speed (Top 150) entries in the Military Factory. The Huey was to Vietnam what the jeep was to World War II. When the newly activated 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) entered Vietnam in late summer 1965, it possessed 435 helicopters, mostly UH-1s. By 1963, however, the emerging air mobility doctrine gave them an expanded mission, including troop lifts to combat zones. The Army had intended to use Hueys as medevac helicopters. The designation was changed to UH-1 in 1962, but the nickname stuck. When the aircraft, made by Bell Helicopter Co., entered production in 1959, it was officially the HU-1 Iroquois, but troops began calling it “Huey,” a play on the HU designation. The Huey was at every major battle, making Vietnam “the helicopter war.” Media coverage of the battle featured images of what became the war’s iconic American weapons, the M16 rifle and the UH-1 “Huey” helicopter, commonly called a “slick” because no guns were mounted on its sides, giving the chopper a smooth, slick surface. and North Vietnamese armies, immortalized in the book We Were Soldiers Once…and Young and its film adaptation. North Vietnam’s 33rd Regiment attacked, triggering the first major battle between the U.S. 14, 1965, UH-1B helicopters delivered the lead units of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), to Landing Zone X-Ray in South Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley.
0 kommentar(er)
