In August 1967, the AH-1G Cobra arrived in Vietnam. I was used to getting up close and personal with the enemy.. 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. Hughes developed the Model 369 as a prototype for the U.S. Army in the early 1960s. A Troop, 7th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division: Aug 70 Feb 72 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. The-21C was extensively used by the US Army to transport troops and supplies. The Cayuse . You had a couple of flights in the Huey, then you rode front seat in a Cobra, scout pilot Allan Krausz recounts. An Army article written after Johns seventh crash credited it with surviving 61 hits from enemy fire and seven crashes without losing a single crew member. But the Army decided that it would be more prudent to keep the unit in order to be prepared for future contingencies. In 1965, the concept of helicopter-borne fighting forces was still new and largely untested, and units in Vietnam invented tactics on the spot. [28][29], The pilots selected to fly the OH-6A helicopters came from the 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion and were sent to the Mississippi Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) at Gulfport, Mississippi, for two weeks of qualification training in the rotorcraft. Due to its unique shape, the Loach was given the nickname . Nate Shaffer has restored a Hughes OH-6A Cayuse helicopter. In addition, an M60D 7.62mm machine gun could be mounted in the front port (left) or rear starboard (right) door openings. Nate Shaffer and Bruce Campbell at their assigned positions. [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. Stepping away from her academic career, Samantha previously worked as a Heritage Researcher and now writes content for multiple sites covering an array of historical topics. Contact | https://warandlifediscussions.weebly.com/Any veteran who served in any combat zone in any capacity is invited to contact Preston Jones: pjones@jbu.edu / (479) 524-7488 A recontoured nose allowed for greater leg and head room. 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. While its light aluminum skin could be easily penetrated by small arms fire, it also crumpled and absorbed energy in a crash while the rugged structure protected key systems and its crew; even though the OH-6 was relatively difficult to shoot down, its occupants would often survive forced landings that would have likely been fatal onboard other rotorcraft. The small "egg-shaped" design and simplified rotorhead incorporated four rotor blades of constant chord, made of bonded light alloy. Its first overseas deployment, as well as into frontline combat, was the Vietnam War. MD-500E/MD-500MG/Defender II: Had a more elongated nose for streamlining, and an optional 4x blade tail rotor for reduced acoustic signatures. 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. We were combat trackers, says Mills. The Hughes OH-6 "Cayuse" (popularly recognized as the "Loach") was a revolutionary light helicopter mount primarily in service with the United States Army and saw combat service during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The AH-1 is sometimes affectionately referred to as the Huey Cobra or The Snake. The Hughes 369 was redesignated the OH-6A "Cayuse" by the U.S. Army. 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. During May 1965, the U.S. Army awarded the production contract to Hughes. Light Attack Helicopters 3. Missions began every day at dawn, when crews were briefed on where to fly and what to look for. Within that same year, help was on the way. Pilot sold separately. Joint Services Incident Damage Report. Cobra Gunship, Huey and Loach OH-6 Members of C Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry dedicated an OH-6 Loach Scout helicopter flown by their unit during the Vietnam War The helicopter was hit in the Left Side The helicopter made a Forced Landing. Overtop of the fuselage was the OH-6s single engine, attached to a four-blade main rotor assembly. [8][9], A total of 387 OH-6/Hughes 369s were produced under license in Japan by the Japanese aerospace company Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its four-bladed full-articulated main rotor made it particularly agile, and it was suitable for personnel transport, escort and attack missions, and observation. The enemy was moving toward us when a [command and control] ship picked us up. Graphics are very well done, the whole model is very well done. Date: 02/08/1969 The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter that was designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Hughes developed the Model 369 as a prototype for the U.S. Army in the early 1960s. Development included test and training flights in Culver City, California (Hughes Airport) and at Area 51 in 1971. Hughes bid $56,550 per airframe, while Bell bid $54,200. In one particular clandestine incident in 1972, known as the Vinh wiretap, a pair of OH-6As were heavily modified and used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) via Air America was used to infiltrate Vietnamese high level communications, providing valuable intelligence. [17] On 26 March 1966, Jack Schwiebold set the closed circuit distance record in a YOH-6A at Edwards Air Force Base, California, flying without landing for 1,739.96mi (2,800.20km). Crews trained side by side with the 160th for all operational concepts. 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. 