It is 1/6th scale and very large, has to be at least 3 feet from rotor tip to rotor tip. The Loach helicopter was pitted against what was then known as the Bell Model 206. On March 3, 2023, at a White House ceremony, retired Army Colonel Paris Davis received the Medal of Honor. Its like a street cop going into a bad neighborhood. The armed OH-6s from Fort Rucker joined the training program in the fall of 1980.[30]. OH-58 "Kiowa" light observation / scout platform. Even when this helicopter was shot down, it refused to crack. The light observation helicopter OH-6 Cayuse, or Loach (based on the LOH acronym), was a Vietnam-era helicopter designed with speed and maneuverability in mind. We were so close to the elephant grass that wed blow the grass apart to see if anyone was hiding in there, observer Bob Moses says. They were famous for being shot down or crashing in combat. If the OH-6 came under fire, the nearby Cobra would then strike at the revealed enemy. The AH-6 and its troop-carrying sibling, the MH-6, are still heavily used by U.S. special-operations forces, as everything from airborne sniper platforms to transports inserting small teams to expeditionary light attack helicopters. Loaches, usually with a pilot and observer and sometimes a door gunner aboard, flew as little as 10 feet above the treetops at between about 45 and 60 mph, scouting for signs of the enemy. In 1960, the US Army issued Technical Specification 153 and established the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program. The Little Birds weaponry is a far cry from the M60 machine gun carried aboard a Loach in Vietnam: AH-6s can carry miniguns, rocket pods, grenade launchers, Hellfire missiles, and air-to-air Stinger missiles. The small "egg-shaped" design and simplified rotorhead incorporated four rotor blades of constant chord, made of bonded light alloy. After evaluation, three designs were selected and 5 of each: the Bell OH-4A; the Hiller OH-5 and the Hughes OH-6, were ordered for trials by the U.S.Army Aviation Board. I have come home with blood on my windshield. As of 2021, these records still stand. to voice a complaint about any articles or image on this website, please All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. Unit: 173 ABN Within that same year, help was on the way. Required fields are marked *. Warrant officer John Shafer was 21 when he arrived on October 16, 1970, to fly Loaches. The OH-6A could be armed with the M27 armament subsystem, the port (left) side mounting M134 six-barrel 7.62mm minigun or a 40mm grenade launcher on the XM8 armament subsystem. Loach and Cobra were in constant radio communication, and because of the intensity of hunter-killer missions, it wasnt long before pairs in each type knew each other well enough to anticipate the others moves. During the Vietnam War, it was exclusively used by North Vietnam for reconnaissance and VIP transport. The Huskie was used by the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps. Total flight hours at this point: 00000496 Built by Hughes Tool Company, it was designed to be a scout helicopter during the Vietnam war. Army units this aircraft deployed with in Vietnam: Troop B, 1st squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division: Aug '68 - Oct '70. 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. The "OH-6C" was the creation of the Maintenance Section of The Real Cav, B Troop 7/17th Air Cavalry Squadron, which was stationed near Pleiku in early 1972. s/n 67-16304 Flight Hours in Vietnam: 1,318 Advertising Notice We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Jim was unconscious when I helped pull him out of the burning aircraft.. [19][20][21], In December 1967, the first OH-6As arrived in Vietnam. [4] The prototypes were delivered to the U.S. Army at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where they competed against the other ten prototype aircraft produced by Bell and Fairchild-Hiller. Accordingly, this tactic had resulted in substantial losses being incurred on the contract with the U.S. Army; the company had allegedly anticipated that an extended production cycle would eventually make the rotorcraft financially viable. Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . By Richard Toops. This simple design made maintenance easy, while the choppers 26-foot rotor made it much easier to maneuver in tight landing zones. 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. The Army requested 714 helicopters in May 1965, a number that was later increased to 1,300. The Army initially ordered 1,438 Hughes Model 369s, designated by the Army as the OH-6A Cayuse helicopters. 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. The Loach could be terrifying since it was often used with the AH-1 Cobra in hunter-killer missions, where the Loach would go out and find the enemy positions and the Cobra would go in for the kill with rocket, grenade, and minigun fire. One time we ran into hundreds of enemy troops. For this, a small rotorcraft capable of landing in restrictive locations and easily transportable via US Air Force transport aircraft was necessary. purchase. Contact | Search and Rescue Helicopters 5. You were killed, shot down, or got scared and quit. The Bell OH-58 Kiowa was an entire line of military helicopters with a single engine and a single rotor. "Pink teams" of scout and attack helicopters, such as OH-6 "Loach" or OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopters and the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter during the Vietnam War; In anti-submarine warfare an Maritime patrol aircraft may be employed as "hunter", with surface ships such as destroyers as killers. Some units were modified during the war with machine guns to act as gunships. The hunter-killer tactic worked well for a few years, but by the time the United States left Vietnam, it was obsolete, says Mills. article/image or apply full credit information. 