{"id":2128,"date":"2024-04-27T18:12:05","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T18:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2128"},"modified":"2024-04-27T18:12:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T18:12:05","slug":"bell-uh-1-huey-all-american-helicopter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2128","title":{"rendered":"Bell UH-1 Huey \u2014 All American Helicopter"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Will Dabbs, MD<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the Huey, is one of the most recognizable helicopters in the world. In many ways, the helo is synonymous with the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. From troop transport to medical evacuation to air assault, these airborne utility helicopters proved invaluable to America and her allies. In this article, former Army aviator Dr. Will Dabbs tells the story of these ubiquitous helicopters.<\/em><\/p>\n

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During Operation Wahiawa in 1966, members of the U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division load onto UH-1D helicopters to conduct a search and destroy mission northeast of Cu Chi, Vietnam. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span> have a friend named Tom who flew Hueys in Vietnam. Like most of the older aviators with whom I flew, this guy mastered his craft in Southeast Asia. In addition to being an invaluable source of combat experience, these veterans also had some epic stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flying Naked in the Vietnam War<\/h2>\n

Tom was assigned to a lift unit fairly deep in Indian country. No place in Vietnam was truly safe, but this particular hellhole was subjected to regular mortar and rocket attacks. On this particular day, Tom was taking a shower.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
In October 1966, this U.S. Army soldier directs an approaching UH-1 helicopter to pick up injured soldier after a paradrop in South Vietnam. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shower facilities were typically nothing more than a tent with a wooden floor made from ammo crates and some kind of gravity-fed water system that sprinkled cold water on you long enough to remove a little soap.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
A UH-1 of the 1st Marine Division delivers supplies to Marines during Operation Oklahoma Hills in April 1969. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tom was vigorously engaged in his ablutions when Charlie decided to drop a few mortar rounds on his little corner of heaven. SOP under those circumstances was to jump into the first aircraft you came to and fly it off someplace safe while the grunts and Redlegs attended to the mortar threat. Tom tore out of the shower tent and did just that.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
Marine UH-1E helicopters touched down at Fire Support Base Cunningham in 1969. Artillerymen of the 12th Marines were supporting the 9th Marines. Image:\u00a0Lance Cpl. M. C. Patterson\/U.S.M.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tom landed soon thereafter at a nearby firebase adorned solely in a pair of shower shoes and a flight helmet. Somebody was kind enough to gift him some clothes for the subsequent trip back home. My buddy proved once and for all that it was indeed possible to fly an Army helicopter naked. I don\u2019t know what first drew me to military service, but it certainly wasn\u2019t the five-star accommodations.<\/p>\n

UH-1H Huey Helicopter<\/h2>\n

The aircraft that my streaker buddy Tom was flying that fateful day in Vietnam was the UH-1H Iroquois. Army helicopters, with a single isolated exception (the AH-1 Cobra gunship<\/a>), are named after American Indian tribes. However, everybody everywhere refers to the UH-1 as the Huey.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
The 5th Bn., 7th Cav., 1st (Airmobile) Cavalry Division at An Khe, South Vietnam conducts helicopter insertion training from a UH-1D in January 1967. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The original service designation was actually HU-1. That\u2019s where the \u201cHuey\u201d came from. The first Hueys to see combat service were Dustoff medevac birds serving with the 57th Medical Detachment in Vietnam in 1962.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
U.S. Marines of 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company (3rd Force Recon) climb aboard a UH-1E for a paradrop during the Vietnam War. Image:\u00a0Sgt. J.G. McCullough\/U.S.M.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More-so than any other single weapon system, the Huey came to exemplify the war in Vietnam. The unique sound that it made and the iconic visual image it struck combined to create something visceral in the souls of those who flew, serviced and rode in them. Everybody who ever wiggled the sticks in a UH-1 loved the thing.<\/p>\n

\"Shown\n<\/picture>
The origins of the Huey family started with the prototype XH-40 helicopter. It first flew in 1956 and introduced the world to what may be the most successful helicopter in history. Image:\u00a0U.S. Army<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The prototype XH-40 that went on to become the iconic Huey first flew on 20 October 1956. The UH-1 represented the transition from piston-driven rotorcraft to those powered by turboshaft engines. The Lycoming YT53-L-1 powerplant of the XH-40 put out some 700 shaft horsepower. A more powerful engine, the Lycoming T53-L-13 that powered Tom\u2019s bird, did exactly twice that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Shown\n<\/picture>
The Bell UH-1A was the first model delivered to the United States military. Initially, the military designated the helicopter as the HU-1 which inspired its nickname. Image:\u00a0U.S. Army<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The A, B, and C-models sported a fairly short, stubby fuselage. The UH-1D model was a derivative of the Bell Model 205 and featured a longer fuselage design. The UH-1H combined the lengthened D-model architecture with the later 1,400-horsepower engine. It was the most common service variant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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More than 16,000 copies of all sorts were ultimately manufactured. UH-1N and UH-1Y twin-engined Hueys remain in service with the USAF and USMC today.<\/p>\n

\"UH-1Y\n<\/picture>
UH-1Y Venom helicopters assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One land during a helocast exercise at Ferguson Lake near Yuma, AZ in 2015. Image:\u00a0Staff Sgt. Artur Shvartsberg\/U.S.M.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The UH-1H had a total dimensional footprint of 58 feet and a max gross weight of 9,500 pounds. Vne (velocity never-to-exceed) was 124 knots, or 143 miles per hour. The Huey typically flew operationally with two pilots and either one or two crewmembers. Cargo capacity was about 3,880 pounds. The most common defensive armament for the UH-1H was an M60 pintle-mounted machine gun mounted to each side of the aircraft. The men operating these machine guns were known as door gunners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flying the Huey<\/h2>\n

I attended the U.S. Army rotary-wing flight school in the sweet spot between the piston-driven TH-55 and the turbine-powered TH-67. Primary flight training in my day was undertaken in vintage UH-1H\u2019s. The first time I broke ground in a helicopter was at the controls of a Huey.<\/p>\n

\"author\n<\/picture>
The author, pictured far right, at the U.S. Army\u2019s rotary-wing flight school. He learned to fly helicopters in the UH-1H Iroquois.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reviewing the startup procedure gets my blood pumping even today some 33 years later. Here\u2019s a brief video:<\/p>\n