loach helicopter vietnam

Kawasaki Heavy Industries produced 387 OH-6D Cayuses under license in Japan. We were about ready to call in tactical air support to blow up the wrecked ship when another Cobra took a lot of fire. [24][25] As to indicate the position of concealed enemy ground forces, the observer in the OH-6 would mark the spot using a smoke grenade, assisting other units in effectively firing upon them. ", FAI Record ID #11656 Absolute Rotorcraft World Record, Distance over a closed circuit without landing, FAI Record ID #11655 Absolute Rotorcraft World Record, Distance without landing, Obituary: Robert G. Ferry; Air Force veteran was record-setting test pilot, "In Vietnam, These Helicopter Scouts Saw Combat Up Close", "Jane's Aircraft Upgrades, MD Helicopters (Hughes) Model 500 (Military Versions)", "Dominican Republic Air Force Unit History", "Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force OH-6J", "Breda Nardi Hughes NH.500M in Armed Forces of Malta service", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hughes_OH-6_Cayuse&oldid=1133333304, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 07:46. 605th transportation Company (Direct Support): Nov . Tough Mission LOACH Chopper Vietnam - YouTube As of 2021, these records still stand. We operated from fixed bases that were islands, if you will, of allied control, says Hugh Mills, who flew both Loaches and Cobras in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972, and went on to fly helicopters for the Kansas City Police Department. 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. Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/18/2017 | Content www.MilitaryFactory.com Its four-bladed full-articulated main rotor made it particularly agile, and it was suitable for personnel transport, escort and attack missions, and observation. Hughes 500M: Military export version of OH-6 in mid-1970s with upgraded 278-shp Allison 250-C18 turboshaft engine, "V" tail. The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse was the fourth line of tandem rotor helicopters developed by Piasecki Helicopters. How a Vietnam War Helicopter Pilot Captured a POW With His Civil War Nate Shaffer and Bruce Campbell at their assigned positions. Contact | The-21C was extensively used by the US Army to transport troops and supplies. . 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. The killer role persists. In the event of a crash the tailboom and engine separate from the egg-like cabin, improving the survival chances of the crew and passengers. Over time, the effectiveness of this pairing was such that enemies would often decide against firing on the relatively vulnerable OH-1 in fear of the response that would be unleased by the AH-1. and Images on this page are gathered from various sources. Pilots called this helicopter as the Loach. The prototype first flew in early 1963, and production began two years later. The Vietnam War saw the extensive use of helicopters, though were mostly by the United States military. [5] Accordingly, the bidding for the LOH contract came down to Fairchild-Hiller and Hughes. 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). Late in the war, the HH-43 was also deployed for short overland search and rescue missions. article/image or apply full credit information. We got hit by incendiary .51-caliber rounds, and the phosphorus ignited the Cobras hydraulic fluid. Tough Mission LOACH Chopper Vietnam - YouTube 0:00 / 5:15 Intro Tough Mission LOACH Chopper Vietnam Chopperguy 15.4K subscribers Subscribe 1.1K 53K views 1 year ago We fly with Low Level. The UH, nicknamed Huey is a utility military chopper that was used for troop and cargo transport, medical evacuation, and sometimes for military purposes. During 1966, the OH-6 entered service with the U.S. Army, it promptly arrived into active combat in the Vietnam War. Moore served as an Army OH-6A "Loach" scout in IV Corps, South Vietnam, 1968-1969: Fort Apache, Vihn Long Province. The LOH program opened the floor to several companies to come up with their own designs. The small "egg-shaped" design and simplified rotorhead incorporated four rotor blades of constant chord, made of bonded light alloy. [2] The pilot was provisioned with excellent external visibility via its large plexiglass windscreen, while its four-bladed fully-articulated main rotor meant it was considerably more agile than the preceding H-13 Sioux. The Cayuse (white) was used alongside the AH-1 Cobra (red) attack helicopters, forming (pink) hunter killer teams. It was used to look for and find the VC/NVA troops in Vietnam. The Seasprite was an anti-submarine and anti-surface helicopter that had over-the-horizon targeting facilities. 