AH-1 HueyCobra: The First Dedicated Gunship

The AH-1 HueyCobra came into existence due to a United States Army need for a dedicated helicopter gunship for use during the Vietnam War. Throughout the war Army aviation had been using the UH-1 Iroquois, popularly known as the Huey, as a platform for conversion to gunship.

The Huey had proven itself as an effective platform for a gunship; the combination of two heavily armed door gunners alongside rocket pods and miniguns on stub racks made for a deadly battlefield support unit. At its heart; however, the Huey was always a transport chopper and the fleet suffered increased fatigue and weight issues, especially the earlier models.

To give an example a UH-1B gunship, fully loaded, would often have issues taking off vertically. The increased weight coupled with the muggy air common to the wetter regions of Vietnam necessitated a running take-off; the Huey would literally have to fly down the runway at speed, its skids skimming the concrete below, in order to gain enough lift to get airborne.

Bell, the manufacturer of the Huey, had made an early attempt at a dedicated helicopter gunship and was awarded a ‘proof of concept’ contract in 1962. The helicopter, the Model 207, was called the Sioux Scout and impressed the U.S Army but was ultimately disregarded being far too underpowered and fragile for intense combat. The failure of the Scout lead to the U.S Army launching a competition for a new gunship in which Bell was not invited to participate. Instead Bell launched a new in-house development of the Model 209 which married parts from the UH-1C with elements of the Sioux Scout.

By 1965 the Vietnam War was intensifying and the need for a new gunship was becoming all the more apparent. The U.S Army competition was set to end in ‘65 but had failed to produce a result. Subsequently the Army reached out to several contractors hoping for a quick solution and within 8 months Bell had produced a fully working prototype of the Model 209. In ‘66 Bell won a production contract and, hoping to capitalise on the popularity of the Huey, named the Model 209 the HueyCobra. The U.S Army gave the gunship a new designation, AH-1 with the ‘A’ standing for Attack, the ‘U’ in UH-1 stands for Utility by the way.

Because of the parts commonality between the UH-1 Huey and the AH-1 HueyCobra the Army considered the new Cobra gunships an evolution of the Huey line. Thus the first production model of the Cobra was designated in full the AH-1G following after the UH-1F. The Cobra was quite impressive; it was fast, agile and very narrow making it harder to hit head on, tandem seating in a large glass canopy gave excellent views for both the pilot and the gunner.

The cornerstone of the AH-1 was, of course, its armament. Mounted in a nose turret the Cobra held a 7.62mm (0.3”) Gatling gun that was capable of chewing through enemy fortifications and devastating troops; the Gatling gun was soon joined by a 40mm grenade launcher mounted alongside it in the nose. The Cobra also featured wing stubs for carrying a variety of rocket pods and warheads for even more firepower. After trails and upgrading the AH-1Q Cobra would also begin carrying TOW missile launchers for anti-armour roles.

During the Vietnam War over 1,000 Cobras were produced and served across Vietnam fulfilling a variety of mission roles including ground support and escorting of other helicopters. The U.S Marine Corps became very interested in the AH-1 and in 1968 placed an order for a twin-engine variant which would become the Super Cobra; today the modern equivalent of the Super Cobra is still in service with the USMC.

The AH-1 Cobra gunship would become the mainstay gunship of U.S Army aviation for the next 3 decades. The helicopter would see service during the 1983 invasion of Grenada, Operation Urgent Fury, and the 1989 invasion of Panama, Operation Just Cause. But the Cobra fleet began to wind down operations during the 1990’s as it was phased out in favour of the AH-64 Apache.

During Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield (1990-1991) the U.S Army AH-1 fleet was used primarily in a scouting role as the Apache was given the bulk of offensive missions. Still, the AH-1 fleet, both Army and USMC, destroyed hundreds of Iraqi vehicles as they roved the desert skies. The Cobra fleet was called on again during 1993 in Operation Restore Hope, Somalia and again during the 1994 invasion of Haiti. In 1999 the U.S Army placed their AH-1 fleet into reserve and fully retired them in 2001. Many were offered to NATO partners, Israel while some were stripped off weaponry and converted for use by the USDA Forestry Service.

The AH-1 also found itself a successful export market; the single engine variant was exported to Bahrain, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and Turkey. Of all of those only Spain has retired their AH-1 fleet.

Now, I think it is worth going into a little detail about the various upgrades the Cobra has undergone during its lifespan. The U.S Army were anything but consistent with their designations as you’ll see and once I get around to posting my Cobra build you’ll also see why this is necessary.

• AH-1G (Early): The first Cobra model featured a single 7.62mm Gatling gun in the turret and a tail rotor on the port side of the tail.
• AH-1G (Late): The late ‘Golf’ model had an upgraded armament in the form of a 40mm grenade launcher mounted alongside the Gatling gun in the turret. The tail rotor was switched to the starboard side and the exhaust nozzle was replaced with a scoop, sometimes referred to as a sugar-scoop or toilet bowel.
• AH-1Q: The ‘Quebec’ model featured various upgrades allowing it to use TOW missile launchers, part of the upgrade package included a new stabilised sight fitted to the nose.
• AH-1S: The ‘Quebec’ model proved to be underpowered and thus required further upgrades resulting in the ‘Sierra’ model. The ‘Sierra’ was fitted with a new powerful engine, a tail mounted RWR and extra scoops over the intakes.
• AH-1P: The ‘Papa’ model resulted in some dynamic changes to the Cobra, most importantly a new canopy; the new flat-plate canopy was designed to reduce the shine and glint from the helicopter. The avionics and flight systems were upgraded and over half of the ‘Papa’ models were fitted with new rotor blades.
• AH-1E: The ‘Echo’ designation was applied to the AH-1S\AH-1P’s that underwent the ‘Enhanced Cobra Armament System’ (ECAS) upgrade package. The upgrade package resulted in the nose turret armament being replaced with a three barrel 20mm cannon. Wire cutters were also fitted above and below the cockpit.
• AH-1F: The ‘Foxtrot’ model is the definitive single engine Cobra gunship. The AH-1F was fitted with a new HUD, a redesigned cylindrical exhaust with a better IR suppressor, a new IR Jammer, a laser warner system and an air data sensor. The ‘Foxtrot’ model was also the most widely exported.

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As an aside; I’m wondering what people think about the non-build, informative posts? Are they helpful, informative or interesting? Let me know through the comments section and thank you.