2 M134 7.62-mm 6x barrel, Gatling type twin MG pods By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Russian soldiers calls back home reveal horrifying experiences in Ukraine, broke records for speed, endurance, and rate of climb, powered by a 285-hp engine but the helicopter weighed less than a Volkswagen, could carry everything from 7.62mm miniguns to 70mm rockets and anti-tank missiles, nicknamed Queer John, hit the dirt at least seven times, modified versions of the helicopter flew with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as the MH-6C Little Bird as late as 2008, 29 of the best politically incorrect Vietnam War slang terms. The "loach" was the LOH (Light Observation Helicopter) or OH-6A. 2 Hellfire ATGM They were usually joined by Cobra gunships either in hunter-killer teams where the Loach hunted and the Cobra killed or in air mobile cavalry units where both airframes supported cavalry and infantrymen on the ground. These would be used to replace its fleet of Bell H-13 Sioux, a compact first generation rotorcraft. For most of the war, there was no formal Army training to prepare scout pilots and observers. In terms of its basic configuration, the Model 369 had an atypical teardrop-shaped fuselage, a feature that led to personnel sometimes referring to it as the "flying egg". The following two-week mission was to Yuma for night operation training. Although most combat aircraft in Vietnam aimed for altitudes and speeds that helped them avoid anti-aircraft weapons, U.S. Army crews flying Hughes OH-6A Cayuse helicopters flew low and drew fireto set up the shots for the Bell AH-1G Cobras circling above. [10][self-published source][11], Due to price escalations for both the OH-6 and spare components, the U.S. Army opted to reopen bids for the programme in 1967. Upon encountering enemy fire, Loaches were to leave immediately, dropping smoke grenades to mark the target so that within seconds, the Cobra could roll in. Other Army pilots, most of whom flew Cobras or Hueys, thought of Loach pilots as a little offbeat. During the Vietnam War the OH-6 helicopters served in huge numbers and were used for light observation and utility roles. A rescue operation for the crew of a downed Loach helicopter doesn't quite go as planned and the rescuers become victims themselves. On 27 February 1963, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight. When the opposing forces exposed themselves, the crew would call upon an accompanying Bell AH-1 Cobra to attack. Army troops called the OH-6As Loaches, a contraction of light observation helicopters. The ship was unusually light and had plenty of power, perfect for flying nap-of-the-earth missions, and its 26-foot-diameter main rotor made getting into tight landing zones a snap. [14][15], During 1966, the OH-1 entered service with the U.S. Army. More from us: The US Air Force Panicked When Its Top-Secret Stealth Fighter Crashed Into the California Wilderness. The OH-6 Cayuse was developed from specifications issued by the U.S. Army in 1960 for a light observation helicopter (LOH), and the familiar Loach nickname was derived from the acronym. The Cobra was fast and deadly. Each could be equipped with any number of armaments, including grenade launchers, 7.62 mm miniguns, Hydra 70 mm unguided rockets, and TOW and Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles. [16], Early on in the OH-6's career, the type demonstrated its performance in a particularly prominent manner via the setting of 23 individual world records for helicopters during 1966 in the categories of speed, endurance and time to climb. In the hunter-killer teams, the Loach would fly low over the jungle, drawing fire and then calling for the Cobra to kill the teams on the ground. The Model 369, with its Allison T63-A-5A series turboshaft engine, took its first flight on February 27, 1963, under the military designation YOH-6A. Despite a strong outcry from crews in Vietnam, the Bell OH-58A Kiowa, powered by the same Allison T-63 engine as the OH-6, was being distributed to Army units. The Bell UH-1B/C was modified from the UH-1A Cobra to include a set of machine guns for attacking ground targets. The Light Observation Helicopter ( LOH) program was a United States Army program to evaluate, develop and field a light scout helicopter to replace the Army's aging Bell OH-13 Sioux. In the Vietnam War, these choppers were used to recover downed aircraft. Trademarks and copyright information is respected. Once enemy positions opened fire at the Cayuse, they were destroyed by the mighty firepower of escorting Cobras. 79th Transportation Company: Jun 70 Jul 70 Shortly thereafter, the aircraft were returned to the U.S., where they were dismantled and converted back to a standard configuration; they continued to be operated as such for a time. Initially fielded in Vietnam in early 1968, the Hughes OH-6A was used for command and control, observation, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. Rattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. The OH-6D was an improved version with more advanced electronics and heavier armament. It was powered by a 285-hp engine but the helicopter weighed less than a Volkswagen. Operation Honey Badger never went ahead, as the hostages were released in January 1981. Armament We got hit by incendiary .51-caliber rounds, and the phosphorus ignited the Cobras hydraulic fluid. Vietnams mountainous terrain stressed the underpowered, obsolete helicopters to their limits: They could neither fly fast enough to escape enemy fire nor carry enough armament to pose a meaningful threat. Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. Kane and Casher were pulled aboard and returned to Khe Sanh, but the Huey barely made it back; slicing trees had left its blades shredded, and the tail section had almost separated. The Loach's main role was reconnaisance and observation. Vietnam following a morning mission with the 11th Special Forces (SF) at Long Than North, South Vietnam. Armed with guns, Hellfire missiles, and 2.75-inch FFAR, it provides armed helicopter support to both ground and air special operations. The Mil Mi-8 was developed in the later stage of the Vietnam War to counter the Bell Huey UH1. The Army purchased this helicopter 0968 Graphics are very well done, the whole model is very well done. The Mil Mi-8 is a Soviet medium twin-turbine helicopter. They chose the OH-6A scout helicopter to fill that role, and it became known as the Little Bird compared to the other aircraft in the task force, the MH-60 and the MH-47. Today, the Little Birds in use by special operations are MH-6Ms derived from a similar but more powerful helicopter. It can cruise at speeds of 150 mph. The prototype first flew in early 1963, and production began two years later. The Cayuse was publicly introduced in 1966 and set several records, including record for endurance, speed and rate of climb. 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. (He later transferred to the Air Force and flew F-4 Phantoms, and eventually became an airline captain.) This aspect was further bolstered by the use of self-sealing fuel tanks that lowered the likelihood of a post-impact fire breaking out. 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. I liked it because in the Bronx, I was a ghetto kid. Some crews argued that the Kiowa was nowhere near as nimble as the OH-6, however, the transition proceeded while scouting doctrine was changed to emphasis operations from greater distances. He shares memories of his service and reflects on what the war meant to him then and what it means to him now. Both the Pilot and Observer/Gunner positions were equipped with carbon fiber side panels and seats. Another such gunner was 19-year-old Joel Boucher, drafted and sent to Vietnam from 1967 to 1969. Vietnam Veteran and his Helicopter Reunited. Your email address will not be published. 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. 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. While successful in this respect, the Loach helicopter also had a reputation for being easily gunned down. The Mil Mi-1 was a Soviet-made light utility chopper with three or four seats. This was a Combat incident. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor chopper that was developed by Vetrol and built by Boeing Vertol. I followed footsteps. Loach crews were equipped with small arms and returned fire as they fled. The Hughes OH-6A Cayuse, was designed for use as a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) nicknamed LOACH, military scout during the Vietnam war to meet the U.S. Armys need for an extremely maneuverable observation helicopter. Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Lt. Col. Four troop-carrying Hueys (called a Blue Team) often sat idle somewhere nearby, ready to insert troops if the Pink Team discovered an interesting targetor were shot down and needed rescuing. In 1966 it entered military service with the US Army. Fewer than 2,000 of the type were produced though the original went on to spawn a plethora of viable performers including the Hughes 500 "Defender" and the special forces-minded MH-6 "Little Bird". 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. These helicopters were mostly used for observation, reconnaissance, utility, and for providing combat support. [22] All American rotorcraft in the theatre had to be operated more cautiously following this development. Jim Kanes Vietnam tour abruptly ended one day in February 1971. The OH-6 was largely removed from active U.S. Army service in favor of the Kiowa, but modified versions of the helicopter flew with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as the MH-6C Little Bird as late as 2008. When Chuck Gross left for Vietnam in 1970, he was a nineteen-year-old army helicopter pilot fresh out of flight school. I still have scars on my legsit was terrifying. [23][22] Such a team would have normally comprised a single OH-6 that would fly relatively slow and at a low altitude while attempting to spot the presence of enemies. Fitted with 1x 253-shp Allison T63-A-5A turboshaft, 4 bladed main rotor, and an offset "V" tail. . But even that armament combined with the Cobra escort couldnt keep them safe. Date: 03/25/1970 which many are taken will be available from our shop to In addition, an M60D 7.62mm machine gun could be mounted in the front port (left) or rear starboard (right) door openings. See Also: How Much Does a Huey Helicopter Cost? Upon returning to the United States, he established a career in the construction industry and settled in rural Sierra City, California. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 Vietnam Helicopters Museum. The Marine Corp used it for the sea-based interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1972. Due to its designation LOH (Light Observation Helicopter), pilots and crew nicknamed this helicopter LOACH. Heavy Attack Helicopters 2. Front left side view of the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse helicopter; color, Right side view of the Hughes OH-6 Loach in flight; color. Shop | Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. The North Vietnamese deployed hundreds of the missiles, and from then on, both hunter and killer tried to stay well hidden. Armed with a 40mm grenade launcher in a nose turret, and two 19-tube 2.75 inch rocket launchers, the "OH-6C" was ready to take on anything. This story is a selection from the September issue of Air & Space magazine, Donald Porter These rotorcraft were operated by several different organisations, the majority of which were based in Japan.
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