Forever associated with its ubiquitous role in the Vietnam conflict in the 1960's, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois or Huey as it became universally known is one of the most widely used and famous helicopters of all time.
The Korean war of the early 1950's saw the military helicopter come of age in the artillery spotting, light transport and casualty evacuation roles, in 1956, experiences in Korea led the U.S. Army to conduct trials of armed helicopters, which laid the foundations for future developments in this role.
By this time, Bell aircraft was developing a new turbine powered utility helicopter, the model 204 with the military designation XH-40 the first of these flying on 22 October 1956; two more XH-40s were followed by six YH-40 and six initial production HU-1s by 1959, when a production order was placed for 173 HU-1As followed by the improved HU-1B which first flew in 1960.
Many A models were used for training but in 1962 the first HU-1As were deployed to South Vietnam in the air ambulance and utility roles; that year, in common with a general redesignation of US Army types, the Huey became the UH-1. In September 1962 the first armed UH-1As were deployed to South Vietnam with the UTTHC (Utility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company) to test these under operational conditions: they were typically armed with two Browning M-2.3 (7.62mm) belt fed machine guns and 80mm rocket tubes, all attached to the skid supports.
They provided protective fire support for other unarmed helicopters and the ground forces, forming an integral component of each tactical unit. With the arrival of the UH-1B and C models, the weaponry became more potant and typical was a hydraulically powered M-6 quad mount for four 7.62mm M-60 machine guns with heavier rocket armaments such as the M-200A-1 pods. Other options included machine gun armament for the rear cabin and a nose mounted ball turret with a machine gun or a M-5 40mm grenade launcher; the latter item giving rise to the nicknames "Thumper" and "Huey Hog".
The interim UH-1C model was the main armed version for the army pending the arrival of it's successor the Bell AH-1 Hueycobra which was a dedicated gunship. The US Marine corps and the Navy also operated large numbers of Huey's in the Vietnam theatre, and all three services operated them in many other theatres; the Marines UH-1E was basically a B model with a largely aluminium structure and other upgrades.
The Royal Australian Air Force also used Huey's in Vietnam; development of more advanced versions was rapid and from the mid 1960s militay and civilian versions were being sold worldwide.
Power plant: one 1,100shp Lycoming T5311 turboshaft giving a maximum speed of 193km/h (120mph) at sea level.
