Definitely a strange bird. I have to agree with Grandad though, it was not a standard set-up at all. There were all sorts of one-off helos out there that were not used as standard configurations. I still contend that there were no D and H model gunships used by the US Army.
Sadly i cant find any other pics of her, The photo is from a collection taken by members of the 15th Field Artillery Regiment.
Using the info provided with the photo all i could come up with was that Its a helo from Alpha Company 1/9th Air Cav and the Crew Chief 1LT James Schlottman and gunner SP5 Larry D Wright, were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on the 2nd October 1966.
I think its common knowledge that the US Army didnt use the UH-1D/H’s officially as Gunships, and untill now i thought that Australian units were the only units in Vietnam to mount external armaments on their slicks but this photo proves that atleast one American unit did actually convert their slick into a “gunship” So now if you wanted to place the M60 quads on the outside of your UH-1H/D model and put the US decals on it, you could do so knowing its still an accurate representation of a US helicopter that served in Vietnam!
Anyway heres the link to the page with the picture.
http://www.landscaper.net/people.htm
Andy
roger that!
are we going in circles here? I’m not sure…
it’s quite clear that A:
there was no factory produced d/h model gunships or anything more than m-23 gunmounts issued from Bell? or aftermodified by Army??. where did the m-23 mounts come from??
B: there was a pleathura of custom modifications per unit/company/battal. to increase the firepower of slicks and other instances of non-gunship role dedicated D/H model hueys in SEA…meaning that there was operational D and H model Hueys performing multiple types of ordinace delivery aside form transport roles.
???
hoo rah! hoo yah!!
B
Ok, here’s a couple of unusual birds that may not appaer so at first glance. Who can spot the unique features that BOTH of these birds from the 121st AHC “Vikings” share?
Well either it is very obvious or no one wants to guess. both of the birds below are B models with Charlie model tails. Note, however, that the horizontal stabs are the narrower B model type since the rotor system is the same. I just thought it was neat to finally see a couple of ships with this configuration since I had read about the mod several times, but never had seen an actual example.
The M-22 Guided Missle System, interesting to note the model it is mounted on
Wow, an A model! You don’t see a lot of photos of those around here. Nice pic Grandad! Thanks!
Ray
Found another picture of a UH-1D armed with forward mounted quad M60C’s.
Its from the Tacom site of all places, seen it a few times but never noticed it was a D model.
It also says on the site that Early production UH-1Ds were equipped for use with XM3-24 tube rocket launchers, M5 40mm grenade launcher and M6 quad M60C machine gun mounts! but the decision was made during configuration reviews to designate the UH-1D primarily as a utility helicopter.
So there may be a few other early pictures of armed UH-1Ds out there somewhere.
Andy
Some early models were tested at Ft. Rucker and other Army post on the feasibility of arming them and which armament would be the most practical. The idea was disgarded in favor of using the C model since it was dedicated to being a gunship.
I just got through reading a awesome book which covers lots of early Army Hueys.
Warbirds Illustrated No. 47: Army Gunships in Vietnam, 1987, Bob Chenoweth, 72 pp. and 136 pics mostly BW. ISBN 0-85368-854-0.
Over half of this book is devoted to Hueys BEFORE 1965. There are more pictures of A models than in all the other refs I have combined! Also, lots of photos of unusual armamant systems and the history behind them. This is a MUST have in my opinion for anyone interested in unique armmant systems and early Hueys. I’ll try to post a couple of pics in the next couple of weeks. Get this one if you can. You won’t be dissapointed!
Ray
Heres an unusual UH-1D setup, “vihnlong Bugship” from 114th AHC 1968, Armed with two miniguns and a 50 cal, the strange looking thing on the outside is a flare canister dispenser.
Andy
During the latter 50’s and early 60’s the Army also tested different armament on the following type’s of helo’s that I am aware of: OH-13, CH-21, UH-19, OH-23, UH-25 and CH-34 in addition to the UH-1
I love the unusual armament setups, it would be great to see a picture of a UH-1D being tested with the nose mounted grenade launcher, Its says that they were equipped for use with them when they first came out over on the Tacom site, so i just hope someone took some pictures before they scrapped the idea.
Andy
Grandadjohn,
There are pics of other choppers as well in the book, but since this is a Huey thread I thought I would stay on topic. There are pics of CH-21’s, an OH-13, ACH-47, AH-1s, OH-6’s, CH-54, and an OH-58.
Great book!
Ray
By the way, weren’t all CH-34’s Marine birds? There is one photo in the book with VNAF CH-34’s in the background, but no Army ones that I have seen.
The Army used the CH-34 as while, primarially in Europe. I just mentioned those other types to show how much testing was going on. Some of those helo’s did see service in Vietnam.
The Army also tested weapons on non-Army type aircraft such as the Sea King(non-Army markings)
Have to look for that book when I have a little spare cash.
Two other types of Huey’s(B, D or H models) were also used. The first were the psyop’s birds. They carried systems design to transmit live or recorded message’s to VC/NVA troops on the ground. They had loudspeakers attached outside of the cabin ot in one door.
The second were maintenance/recovery birds, usually D/H models. They carried tools boxes and equiptment for slingloading. Usually carried standard armament sometimes one 60 would be replaced or augmented with a .50cal, in case work had to be done on a hot LZ
It’s about time to rejuvenate this thread with a new pic or two. Here is one you don’t see every day:
[img]http://
Andy posted a pic a while back of a napalm canister mounted on a Huey. Well, I’ll see your naplam and raise ya a 100 lb HE bomb! This pic is from Bob Chenoweth’s Army Gunships in Vietnam. Photo is from 1963.
Here’s another gem from the Chenoweth book:
[img]http://
Anyone care to hazard a guess at the weapon mounted under this UH-1H?
Ray
Hard to tell from the photo due to quality, but it look like some small size cannon, maybe 20mm
Grandad,
You da man. it is a 20mm.
[img]http://
This ship belonged to the 116th and the photo is from 1966. The ship was called BIG DADDY and the gun is a wing gun from an A-1 Skyraider. It was originally mounted on a pintle, but that was a little awkward so they used a mounting bracket under the ship. They had to put in a blast shield, though, because firing the gun blew out th chin bubble! The twin 60’s are kinda neat too.
Ray
Go on!! nice to see this thread moving again,
Great pic Ray, how dare you beat my napalm canister [:)] 100lb bomb huh!! ive got a pic here somewhere of a Huey carrying a Thermo nuclear bomb and banana firing minigun, though it might take me a while to locate it! [;)][;)]
Great pic [tup]
ps
Grandadjohn you have superhuman weapon identifying qualitys lol [bow]
Andy