79th Transportation Company: Jun 70 Jul 70 While they were circling the wreckage, enemy rounds hit their ship. The Sea Knight is a medium left-tandem rotor helicopter used for transport. [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. The Loach's main role was reconnaisance and observation. The 'Loach' was one of the riskiest helicopter assignments in Vietnam Logan Nye Updated December 07, 2022 09:30:25 While barely any American helicopters served in World War II and few flew in Korea, Vietnam was a proving ground for many airframes everything from the venerable Huey to Chinooks sporting huge guns. The 'Loach' was one of the riskiest helicopter assignments in Vietnam The OH-6A replaced the Korean era OH-13 Sioux and OH-23 Raven light observation helicopters. Disclaimer Photographs For other AH-6 and MH-6 variants, see MH-6 Little Bird and Boeing AH-6. In support of the Helicopter Flight Mechanics syllabus, the USNTPS operates surplus Army OH-6B Helicopters which were refurbished by the Army National Guard, Gulfport, Mississippi in 1991. In some areas, Purple Teamsone Loach and two Cobraswere also common, as were other variations.) It was pretty hairy, and we got the hell out of there. But Boucher got a rush from the missions, and stayed six months beyond what was required of a draftee. The Mil Mi-8 is a Soviet medium twin-turbine helicopter. On the night of 5-6 December 1972, the remaining helicopter deployed a wiretap near Vinh, Vietnam; useful information provided from this wiretap was acted on by the United States on several occasions, such as during the Linebacker II campaign and Paris Peace Talks. Light Attack Helicopters 3. By the end of the war, the Loachs replacement was imminent. During 1960, the United States Army issued Technical Specification 153 for a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) capable of fulfilling various roles on the battlefield, including personnel transport, escort, casualty evacuation, observation, and attack missions. The architects of the task force identified the need for a small helicopter to land in the most restrictive locations and that was also easily transported on Air Force transport aircraft. Possible mast-mounted sight. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization EIN 45-4703737We Fly for Our Veterans!. Each time we went out, we got shot at. Vietnam OH-6A "Cayuse" Helicopter The OH-6A made its first flight in 1963. But the Vietnam War was unlike any previous American conflict; there were few real definable frontlines, and combatants needed to know what was happening all around them, all the time. What was a loach helicopter? - Quora The Cobra is a single-engine attack helicopter produced by Bell Helicopter as a primary attack helicopter in the Vietnam War for aerial assaults or as air cavalry. Hughes bid $56,550 per airframe, while Bell bid $54,200. Vietnam Helicopters Museum - OH-6A "Cayuse" Helicopter s/n 66-07841 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". Shaffer, 63, rode in the military helicopter as a door gunner with Charlie Troop 1/9th, 1st Air Cavalry while . 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. However, the choppers frame ensured the crewmen within remained safe. Served in Vietnam War during 1968 through 1970. [26], During 1972, a pair of heavily modified OH-6As were utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) via Air America for a covert wire-tapping mission. During the testing phase, it became clear the Bell prototype was underpowered, so it was dropped. The type was born from the US Army Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program (which provided its "Loach" nickname) and ultimately proved an excellent helicopter system seeing only limited service in the inventories of several American allies worldwide. The Huskie was used by the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps. Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (Loach) - Military Factory Another such gunner was 19-year-old Joel Boucher, drafted and sent to Vietnam from 1967 to 1969. Other Army pilots, most of whom flew Cobras or Hueys, thought of Loach pilots as a little offbeat. While the already-produced OH-6 Cayuses were being deployed to Vietnam in 1967, production costs were beginning to rise. 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. Historical Snapshot: OH-6 Cayuse/Hughes 500 Helicopter It was a joy to fly. Kane, who today sells securities in Richmond, Virginia, flew AH-1s in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971. This was a Combat incident. Unlike its troop-carrying ancestors, a Cobra was like a World War II fighter, says Jim Kane, who arrived in Vietnam fresh out of Purdue University. 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. Missions began every day at dawn, when crews were briefed on where to fly and what to look for. 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. [19][20][21], In December 1967, the first OH-6As arrived in Vietnam. Systems damaged were: COMM SYS, STRUCTURE, INSTRUMENTS, PERSONNEL On the night of 56 December 1972, the remaining helicopter deployed a wiretap near Vinh, Vietnam; useful information provided from this wiretap was acted on by the United States on several occasions, such as during the Linebacker II campaign and Paris Peace Talks. [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. The U.S. Army began to use Bell OH-13 Sioux and Hiller OH-23 Raven helicopters, once artillery spotters, to scout ahead of UH-1D Huey formations in the moments before air assaults to gather information about landing zones and enemy locations. The OH-6 Cayuse was built with a rugged structure covered in light aluminum. The Bell Model 206 is a line of both single and twin-engined helicopters with two primary rotor blades. The Huey descended gingerly into a clearing smaller than its main rotor diameter, the aircrafts rotor blades chopping tree limbs as it descended. Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. 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. He is proud of his service, which involved a great deal of combat, but has concluded that U.S. involvement in Vietnam was a mistake.

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