F E AT U R E S
Legendary Status The Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter revolutionized modern warfare
BY BILL QUEHRN Airbase Arizona Museum Docent
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magine designing a 1950s-era family station wagon that would someday be tasked to be an ambulance, a multipassenger and cargo hauler, and finally an armed military assault vehicle. That’s not far from the story of the U.S. Army’s Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, which achieved legendary status in the Vietnam War. Originally ordered in 1953 as an Army air ambulance, UH-1 Iroquois became universally known as Hueys. It revolutionized modern warfare, completing every task it was handed, from medical evacuation, food and supply delivery into battle zones, search and rescue, observation and troop transports to eventually becoming extraordinarily capable assault helicopter gunships. Vietnam’s impenetrable jungles, rice paddies and mountains made traditional troop movement virtually impossible, as American forces learned when troops were deployed to fight communist north forces in 1962. Hueys proved to be able to COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE get troops into target areas. AIRBASE ARIZONA MUSEUM But little more than close air support from fixed-wing air- When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. craft was available to secure Wednesdays to Saturdays an area before troops arrived, Where: 2017 N. Greenfield Road, protect them once on the Mesa ground, and evacuate or rein- Charge: Tickets start at $15 for force them as needed. Hueys adults 13 and older. Discounts for seniors, veterans and groups were the answer. Info: 480-924-1940, azcaf.org Hueys were soon equipped with machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket pods and other weapons, often through innovations in the field, as the gunship concept developed. The Huey crew’s ability to lay down withering fire forward was augmented by the exceptional performance of the so-called door gunners. These courageous crewmen stood unprotected in the Huey’s open side doors to fire handheld weapons at targets below and behind the choppers as they flew over hostile territory. Huey’s amazing assault vehicle performance led the U.S. Army to create a new unit, the First Air Cavalry Division, built on Huey capabilities in 1965. Though later versions and other helicopters were developed during the war, Hueys remained in Army service in Vietnam until the United States’ withdrawal in 1975. Like so much of America’s Vietnam War experience, the Huey was
assigned a bewildering variety of tasks to try to perform an impossible mission. Huey crews not only performed each task brilliantly, but they rewrote several chapters of military strategy and laid new foundations for future wars. More than 7,000 Hueys and their crews flew 36 million sorties in 11 years of combat, well earning their legendary status. The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona Museum at Falcon Field in Mesa has a UH1B Huey and a later-version Bell AH1F Cobra in its collection of historic military aircraft in the museum hangar. Outside, there is a UH1M Huey, thanks to the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation’s Southwest Chapter, which fully restored these magnificent Vietnam Veteran aircraft. Visitors are welcome to visit in the Hueys, which are monuments to the 58,000 Americans who died in service to their country in Vietnam.
MAY/JUNE 2021 |
Sound of Freedom
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