- 20 hours ago
For educational purposes
Already proven effective in transport and rescue, the helicopter took on an offensive role in Vietnam.
Modern helicopter gunships are equipped with high-tech systems including night vision and anti-tank weapons.
Featured Aircraft:
- Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey,”
- Bell AH-1 Cobra gunship
- McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache
Already proven effective in transport and rescue, the helicopter took on an offensive role in Vietnam.
Modern helicopter gunships are equipped with high-tech systems including night vision and anti-tank weapons.
Featured Aircraft:
- Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey,”
- Bell AH-1 Cobra gunship
- McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:01Hi, I'm Neil Armstrong. Join me for an adventure through time.
00:58Already proven effective in transport and rescue, the military found a new use for helicopters
01:04in the Vietnam War. In need of its own fire support during combat, the Army experimented
01:12with arming the Bell Huey, and the modern gunship was born. Its impact was so profound that the
01:19Vietnam conflict was often called the Helicopter War.
01:44It was World War II when the first helicopters joined the battle.
01:48They were frail flying machines, because the technology was still new. The Germans led the
01:54world in helicopters. Their Flettner FL-282 Colibri saw service as early as 1942, primarily for
02:02naval observation and convoy escort. Toward the end of the war, America had Sikorsky helicopters
02:09that were used for reconnaissance and transporting wounded soldiers. Helicopter development continued
02:15after the war at a stepped-up pace. Helicopters demonstrated their military value again in the
02:24Korean War. Conscious of their value, military leaders expanded helicopter use on the battlefield.
02:31Choppers brought the wounded to MASH units, Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals. Larger choppers moved troops
02:39and supplies.
02:46The helicopter's unique versatility not only helped save thousands of lives of those wounded or
02:51stranded behind the line of battle, but it led to a new philosophy of warfare. The Sikorsky S-55, also
03:00known as the
03:01H-19, was well suited to this new task. The location of its power plant in the helicopter's nose and
03:09the
03:09direction of the drive shaft, left a spacious cabin for troops and for cargo. It had a crew of two
03:16and could carry an
03:17additional ten fully armed troops. The prototype S-55 flew for the first time on November 7, 1949. More than
03:271,200 were built,
03:28equipped with an 800 right piston engine. The S-55's maximum speed was 112 miles per hour.
03:38Concentrated frontal assaults through minefields and barriers was giving way to strategic placement of troops
03:43within enemy territory. Where a similar troop insertion had been done in World War II with parachutes, the
03:50helicopter offered controlled deployment, and more significantly, a means of recovering troops from
03:57hostile territory and difficult terrain. Before the end of the Korean conflict, U.S. military strategists
04:05began to see the helicopter taking an offensive role in conflict.
04:18During the coming decade, the philosophy quickly spread to the Soviet Union and other nations, where
04:24helicopter technology had early development. The more powerful Sikorsky S-58 first flew in 1954.
04:48More than 1,800 were built to serve mostly military applications. Sikorsky also developed the S-56, known by
05:00the U.S. Marines as the HR-2S. With the arrival of turbine-powered engines, helicopters took on an offensive
05:11role.
05:12In Vietnam, the helicopter became indispensable. In some cases, if choppers were not available,
05:19military operations could grind to a halt. One helicopter stands out, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois,
05:29commonly called the Huey. The UH-1 could take so much abuse that it was often labeled the B-17
05:36of the Vietnam War.
05:39Hueys were used for just about everything, as troop carriers, infantry assault aircraft, and for medical evacuation.
05:47They could carry a crew of two, pilot and co-pilot, plus up to seven troops. As an air ambulance,
05:54a Huey could accommodate
05:55three stretchers and two sitting casualties. The first few years of the Vietnam conflict saw UH-1 Hueys with machine
06:03guns
06:03weapons for support of infantry. They were so successful in this new offensive military role, the concept of the
06:11helicopter gunship was born. They needed more firepower, though, so their role in attacks could expand.
06:18The U.S. Army experimented by mounting machine guns, grenade launchers, and rocket pods on the UH-1.
06:26It became clear what was really needed was a specially designed chopper, a helicopter that could attack enemy positions
06:34and armored vehicles as well as escort troops.
06:45What evolved was a specialized version of the Huey called the AH-1 Huey Cobra. AH means Attack Helicopter.
06:54Its first flight was in 1965, and it was deployed to the war zone two years later.
07:06This new aerial weapon had two seats, maneuverability, and increased firepower.
07:19The helicopter gunship had arrived in force on the front.
07:29After the introduction of the two-seat Cobra gunship, the helicopter units became the modern cavalry of the Vietnam War.
