Page 158 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

What was inside

a Huey? Fire support Troop transport

While the early UH-1 model had
Hueys often came with
their own door gunner; a space for just six soldiers in the
main hold, UH-1B upgrades
single soldier positioned featured an extended fuselage
in the back of the craft to with room for up to 15 GIs.
Take a look at one of the most versatile and provide fi re support.
recognisable vehicles from the Vietnam War

mong the most iconic vehicles of
American operations in Vietnam was the
Amulti-functional Bell UH-1 Iroquois
helicopter, better known as Huey. With a fl exible
design, the helicopter was constantly adapted as
a rapid troop transport, medevac, supply
transport, as well as a gunship. In Vietnam, the
American forces were able to strike deep into Cockpit
enemy territory using Hueys, which had an A relatively small cockpit not only
kept the Hueys lightweight, but
effective range of up to 510 kilometres (317 miles).
also allowed more room for
Parachute drops were hardly ever used during passengers and cargo.
the entire war, mainly due to the hazards of
dropping men over thick jungle. Helicopters, on
the other hand, were able to deploy units more
precisely in designated clearings.
At the Battle of Ia Drang (1965), Hueys were
used to drop US troops within Viet Cong
territory, but due to the sheer number of soldiers
required for the operation, the transports had to
make multiple trips between the landing zone

and their base. Once the fight began, many of the
vehicles then turned to re-supply and
evacuation missions as casualties mounted and
ammunition ran low. The versatility of the
Huey’s simple fuselage, its wide doors and large
flat base, proved ideal for housing either injured

troops or crates of supplies. Landing skids
However, many Hueys had little to no The Huey had twin skids
armament, making them ideal targets for Viet under its fuselage, each fi xed

Cong fighters. Over 1,000 were lost during the in two places, making it ideal
war, either through accident or enemy attacks, for takeoff and landing on
though many of the craft also came diffi cult surfaces.
armed. Door gunners equipped with Huey helicopters prepare
either carbines or mounted medium to transport troops during Here a UH-1D is
machine guns were often Operation Wahiawa, pictured during
South Vietnam
the Battle of Ia
positioned in the hold, poised to Drang in 1965
defend the Huey or provide fi re
support for troops below. Later
versions of the Huey also came
loaded with 30-calibre
machine guns and even rocket
pods, with which they could
assault enemies on the ground.
During its lifetime, more than
16,000 Bell UH-1 models were
produced, with 7,000 seeing active
service between 1955-1976. Many are
still used today by military and
civilian organisations worldwide.

158 How It Works