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. We got into another aircraft and went back out. Donald Porter September 2017 Pilot Clyde. The four-passenger teardrop shaped "Flying egg" (six-passenger with rear seats folded-down) was a small, light, sturdy, maneuverable helicopter, with very low drag. The Sea Stallion is a variant of the Jolly Green Giant, but its used only for sea transport. This helicopter was REPAIRED IN THEATER Underneath, a fixed twin-skid undercarriage was supported at two separate points. History. The flames covered my boots and lower legs. It had no hydraulic system and its electrical setup was used primarily to start up the enginesimple even by 1960s standards, which for practical purposes meant it was easier to maintain and harder to shoot down than other helicopters. The task force, which had been designated as Task Force 158, was soon formed into the 160th Aviation Battalion. Accordingly, the U.S. Army's fixed-wing airplane, the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, which was utilized for artillery observation and reconnaissance flights, would be replaced by the incoming OH-6A. Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. Late in the war, the HH-43 was also deployed for short overland search and rescue missions. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Date: 03/25/1970 [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. Some of them were able to tell how large a force was and how recently it had passed. 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. While they were circling the wreckage, enemy rounds hit their ship. The AH-1J SeaCobra was used later in the later stages of the Vietnam war. Anthony comes from a military family and has served his country proudly in the military as a pilot. (He later transferred to the Air Force and flew F-4 Phantoms, and eventually became an airline captain.) Reportedly, 964 out of the 1,422 OH-6As produced for the U.S. Army were destroyed in Vietnam alone. In the event of a crash the tailboom and engine separate from the egg-like . Can a Helicopter Fly to the Top of Mount Everest. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work. The SeaCobra was a twin-engine attack helicopter that was developed from the single-engine AH-1 Cobra helicopter. We got hit by incendiary .51-caliber rounds, and the phosphorus ignited the Cobras hydraulic fluid. [5] Accordingly, the bidding for the LOH contract came down to Fairchild-Hiller and Hughes. 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". The Army initially ordered 1,438 Hughes Model 369s, designated by the Army as the OH-6A Cayuse helicopters. Hughes 500M: Military export version of OH-6 in mid-1970s with upgraded 278-shp Allison 250-C18 turboshaft engine, "V" tail. The Bell OH-58 Kiowa was an entire line of military helicopters with a single engine and a single rotor. Multi-Mission Helicopters 6. Initially fielded in Vietnam in early 1968, the Hughes OH-6A was used for command and control, observation, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. Mills, who served two tours in Loaches and one in Cobras, was shot down 16 timesall but once in OH-6s. 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. During the Vietnam War, it was mostly deployed for aerial combat and for conducting rescue operations in areas close to US Air bases. The OH-6A could be armed with the M27 armament subsystem, the M134 six-barrel 7.62mm minigun or the M129 40mm grenade launcher on the XM8 armament subsystem. [18] Subsequently, on 6 April 1966, Robert Ferry set the long distance world record for helicopters by flying from Culver City, California, with over a ton of fuel to Ormond Beach, Florida, covering a total of 1,923.08 nm (2,213.04mi, 3,561.55km) in 15 hours, and near the finish at up to 24,000 feet (7,300m) altitude. The Model 369 had a distinctive teardrop-shaped fuselage that had strong crashworthiness properties and provided excellent external visibility. The small-arms protection aircrewmen armor that was introduced in 1966 was a vest with pockets containing composite laminated plates commonly called chicken plates. [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. I could tell how old a footprint was by how it looked. During the testing phase, it became clear the Bell prototype was underpowered, so it was dropped. The shelf life of a scout pilot was probably six months. 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. Vietnam War Era Hughes OH-6 Loach Helicopter 60,632 views Mar 30, 2013 327 Dislike Share Save Steve1958OR 221 subscribers A friend came by with his restored US Army Loach OH-6 helicopter. Ive seen them, whites of the eyes, and theyve seen me, whites of the eyes. Following a contentious selection process that included allegations of industrial espionage and political favoritism, the first Hughes OH-6A observation helicopters arrived in Vietnam in December 1967. Total flight hours at this point: 00000265 I went up in a Loach with an M60 machine gun to get used to firing the weapon. 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. Jim Kanes Vietnam tour abruptly ended one day in February 1971. The OH-6A would find targets by flying low, trolling for fire, and lead in a Cobra, or Snake, to attack. 2 Stinger AAM. The OH-6A was powered by a single Allison T63-A-5A 285 shp turboshaft engine, and had a cruising speed of 144 mph (125 knots). 2 .50 cal MG pods When the opposing forces exposed themselves, the crew would call upon an accompanying Bell AH-1 Cobra to attack. He recalls: 360 degrees around you was enemy territory, and the ability to work with American and [South Vietnamese] units on the ground really required aviation to be able to look eye to eye to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Loach-Cobra pairings were sent out more and more frequently, until their main role was to gather general intelligence rather than prepare landing zones.