First off I can’t seem to find any pics of the Helicopter Trap Weapon in my collection of images. The best I can do is the diagram posted by Marko in this thread.
Regarding the image you posted, first off it is a UH-1B. You can tell that by the nose mounted pitot tube on the left hand side. Second, it is a test aircraft which you can tell by the test equipment mounted above the rotorhead. Third, I am pretty sure this is not armament, but ferry tanks which give the aircraft a longer range. The system somewhat resembles the M159/M200 rocket pods with aerodynamic fairings on the front and back, but they are not pointy enough. Here is another pic of the same bird from the USAAM archives.
that was very informative. i think the B model can also be recognized by the rotor mast as well. what baffles me about the supposedly fuel tanks is that, and this is more clearly seen in your last picture, there seems to be an ammunition belt coming out of the lower fuselage, unless that is part of the mount.
also, can anyone share a photo of the command and control version of the Huey?
You are correct that the B model can be identified by the 204 head with blade counterweights, but the nose mounted pitot is a dead giveaway it’s a B as well. I really don’t think that is an ammo belt. It looks more like part of the mount to me.
As for the C and C bird, I have a number of pics, but it’s way too late for me to dig them out right now. I’ll try to get some posted for you soon.
I have a friend, Joe Trevithick, who knows this stuff like the back of his hand. He was kind enough to send me this reply to your inquiry:
Ray,
"The alpha-numeric bit (like XM18) is only one component of the designation in the Army’s nomenclature system. The alpha-numeric is not a complete designation in of itself and requires the full descriptive text string to avoid the confusion you point out. You can find a full description of the specifics of the system here: www.designation-systems.net/…/miscsystems.html
In short, these designations are not in fact repeated. The full designations in this case are:
Also, the XM18 aircraft dispenser is just the US Army designation for what the Air Force designated the SUU-14/A. The dispensers themselves should be essentially identical. Here is a picture:
I think that should help clear things up. Happy to help.
that clears the confusion. and thanks for the pictures and quick reply. i have been googling for a long time to get a picture of the UH-1 equipped with the XM18 dispenser
was the XM15 mine dispenser used on any model of the UH-1? i have read that it can take the XM170 fares or XM165 grenades - can you expand on this please?
I have not personally seen a Huey with the XM15 dispenser on it, but I would assume it was designed ot go on a Huey. I’ll leave the second part to Joe as he probably has more info than me. Here are a couple of diagrams of the XM15 system from the USAAM archives though.
Sounds like we might be getting into a little designation confusion again, which isn’t surprising. I think of all Army helicopter weaponry, I have the least information readily available on these dispensers and the munitions loaded into them. I think we’re talking about two different systems, the XM15 canister cluster and the XM15 flare dispenser.
The XM15 canister cluster is a cluster bomb filled with 264 smaller XM16 canisters full of CS (better known as tear gas). This weapon was armed by removing a cotter pin like you would in a hand grenade and then thrown or kicked manually from the aircraft. The XM165 canister cluster is two XM15 canister clusters bolted together using a strong-back that allows it to be hung from a traditional bomb rack and released that way.
XM165 canister cluster:
The XM15 flare dispenser on the other hand is two XM18 dispensers fitted together and loaded with 48 XM170 flares (4 per tube). Again, a strong-back was fitted so the setup could be carried on a traditional bomb rack (though in this case the XM18 could already be fitted to the bomb rack directly).
XM15 flare dispenser:
The Army also tested at least two other configurations of the single XM18 dispenser, one with the XM144 bomblets (said to be a modified version of the Air Force’s BLU-3/B) and one with XM54 CS grenades (a modified version of the M7 CS hand grenade). The former combination was designated as the XM25 dispenser and bomb, while the later was designated as the XM27 dispenser and grenade.
I’m not sure how widely used these systems were or if they were used at all. I imagine a lot of these systems were only trialed briefly if at all. I’ve seen a lot of line art of them mounted on UH-1s, but very little in the way of photographic evidence. Units in Vietnam definitely used the Army’s Chemical Warfare Service’s manual cluster design called the E158, which was very similar to the XM15 canister cluster. I imagine that these other systems also saw some very limited use.
Now things are getting clearer. some observations i would like to share:
= during combat especially if things are a bit down, it is marvelous how many ideas are tested; probably for the type of so called air cavalry warfare, flares would not be of much use, and i would think that the firefly and nighthawk tactics were more suitable;
= the walls of the XM165 are transparent - could plastic have been used?
=the army also tested the XM19 flare dispenser, and if i am not mistaken one Huey suffered a fire when one of the flares ignited inside the cabin and the gunner kicked it out of the aircraft, burning himself in the meantime.
can any ex-Huey crew confirm whether the XM15 where used on the Huey?
Joe can you share some drawings of the UH-1 carrying any of these dispensers just discussed
now i am coming with another two: the AGM-22A and B missiles (French SS.11) and the XM29 weapon mount for the M60.
what i would like is to see pictures or illustrations of the XM11 (AGM-22A) and of the XM29 mount.
if you look closely at the weapons mount, it is not the XM156, and hence the XM22 system. therefore could this be the XM11? how do you tell an A from a B sub variant of this missile?
and what about the XM29? was it door mounted? was it made just for the M60?
on looking closely at the weapon mount it is not the XM156, so this must be the XM11 system not the XM22. also see the (and my) last post in this thread.
.50 Cal equipped VIP. “Gert the Love Machine” that flew with 18th Corps Aviation Company Green Delta CAC (Combat Aviation Company ). Interesting ammo stowage and just plain cool.
There was another .50 Cal equipped UH-1H in the unit called Fat Albert. Dewey Leach standing by Fat Albert. Dewey was Guardian 6’s jeep driver - image by Steve Hill