07:36Wrestling with cannons, rockets, and guided missiles, the gunships were sent on the most dangerous missions.
07:44As a consequence, Army helicopter pilots experienced the heaviest losses of the war.
07:54The Cobra gunship's effectiveness in Southeast Asia had a great deal to do with the young, aggressive, skilled men flying.
08:04Gunship pilots were heroes to the troops on the ground.
08:07In some battles, Cobras went in first to lay down smoke, and then troop-carrying Hueys would follow.
08:21The Cobras of Vietnam were equipped with a six-barrel machine gun on a turret.
08:26Various versions of the Huey Cobra also had M61 cannons, miniguns, and 2.75 folding fin rockets fitted to the
08:35stubby wings.
08:42Both Huey Cobras and UH-1s are still in military service.
08:47U.S. Army Major Freddie Mills flies an old UH-1 that was used in Vietnam.
08:53This particular aircraft, you really have a good seat of the pants feel of the aircraft.
08:59I've always felt that in this particular type, it's a good way to fly it is to actually strap the
09:05aircraft on itself.
09:07And that's always been a goal of both instructor pilots I've had in the past and other people that I've
09:12flown with.
09:13Some of the things you need to watch for in the aircraft is it's power limited, for one.
09:19Its max gross weight is only 9,500 pounds.
09:21It has one engine.
09:23So on a hot day near max gross weight, you're going to be power limited, so you just don't have
09:29the power that some of the newer aircraft may have.
09:31It's a good trainer now for all of its, and a good basis to go on to the newer aircraft.
09:38It's basic technology.
09:40However, it serves its purposes for utility mode and also for a basic trainer for the new people.
09:47The venerable UH-1 Huey has an equally competent successor in today's military.
09:54It's the Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk.
09:57Sikorsky won the U.S. government contract in 1976 to build it.
10:02It is the U.S. Army's primary combat assault helicopter.
10:06The first flight of the production aircraft came in October of 1978, with the Army planning to purchase more than
10:14a thousand.
10:15The Blackhawk can carry 11 fully outfitted troops, plus a three-person crew.
10:20The Blackhawk has two General Electric, Advanced Technology turboshaft engines.
10:26It has a top speed of 184 miles per hour.
10:30It can also carry two M60 side-mounted machine guns.
10:35The Blackhawk provided long-range armed escort and search and rescue in Desert Storm.
10:41It has forward-looking infrared radar for terrain following and night operations.
10:46It can also be refueled in flight, extending its range.
10:50It is a powerful helicopter, capable of lifting up to 8,000 pounds,
10:55and should prove as durable a chopper as its forerunner, the UH-1 Huey.
11:18It has got the exact lens on the ground.
11:18The Octop dongle of the U.S. had 110 and the Hakkai Vivek.
11:19It is the most important thing to deform.
11:19It is a forceful vehicle that the U.S. obviously needed to fly down the ground towards the area.
11:20It has longer-looking with the U.S. foranglMR nursing team.
11:20It is the most important thing to see in the upper 40-hour operation.
11:22It has a strong balance for the U.S. forо emailing, and the U.S. because of the U.S.
11:23had simply by the U.S.
11:23The U.S. has a forceful vehicle that are up to 8-6 million in the U.S.
11:25The U.S. has a shift of altitude, including U.S. has one-to-1000 and U.S.
11:41Though Huey Cobras have been in service more than 25 years, they flew and fought in Desert
11:47Storm.
11:48Test pilot Shelley Yarbrough flies one of the latest models of the Cobra gunship, complete
11:53with tow missiles and advanced avionics.
11:57This particular helicopter is a Cobra helicopter, it's an AH-1, and it's a follow-on from the
12:04early Cobras which were introduced in the late 1960s during the Vietnam War.
12:08This is an S model Cobra, and it differs primarily from those models, and then it can fire the
12:13tow missile system.
12:21This aircraft is a gunship, primarily used for light attack.
12:26We use it in divisional units and in armed reconnaissance units.
12:31It's good in a low-speed environment where it's primarily used in the attack mode, fired
12:37from hover.
12:48The United States Marines also used helicopters in Vietnam.
12:52They conducted combat operations from carriers off the coast, and they developed a tactic
12:57called vertical troop insertion and resupply using Boeing Vertol CH-46 C-knights and twin
13:04tandem rotor CH-47 Chinooks.
13:07Even today, these choppers and the U.S. Navy's Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion are integral parts
13:15of military planning.
13:16The powerful Sea Stallion has three engines and a five-bladed rotor.
13:22The assault helicopter is a terrifying platform for cannons, rockets, and guided missiles.
13:27The Sea Stallion can be a heavily armed and very versatile chopper.
13:32It was first flown in 1964.
