Bell AH-1 HueyCobra / Cobra

History of Bell AH-1 HueyCobra / Cobra

While the helicopter had developed into a viable battlefield during World War II (1939-1945), its service was not firmly established until the Korean War (1950-1953). The Vietnam War (1955-1975) was only to encourage its use, for which air transport is now being developed as an "air cavalry" platform that can transport combat-ready infantry to and from hotspots as needed. However, as helicopters got closer to enemy positions (and thus exposed to enemy fire), it was deemed appropriate to arm these types with appropriate weapons, a move that gave rise to the "gunship" helicopter.

The legendary American helicopter of the Vietnam War is the Bell UH-1 "Huey" series, still in service today (2014).

Arming the UH-1 was only a temporary solution, as it lacked adequate crew protection and required battlefield survivability. This forced American helicopter manufacturers to develop more specialized attack helicopter concepts, leading Bell Helicopter to pursue the D-255 "Iroquois Scout" in 1962. The design includes a chin-mounted 40mm automatic grenade launcher, a ventral 20mm cannon and a wing-mounted missile/rocket launcher. The two worked side by side to help lift the thinnest front profile to create a harder target to hit by ground fire. The U.S.

Army liked what it saw and placed an order for further development at the end of the year. An early test bed for the concept was born as a modified Bell 47, which in its final form became the Type 207. The first flight was in July 1963.

The US Marine Corps needed a similar attack helicopter system, so took an interest in the Cobra and evaluated the AH-1G model for its own purposes. This led to the order of 49 AH-1J "SeaCobra" twin-engine helicopters in 1968 - the main difference being the installation of 1,800 hp Pratt & Whitney Canada T400-WV-402 turboshafts - twin PT6 turboshafts powered by a single transmission system . The chin turret (M197) houses a Gatling-style 20mm cannon, in contrast to the combined turret on the US Army mount.

This design eventually led to the greatly improved AH-1W SuperCobra series.

While the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne program faltered and eventually died, the Bell Huey Cobra's performance in the Vietnam conflict left a lasting legacy. It became a staple of the U.S. Army and U.S.

Marine Corps over the next few decades, and continued to be deployed during the 1980s (Grenade, Panama) and 1990s (Operation Desert Storm, Haiti, Somalia). The AH-56 losses were somewhat mitigated by the arrival of the Hughes AH-64 "Apache" line -- a truly dedicated Cold War counter-weapon solution -- a line that helped reduce the Army's commitment to AH- 1 forward dependency. The USMC still prefers their AH-1 and chooses to continuously upgrade the model to meet the demands of the modern battlefield (the aforementioned AH-1W "Super Cobra" and the modern AH-1Z "Viper" are such products).

Former Army AH-1s were passed on to U.S. allies around the world, while some were retained by U.S. government fire departments.

The effectiveness of the AH-1 in a wartime environment helped increase its value as an export, and a select team eventually brought the type into stock - Bahrain, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain (as "Z. 14"), Thailand and Turkey.

The Israeli AH-1 was eventually replaced in time by the AH-64 (and served with the Israeli Air Force), while the Japanese AH-1S model was built under license from Fuji Heavy Industries between 1984 and 2000.

Overall, there are few variants after the initial Bell 209 prototype and the first AH-1G production models. The 1973 AH-1Q became a makeshift anti-tank model to support the TOW anti-tank missile system and improved cockpit armament. About 92 AH-1G models were converted to the Q standard. The AH-1S brand is the AH-1Q and is equipped with a new T53-L-703 series turboshaft engine, 1800 shaft horsepower, with improved "hot and high" performance, considered a weakness of the previous brand.

The AH-1S branding brought a series of incremental changes, culminating in four distinct sub-variants - AH-1 (MC), AH-1S (MOD), AH-1P and AH-1E. The QAH-1S became the modified target drone airframe. The AH-1P introduced a glass cockpit, improved low-altitude flight, and a composite-based rotor assembly. The AH-1E brought a greatly improved weapons system, including the M197 20mm triple chin cannon. The AH-1F is a modernized Cobra with the addition of the P and E variants and the introduction of a laser rangefinder, infrared jamming equipment, more digital dependencies and a head-up display (HUD) in the cockpit.

The total production of HueyCobra/Cobra is 1,116 examples.

Twin-engine variants have evolved along their own lineages beyond the original AH-1J "SeaCobra", including the AH-1T "Improved SeaCobra", AH-1W "SuperCobra" and AH-1Z "Viper". The Super Cobra first flew in 1969 and was introduced to the U.S. Marine Corps in 1971. In total, more than 1,270 examples of this line were built.

The final Cobra attack form was the Viper, which only entered USMC service in 2010.

Bell AH-1 HueyCobra / Cobra Specification

BASICS

MANUFACTURING

ROLES

DIMENSIONS

WEIGHTS

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

VARIANTS