Helicopters began proving their worth over Korea in the s, but it was over Indochina that a new generation of rotary-winged aircraft became an indispensable military asset.
Vertical takeoff and landing capabilities allowed soldiers to be rushed to the jungles, valleys and hilltops. The copters were equally adept at extracting troops when the operation was completed. Their ability to evacuate the wounded and swiftly convey them to a medical facility was the difference between life and death for tens of thousands of casualties. As the war expanded, specialized helicopters were developed for a variety of tasks.
Almost a third of this total , were combat casualties. The Huey airlifted ninety percent of these casualties directly to medical facilities.
Advances in medical technology and the medevac helicopter reduced that number to twenty-six percent during the war in Korea. In Vietnam, the percentage of soldiers who died from wounds sustained in combat fell to nineteen percent, about a twenty-five percent drop from the Korean War fatality rate. Perhaps a more compelling statistic is the total numbers of people transported by medevac helicopters, nearly , in Vietnam compared to 17, in Korea. A final statistic to consider is the number of soldiers who died from their wounds after reaching medical facilities.
During the war in Vietnam, this figure actually rose by. This in no way reflects poorly on the medical care that soldiers received in Vietnam, but on the contrary, it highlights the speed and dedication of medevac crews to move even the most critical patients from battlefield to hospital. These brave crews gave the wounded a chance not available in past conflicts.
Hueys have served in every branch of the American military and 34 other nations as well. More UH-1H Hueys were built than any other helicopter subtype. More than 5, were built before production ended in Only a few other American aircraft have ever become so prized.
Bell and its licensees built more than 16, helicopters in the Huey family, including the Huey Cobra gunship variant Cobras used the same rotors, engine, and transmission system as the UH These figures put the Huey series second, behind the Consolidated B Liberator, as the most-produced American military aircraft in history.
Today, several hundred Huey helicopters remain in active service in the U. Army, Army National Guard, with the U. Marines and the U. Air Force, as well as several foreign countries. The Huey can be added to the small list of aircraft that have remained in active military service for more than three decades. This aircraft, U. Army serial number , began its military career as a brand new UH-1D accepted by the Army in October It remained in Company A for ten months before the Army transferred the helicopter to Headquarters Company, 11th Aviation Battalion, where it served through June as Smokey III, a name given to the aircraft by its crew.
These particular Hueys were fitted with a device that produced dense smoke by spraying oil into the exhaust system. The smoke screened friendly helicopters from the enemy. For example, as troop transports approached an LZ, a Smokey would fly very low, producing smoke, between the LZ and known or suspected enemy positions. The operation worked best when the smoke was deployed low and slow.
This made flying the smoke ships an especially risky mission. They had made it to cover at the edge of the clearing. Farris had his hands full. He had twelve more ships to get in and unloaded. Then the pilot of Yellow Three called.
He was still alive, but he thought his partner was dead. His crew chief and gunner looked dead, too. He could still fly. Two gunships immediately dove down to escort him out, machine guns blazing. It was a wonderful sight to see from a distance. Only Yellow One remained on the ground. She sat, radios quiet, still running. There was room behind her to bring in the rest of the assault.
A grunt who found himself still alive got to a radio. The UH-1 makes an appearance as the transport helicopter for the bomb in To the Rig. It is seen once more flying the bomb off the oil rig in Oil Rig Confrontation. The "Huey" Helicopter is the main American helicopter in Black Ops , featuring in almost every other mission.
Finally, Mason and other SOG operatives fly several helicopters against Russian defenses on board the Rusalka before Mason's is shot down. In multiplayer, it is used as the Chopper Gunner killstreak for all factions.
Unlike the Chopper Gunner from Modern Warfare 2 , the player uses a minigun from the door of the helicopter. It can be shot down with one missile, however, it has a set of flares, so the M72 LAW and Strela-3 require two missiles, unless the former is free-fired. It makes its first appearance campaign appearance dropping off the team in Vietnam in Welcome To The Jungle.
Another is seen later picking up the team from Vietnam in Last Heli Out.
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