13:36It can carry vehicles, guns, or 55 troops.
13:40The United States Navy, Marines, and Air Force operate the Sea Stallion.
13:54The explosion of helicopter technology in the last decade has led to a quantum leap in capabilities.
14:01Transport helicopters and gunships now engage in missions never before dream possible.
14:08The success of the sophisticated Apache Tank Buster in Desert Storm clearly proves that the
14:14helicopter will play a vital and decisive role in future conflicts.
14:28Turbine engine development prompted a stream of new helicopter models worldwide.
14:33Significant improvements came about in the 70s and 80s.
14:37The short-term failures of the ship.
14:43Advances and miniaturization of computers have given chopper pilots new freedom.
14:50Helicopters are inherently unstable.
14:52Without computers, pilots must fly helicopters with their hands constantly on the controls.
14:59Computers today can sense a deviation from the flight path long before the human brain can.
15:03A modern air cavalry pilot can now fly and fight with even more deadly effectiveness.
15:30The gunship has been an integral part of U.S. Army doctrine ever since Vietnam.
15:35The McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache is the result.
15:41In conventional war, this relatively new brand of attack helicopter is formidable.
15:53The Apache carries anti-tank weapons and sophisticated electronics.
15:58It demonstrated its effectiveness during desert storm.
16:02The Iraqi troops were demoralized in part by these machines that can operate in all types
16:07of weather and at night. Iraqi soldiers could not see their attackers.
16:18Army Captain Richard Reichelt explains just what the Apache is all about.
16:24The primary mission of the Apache is to go out and kill enemy tanks,
16:29although it does various other things very well to include anti-vehicle, anti-personnel.
16:34Comparing this to the Cobra, which most people are familiar with,
16:38it's a much more responsive flying helicopter.
16:42It's considerably faster, flies upwards of about 150 knots or about 170 miles per hour
16:49to get you out to the operational area very quickly.
16:53And once you're there, it's a very stable, I emphasize stable, platform to engage the enemy
16:59with your anti-tank missiles, which is the Hellfire missiles.
17:27The main weapon system for the Apache helicopter is the Hellfire missiles.
17:31It's designed, as I said before, as an anti-tank missile.
17:36Some key features of the missile, it's laser-guided.
17:39So you look out there with your sophisticated optics and you have a laser spotter.
17:44You look out to the enemy, put a laser spot on the tank or whatever it is out there, a
17:49bunker,
17:49and then fire the munition.
17:51The munition flies a pre-programmed trajectory and identifies the laser spot,
17:56which you have coated, and flies into the laser spot.
18:14It was not unusual in Desert Storm to find an entire unit of Apaches near the front,
18:19based on highways and surfaces other aircraft couldn't use.
18:38Apaches fitted with the Longbow fire control system are devastating.
18:43Millimeter wave fire control radar gives the Apache unbelievable flexibility.
18:50Day or night, in any type of weather, the system determines actual targets, classifies them,
18:57and gives the co-pilot gunner their priority.
19:00The gunner dispatches a hellfire, fire-and-forget missile.
19:05Then the Apache quickly resumes cover to seek out other targets.
19:19The Sikorsky MH-53J Pave Low 3 is considered to carry some of the most advanced equipment in the world.
19:27Pave Low's were used in Desert Storm to lead AH-64s to their positions in Iraq.
19:34They also provided search and rescue coverage for the coalition forces in western Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
19:42A Pave Low made the first successful rescue of a downed pilot in Desert Storm.
19:55Pave Low carries a crew of six, two pilots, two flight engineers, and two gunners, and can haul up to
20:0237 troops.
20:03It's an all-weather aircraft with very sophisticated navigation and terrain-following radar,
20:09allowing it to literally hug the ground as it flies.
20:14The Sikorsky S-76 Spirit is basically a civilian transport turned into an armed utility model for day or night
20:22military operations.
20:23Its first flight was in 1977.
20:39The Bell OH-58D is a totally updated Bell Jet Ranger with more power and maneuverability than its civilian counterpart.
20:47It operates for the U.S. Army in all manner of battle conditions, day or night.
21:06Today's military forces are dependent on the helicopter's capabilities.
21:11The Desert Storm War was clearly won in the air.
21:16Attack helicopters played a big part in that victory.
21:20Is it possible that the age of tank warfare has come to an end?
21:25Tanks and ground-based armor appear to be no match for the locusts of war.
21:31Tanks and ground-based armor.
21:33Tanks and ground-based armor.
21:42Tanks and ground-based armor.
21:42Join me again next time for First Flights.
21:46Storm War.
22:14See you next time for today.
22:15Loki Podcast Chris will be amazing in the air.
22:15You
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