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Operational History
The UH-1 has long become a symbol of US involvement in Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular, and as a result of that conflict, has become one of the world's most recognized helicopters. In Vietnam primary missions included general support, air assault, cargo transport, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, electronic warfare, and later, ground attack. During the conflict, the craft was upgraded, notably to a larger version based on the Model 205. This version was initially designated the UH-1D and flew operationally from 1963.
During service in the Vietnam War, the UH-1 was used for various purposes and various terms for each task abounded. UH-1s tasked with a ground attack or armed escort role were outfitted with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and machine guns. These gunship UH-1s were commonly referred to as Hogs if they carried rockets, and Cobras if they had guns. While UH-1s tasked for troop transport were often called Slicks due to an absence of weapons pods. Slicks did have door gunners, but for the most part they were strictly troop carriers and medevacs. In the US Navy and USMC the difference between gunships were referred to as Sharks, troop transport aircraft, Dolphins.
UH-1s also flew hunter-killer teams with observation helicopters, namely the Bell OH-58A Kiowa and the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (Loach).
Towards the end of the conflict, the UH-1 was tested with TOW missiles, and two UH-1B helicopters equipped with the XM26 Armament Subsystem were deployed to help counter the 1972 Easter Invasion. USAF Lieutenant James P. Fleming piloted a UH-1F on a 26 November 1968 mission that won him the Medal of Honor.
UH-1 troop transports were designated by Blue teams, hence the nickname for troops carried in by these Hueys as the Blues. The reconnaissance or observation teams were White teams. The attack ships were called Red teams. Over the duration of the conflict the tactics used by the military evolved and teams were mixed for more effective results. Purple teams with one or two Blue slicks dropping off the troops, while a Red attack team provided protection until the troops could defend themselves. Another highly effective team was the Pink Recon/Attack team, which offered the capability of carrying out assaults upon areas where the enemy was known to be present but could not be pinpointed.
During the course of the War, the UH-1 went through several upgrades. The UH-1A, B, and C models (short fuselage, Bell 204) and the UH-1D and H models (stretched-fuselage, Bell 205) each had improved performance and load-carrying capabilities. The UH-1B and C performed the gunship and some of the transport duties until 1967, when the new AH-1 Cobra arrived on the scene. The newer Cobra, a purpose-built attack helicopter based on the UH-1 was faster, sleeker, harder to hit, and could carry more ordinance. The increasing intensity and sophistication of NVA anti-aircraft defenses made continued use of gunships based on the UH-1 impractical, and after Vietnam the Cobra was adopted as the Army's main attack helicopter. Devotees of the UH-1 in the gunship role cite its ability to act as an impromptu dustoff if the need arose, as well as the superior observational capabilities of the larger Huey cockpit, which allowed return fire from door gunners to the rear and sides of the aircraft.
During the war 3,305 UH-1 were destroyed. In total, 5,086 helicopters were destroyed out of 11,827 documented in service.
USAF
In October 1965, the USAF 20th Special Operations Squadron was formed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam, equipped initially with CH-3C helicopters. By June 1967 the UH-1F and UH-1P were also added to the unit's inventory, and by the end of the year the entire unit had shifted from Tan Son Nhut to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base. On 1 August 1968, the unit was redesignated the 20th Special Operations Squadron. The 20th's UH-1s were known as the "Green Hornets", stemming from their color, a primarily green two-tone camouflage (green and tan) was carried, and radio call-sign "hornet". The main role of these helicopters were to insert and extract reconnaissance teams, provide cover for such operations, conduct psychological warfare, and other support roles for covert operations especially in Laos during the so-called Secret War.
Nahr el Bared battle in Lebanon
During the battle of Nahr el-Bared camp in North Lebanon, the Lebanese army, lacking fixed-wing aircraft, modified the UH-1H allowing it to carry 400 lb (250 kg) Mk. 82 dumb bombs to strike militant positions. Each Huey was equipped on each side with special mounts engineered by the Lebanese army, to carry the high explosive bombs.
Current service
The US Army phased out the UH-1 Huey with the introduction of the UH-60 Black Hawk, although the Army UH-1 Residual Fleet has around 700 UH-1s that were supposed to be retained until 2015. Army support for the craft was intended to end in 2004.
The US Marine Corps still relies on the UH-1N variant and is beginning to introduce the latest variant, the UH-1Y Venom.
The United States Air Force employs Hueys to fulfill its ICBM mission, providing a utility helicopter for transport between bases such as Francis E. Warren AFB and Malmstrom AFB to missile launch sites in Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. Additionally, the UH-1N is used by the 36th Rescue Flight (36 RQF) at Fairchild AFB, near Spokane, WA for conducting Search-and-Rescue (SAR) and medical evacuation missions.
The UH-1 has been widely exported and remains in front-line service in a number of countries.
Sources:
Wikipedia: UH-1 Iroquois "Huey"
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