Legendary Status

The Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter revolutionized modern warfare

BY BILL QUEHRN

Airbase Arizona Museum Docent Imagine designing a 1950s-era family station wagon that would someday be tasked to be an ambulance, a multipassenger and cargo hauler, and fi nally an armed military assault vehicle. Th at’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. 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 fl ew 36 million sorties in 11 years of combat, well earning their legendary status. Th e Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona Museum at Falcon Field in Mesa has a UH1B Huey and a later-version Bell AH1F Co-

Originally ordered in 1953 as an Army air ambulance, UH-1 Iroquois bra in its collection of historic military aircraft in the museum hangar. became universally known as Hueys. Outside, there is a UH1M Huey, thanks to the Army Aviation Heritage

It revolutionized modern warfare, completing every task it was hand- Foundation’s Southwest Chapter, which fully restored these magnifi cent ed, from medical evacuation, food and supply delivery into battle zones, Vietnam Veteran aircraft . search and rescue, observation and troop transports to eventually be- Visitors are welcome to visit in the Hueys, which are monuments to coming extraordinarily capable assault helicopter gunships. the 58,000 Americans who died in service to their country in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s impenetrable jungles, rice paddies and mountains made traditional troop movement virtually impossible, as American forces learned when troops were deployed to fi ght communist north forces in 1962. Hueys proved to be able to get troops into target areas. But little more than close air COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE AIRBASE ARIZONA MUSEUM support from fi xed-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. Greenfi eld 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 were the answer. Hueys were soon equipped seniors, veterans and groups Info: 480-924-1940, azcaf.org with machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket pods and other weapons, oft en through innovations in the fi eld, as the gunship concept developed.

Th e Huey crew’s ability to lay down withering fi re forward was augmented by the exceptional performance of the so-called door gunners. Th ese courageous crewmen stood unprotected in the Huey’s open side doors to fi re handheld weapons at targets below and behind the choppers as they fl ew 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. Th ough 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