Unquestionably, the UH-1 Iroquois has a decisive role in the acceptance of the utility helicopters
all over the world. It has led to an important transformation in the military concepts. The UH-1
is not only a warrior but also an important symbol in the culture of the modern world.
Especially with its use in the Vietnam War, it became an icon of the First Cold
War and a popular actor of Hollywood. Now we are investigating the UH-1, a true helicopter legend.
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Indeed, the UH-1 is an important icon that has left its mark in the last 50
years militarily and culturally. When you remember the Vietnam War
in the past, in the movie Apocalypse Now, the flying UH-1s come to mind while Wagner's
Ride of the Valkyries plays in the background. In a future apocalyptic scenario,
the wreck of this helicopter is probably among what you'll see at the junkyard.
Before talking about the UH-1, let's look at the brief history of the helicopter.
The first successful flight trial with a helicopter is dated 1907.
However, it took almost 30 years to see the Fw 61, the first operational rotorcraft, in the sky.
During the Second World War, the first real steps were taken towards the military use
of helicopters. Although, at that time, the military planners had seen that the helicopter
would be an important system, there were many problems yet to be solved.
The helicopters were very unreliable mechanically. Their constant need for excessive maintenance
was a big problem. Also, it was not possible
to design an efficient helicopter with the aerodynamic knowledge of the time.
However, the Korean War paved the way for more investment in this field.
Because of the inadequate roads of the mountainous Korean Peninsula,
the trucks could not be used efficiently, revealed the need for the helicopter.
During the Korean War, on September 13, 1951, the US Marine Corps used the helicopters to
supply its battalion with 8,550 kilograms of supplies and evacuate 74 wounded troops.
This was the first military helicopter airlift and sling load mission.
After the Korean War, France used helicopters intensively and effectively in Algeria.
Another important example was the successful use of helicopters in the 1956 invasion of the Suez
Canal Area by British and French troops. Having studied these examples in detail,
the US Army introduced the air mobility doctrine in the mid-1950s.
We should note that originally defined as air mobility, the doctrine
would later become air assault. Today air mobility concept is used
for transportation to an area in the vicinity of combat while air assault concept means the
helicopters are used for directly combat missions. If we continue after this little note,
in the mid-1950s, the US Army decided to reorganize the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the
1st Cavalry Division as an air cavalry regiment. The effective execution of the new doctrine
required the development of a higher performance helicopter than those in use at the time.
Therefore the US Army initiated a tender for a new rotorcraft defines as utility helicopter and
in 1955, Bell won the tender with its Model 204. The Model 204 made its first flight on October 20,
1956. The helicopter was named as HU-1 Iroquois by the US Army.
The abbreviation HU was referring to the initials of “helicopter utility”.
However, pilots had the tradition of giving a nickname to aircraft. They read the number
“1” as the letter “I”, and pronounced as “Huey”. The designation of HU-1 was later changed as UH-1.
The helicopter had a metal fuselage with two rotor and tubular landing skids.
Thanks to the two-bladed system, the UH-1 needed a small storage space, but it caused high vibration.
Besides the vibration, the passenger seats of the helicopter were not comfortable
as well. These seats were constructed of aluminium tube frames with canvas material.
However, thanks to this simple structure, the cargo compartment
could be quickly reconfigured. The first serial production model
called UH-1A had a 641-kilowatt Lycoming T53-L-1A turboshaft engine.
This version introduced in 1959 as the replacement of the piston-engined H-19, H-13, and CH-34s.
The UH-1B was equipped with a 716-kilowatt T53-L-5 engine and became operational in 1961.
One year later, the US Marine Corps also became the user of this model. But there were some
differences. The major changes included the use of corrosion-resistant all-aluminium construction
and radios compatible with the US Marine Corps ground frequencies. This model had also a rotor
brake use to stop the rotor quickly. After the changes, the helicopter was designated as UH-1E.
The C model had a new rotor system made of aluminium and laminate which allow higher
speeds and reduce the blade stall. The improved rotor also provided better manoeuvrability. It
was equipped with an 820-kilowatt T53-L-11 engine. The tail boom of the UH-1C was also changed. This
model was intended strictly for the gunship role. The Model 205 of Bell made its first flight
in 1963. Also called as the UH-1D, this version had stretched-fuselage, larger rotor blades.
It had the same turboşaft engine of the C model. Different from its predecessors, its
enlarged fuel tanks were located in a different position. Thus UH-1D had bigger internal space.
The UH-1H was the last single-engine variant of Huey. It was equipped with
a 1044-kilowatt T53-L-13 turboshaft engine. Different versions of the UH-1 were produced by
Germany, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan under license. An interesting event happened in the late 1970s.
After the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, the USA decided to embargo Turkey.
This country found the solution in an agreement with Italy. Italy was producing a model of the
UH-1 under license. So, Turkey started to produce under licence of Italian model called the AB-205.
Generally, the UH-1D model has a two-person crew consisting of a pilot and a copilot. However,
depending on the mission requirements, the crew may also include door gunners.
