History | The first Loach arrived in Vietnam in 1966, and a total of 1,434 of the primary . It gained impetus with the advent of the Vietnam War, and was aided by advances in helicopter technology, specifically the development of the turboshaft engine. Home | Vietnam Veteran and his Helicopter Reunited. It was mostly used as a transport chopper, but it could also deliver supplies to troops. During the Vietnam War, it was mostly deployed for aerial combat and for conducting rescue operations in areas close to US Air bases. s/n 66-07841. To remedy this shortcoming, the Army began developing a special aviation task force to prepare for the next attempt to rescue the hostages: Operation Honey Badger. While in Target Area this helicopter was Attacking at 0060 feet and 010 knots. OH-6A Cayuse / AH-6J Little Bird - Military Aircraft Army units this aircraft deployed with in Vietnam: Troop B, 1st squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division: Aug '68 - Oct '70. 1:00 Jan. 6 will mark 50 years since former Newburgh resident Dave Middleton was shot down in Vietnam while piloting a Loach helicopter on a mission to which he wasn't originally assigned.. Despite Being Prone to Crashing, the Loach Helicopter Was Favored By Worthy, the OH-6 Loach and two other air scout helicopter pilots, all decorated, were in Topeka on Saturday night for an event at Forbes Field Airport designed to increase interest and. 13456, "History of Rotorcraft World Records, List of records established by the 'YOH-6A'. The NVA [North Vietnamese army] was everywhere. Hughes 500M: Military export version of OH-6 in mid-1970s with upgraded 278-shp Allison 250-C18 turboshaft engine, "V" tail. [22], It became common for OH-6s to operate in teams with other rotorcraft, particularly the Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. For other AH-6 and MH-6 variants, see MH-6 Little Bird and Boeing AH-6. The Loach helicopter was pitted against what was then known as the Bell Model 206. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. The Incident - Operation Triumphus Some units were modified during the war with machine guns to act as gunships. OH-6A Cayuse ('Loach') The OH-6A "Cayuse" is a small tactical helicopter flown by units of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR]. OH-58 "Kiowa" light observation / scout platform. The mission training consisted of loading onto C-130 Hercules transport aircraft which would then transport them to forward staging areas over routes as long as 1,000 nautical miles (1,900km). Two of these designs, those submitted by Fairchild-Hiller and Bell, were selected as finalists by the Army-Navy design competition board. The Army dictated that after 300 hours of flight time, each Loach go through a thorough inspection, but in practice such inspections were rare: Few Loaches survived to reach that mark. 29 of the best politically incorrect Vietnam War slang terms Pilot sold separately. But the Hueys proved too slow to do the job properly, and the need to replace both scouts and protectors was immediately evident. In the Vietnam War, these choppers were used to recover downed aircraft. Operation Honey Badger was canceled after the hostages were released on 20 January 1981, and for a short while, it looked as if the task force would be disbanded and the personnel returned to their former units. The Cobras high above had a few seconds of warningthey could spot the missiles exhaust plumebut were all the more tempting because at their higher altitudes they were more easily seen than the smaller Loaches. Following the lead, we got peppered with rounds. The Loach had a bad vibration, but he made it about half a mile before he had to land. Since units were all but permanently assigned to particular areas, they came to know the local geography intimately and could spot anything out of the ordinary. purchase. The four-passenger teardrop shaped "Flying egg" (six-passenger with rear seats folded-down) was a small, light, sturdy, maneuverable helicopter, with very low drag. SA-7 Grail heat-seeking missiles could down a Loach before its crew even realized they were under fire. City of Walnut Creek Special Recreation Museum Tour October 26, 2019, United Airlines Family Day Fly-in October 13, 2019, Napa County Airport Day September 7, 2019, Virginia Rose II Cobra transferred to Vietnam Helicopters Museum August 14, 2019, Memorial Day 2019 Ceremonies at Oak Hill Memorial Park & Cemetery. They underwent two weeks of qualification training and an additional two weeks of mission training. Hughes Tool Company Aircraft Division submitted their Model 369 to fill a US Army requirement for a Light Observation Helicopter capable of performing a number of secondary duties including escort, attack and casualty evacuation duties. Due to its unique shape, the Loach was given the nickname . An Army article written after Johns seventh crash credited it with surviving 61 hits from enemy fire and seven crashes without losing a single crew member. The Bell AH-1J was also used for various subsequent assaults and military operations conducted by the US Marine Corps. Shaffer, 63, rode in the military helicopter as a door gunner with Charlie Troop 1/9th, 1st Air Cavalry while . 2 M260 2.75-in Hydra 70 rocket pods (7 or 12 each) In 1961, twelve companies submitted proposals to meet U.S.Army requirements for a four-seat turbine-powered light observation helicopter (LOH). This simple design made maintenance easy, while the choppers 26-foot rotor made it much easier to maneuver in tight landing zones. The back plate was often not used owing to the weight, and even the chest plate was deleted. External load capacity was approximately 1,200 Lbs (550 kg), and transport capability 2 or 3 troops or cargo internally. OH-6A/MD-530F Super Cayuse/Lifter: Upgraded engine to a 425-shp Allison 250- C30 turboshaft, and avionics in 1988 for the US Army. Instead of disbanding Task Force 158, the military opted to turn it into the 160th Aviation Battalion. The UH-1B/C was used sparingly during the Vietnam War. The small-arms protection aircrewmen armor that was introduced in 1966 was a vest with pockets containing composite laminated plates commonly called chicken plates. The OH-6 helicopters served in huge numbers and were used for light observation and utility roles. Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (Loach) - Military Factory It was used prolifically because of its unique hovering abilities. 2 Stinger AAM. A rescue operation for the crew of a downed Loach helicopter doesn't quite go as planned and the rescuers become victims themselves. The campaign included the first major use in the war of Soviet-built, shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. Ultimately, Hughes was selected as the winner of the competition. Furthermore, the helicopter was also developed into a civilian helicopter, the Model 500, which was still in production into the twenty-first century under MD Helicopters as the MD 500. Multi-Mission Helicopters 6. The Hughes (Model 500M) international military version was sold in ten countries and built under license in Italy and Japan. As well, its tough frame made it safer than other helicopters during crashes, as its aluminum skin absorbed the energy and the structure protected the crew. Armed with guns, Hellfire missiles, and 2.75-inch FFAR, it provides armed helicopter support to both ground and air special operations. The helicopter Continued Flight. The shelf life of a scout pilot was probably six months. The OH-6A "Cayuse" is a small tactical helicopter flown by units of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR]. It had to do with the timbre of your voicehow you talked to other guys on the radio, says Romero, who arrived in Vietnam in 1970, initially as a Huey co-pilot. New book recounts Newburgh man's time as Vietnam helicopter pilot [17] On 26 March 1966, Jack Schwiebold set the closed circuit distance record in a YOH-6A at Edwards Air Force Base, California, flying without landing for 1,739.96mi (2,800.20km). In August 1967, the AH-1G Cobra arrived in Vietnam. Two (2) Crew: one Pilot, one Observer/Doorgunner. Several Kawasaki-built Loach helicopters were also flown by civilian customers for a variety of reasons, including emergency medical services, law enforcement tasks and for work in the agricultural sector. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Krausz was ordered to Vietnam in April 1971, and today teaches Army students how to fly the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota, a twin-engine trainer. This helicopter was REPAIRED IN THEATER I was wounded three times and shot down nine times, Romero reports. It later turned out that Howard Hughes purposely undervalued his estimate and deceptively won out against Fairchild-Hiller - his reasoning being that a long-term US Army commitment to his helicopter would, over time, make the deal profitable at some point. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine In this theatre, it was commonly operated in teams with other rotorcraft, such as the Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, using so-called "hunter-killer" tactics to flush out and eliminate hostile ground targets; the OH-6 would act as bait to draw enemy fire and mark targets for other platforms such as the AH-1 to attack. Crews trained side by side with the 160th for all operational concepts. Loach and Cobra crews lived together, and schedulers generally paired the teams with the partners they requested, though given the high turnover rate, that wasnt always possible. Hughes OH-6 Cayuse Light Observation Helicopter - MILITARY TODAY The US military primarily used the OH-6 for observational and reconnaissance purposes. [2] Originally designated as the YHO-6A according to the Army's designation system, the aircraft was redesignated as the YOH-6A in 1962 when the Department of Defense created a joint designation system for all aircraft. [2] Twelve companies opted to participate in the competition, Hughes Tool Company's Aircraft Division being one of them, submitted the Model 369 as its response. [2] This shaping, combined with the provision of internal bulkheads, has been attributed as giving the rotorcraft its uncommonly strong crashworthiness properties. During 1966, the OH-6 entered service with the U.S. Army, it promptly arrived into active combat in the Vietnam War. I could see a cigarette butt still burning. Flight Hours in Vietnam: 1,400. Cobras generally attacked with rockets, preferred for long-range accuracy, switching to the less-accurate chin-mounted machine gun and grenade launcher only if they were far enough away from friendly troops or if the rocketsAH-1s could carry as many as 76 rocketsran out. Upon returning to the United States, he established a career in the construction industry and settled in rural Sierra City, California. The Bell UH-1B/C was modified from the UH-1A Cobra to include a set of machine guns for attacking ground targets. A total of five prototypes were built, all of which were powered by a single Allison T63-A-5A turboshaft engine, capable of producing 252shp (188kW). The flames covered my boots and lower legs. They went down in the jungle, and both [members of the crew] survived. Military operators included the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), and the Japanese Coast Guard. While its light aluminum skin could be easily penetrated by small arms fire, it also crumpled and absorbed energy in a crash while the rugged structure protected key systems and its crew; even though the OH-6 was relatively difficult to shoot down, its occupants would often survive forced landings that would have likely been fatal onboard other rotorcraft.
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