The helicopter can carry 14 troops or 1,760 kilograms of payload. The UH-1D is 17.4
meters long and 4.39 meters high. The width of the fuselage is 2.62 meters. The rotor diameter of the
helicopter is 14.63 meters. The empty weight is 2,365 kilograms, while the maximum take-off weight
is 4,309 kilograms. Equipped with an 820-kilowatt Lycoming T53-L-11 turboshaft engine, the UH-1D
has a top speed of 220 kilometres per hour and a cruising speed of 205 kilometres per hour.
The range is 510 kilometres. The service ceiling of the UH-1D is 5,910 meters.
The helicopter can be equipped with machine guns as well as gun and rocket pods.
There are also twin-engined UH-1 variants such as the UH-1N and UH-1Y.
Besides, Bell has many different helicopters based on the Model 205 like the Bell 214 and Bell 412.
Many UH-1 versions have also been developed for different mission definitions,
some of which were introduced and others remain at the prototype level.
However, in this video, we are only talking about the single-engine base models.
If we talk about the war experiences of the UH-1, naturally, the first thing
that comes to mind is the Vietnam War. During the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965,
the new heliborne 7th Regiment engaged in a battle for the first time.
Many viewers will remember this battle from the movie "We Were Soldiers".
Although both sides claimed that they won the victory, it is sure that after
the battle the US Army seemed satisfied with the performance of the utility helicopters
and success of the air mobility concept. In Vietnam, the UH-1 played a key role.
During the war the USA deployed over 7,000 Hueys in this country.
More than 3,300 UH-1s were lost.
At least one US Huey was shot down by a MiG-17 fighter.
But, most of these helicopters were shot down or destroyed by the ground fire.
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops were setting ambushes by hiding in caves
and among trees along the flight routes of the UH-1s.
The Hueys' survivability was low against 12.7mm and 14.5mm machine guns.
Similarly, the UH-1s, which had to slow down in the landing areas, were becoming easier targets.
However, trying to reach the same combat zone by land causing more casualties
and unacceptably increased reaction time. South Vietnam UH-1 losses, which used helicopters
less frequently than the US Army, were fairly low until 1972. By March of that year, only 142 of the
765 Hueys supplied by the USA were lost. However, 63 UH-1s of the South Vietnamese
Army were shot down in the Battle of An Lộc in April. In the same battle,
391 Hueys were also heavily damaged. In 1975, the more tragical scene took place
when Saigon was taken over by North Vietnam. To save themselves and their families,
South Vietnamese pilots took off from their bases and reached the US amphibious assault ships.
For new helicopters to be able to land, once a Huey landed on the ship, it was then
being pushed into the depths of the sea by its crew. Thus, during the Frequent Wind Operation,
around 70 UH-1s were sacrificed to save lives. Although not featured in Hollywood movies,
Australia also got involved in the Vietnam War and lost seven UH-1s throughout the war.
After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel began to acquire the UH-1s to replace its piston-engined
S-55 and S-58s. During the War of
Attrition, Israeli Hueys especially played important roles on the Jordanian front.
Also, they were used frequently for medical evacuating missions, during the 1973 Yom Kippur
War, also known as the October War. In this war, UH-1s saved nearly 900 wounded Israeli
soldiers life in return of five helicopters lost. During the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, 72 UH-1s
played a key role in Turkish victory. In this war, which the Turks call the Cyprus Peace Operation,
for the first time in history, a large-scale land-to-land overseas air-mobility operation
was carried out. 12 Turkish helicopters were damaged by Greek Cypriot fire.
An interesting fact is that, although France, the UK, and the USA have carried out successful
air mobility operations, they were lost the war in Algeria, Egypt, and Vietnam, respectively.
Turkey is the first country which carried out a successful air mobility operation and won the war.
Two of the nine UH-1s Argentina deployed on the Falkland Islands after the invasion in 1982
were destroyed by the British. The remaining helicopters were captured intact.
El Salvador and Lebanon used their UH-1s to drop free-fall bombs in real combat,
unlike their conventional mission definitions. It is reported that during the Iran-Iraq War,
several Iranian Hueys were shot down by Iraqi Mi-25 helicopters.
These were one of the first examples of the helicopter to helicopter air combat.
Of course, the combat experience of UH-1s is not limited to these. Over the past 50 years,
they have been involved in so many conflicts. With the experience gained in these battles, the UH-1
has paved the way for improving utility helicopters and air assault doctrine.
Some examples can be given like development of more resistant rotors against high calibre guns,
armouring of critical areas of the helicopter, use of self-seeling fuel tanks,
and support of utility helicopters with attack helicopters in air assault missions.
But like all good things, the legend of the UH-1 has an end. This helicopter,
which modern armies gradually retired, is still modernized and used by many countries.
Yet they are no longer generally preferred for frontline missions.
Although this legendary helicopter will not have a place in the sky someday in the future,
the UH-1 will always continue to fly in the hearts of all the aviation and war history enthusiasts.
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