 A Russian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter. An attack helicopter is a military helicopter armed for attacking targets on the ground such as enemy infantry, armored vehicles and structures, using autocannon and machine-gun fire, rockets, and precision guided missiles such as the Hellfire. Many attack helicopters are also capable of carrying air to air missiles, though mostly for purposes of self-defense. Today's attack helicopter has two main roles: first, to provide direct and accurate close air support for ground troops, and second, to destroy enemy armored concentrations behind enemy lines. Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each having two or more rotor blades. ...
M242 Bushmaster autocannon on an M2 Bradley. ...
A . ...
A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program The traditional definition of a rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine. ...
Exocet missile in flight A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a projectile propelled as a weapon at a target. ...
AGM-114 Hellfire Type Air-To-Ground Missile Nationality United States Era Cold War Launch platform Helicopter, UAV Target armored vehicles History Builder Lockheed Martin Date of design Production period Service duration Operators See main text Variants See main text Number built Specifications Type Diameter 17. ...
History
Algerian War After the Korean War, a few farsighted military establishments began to examine the helicopter as a possible platform for use in ground attack. The French Army was one of the first military forces to modify and use helicopters in combat in a ground attack role during the Algerian War of 1954-62. In 1955, French field commanders placed infantry machine gunners in the stretcher panniers of their Bell 47 (Sioux H-13) casualty evacuation helicopters. The ad hoc gunships were used to reach FLN guerrilla positions on otherwise inaccessible mountain ridges and peaks, but were far too underpowered. Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Australia The Netherlands France Philippines Turkey Ethiopia Communist states: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung Il Kwon Douglas MacArthur Mark W. Clark Matthew Ridgway Kim Il-sung Choi...
Combatants FLN (1954-62) MNA (1954-62) France (1954-62) FAF (1960-61) OAS (1961-62) Commanders Ferhat Abbas Hocine Aït Ahmed Ahmed Ben Bella Krim Belkacem Larbi Ben MHidi Rabah Bitat Mohamed Boudiaf Messali Hadj Pierre Mendès-France General Jacques Massu General Maurice Challe Charles de...
Bell 47G Bell 47J Bell 47G in M*A*S*H paint scheme. ...
The National Liberation Front , (Arabic: Jabhat al-Taḩrīr al-Waţanī, French: Front de Libération Nationale aka FLN) is a socialist political party in Algeria. ...
In 1956, the French Air Force experimented with arming the Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw aka Sikorsky S-55, then being superseded in service by the more capable Piasecki CH-21 and Sikorsky CH-34 helicopters. The H-19 was originally fitted with two rocket launchers, and a 20-mm cannon, both mounted axially on the outside of the aircraft. Then, a 20-mm cannon, two 12.7-mm machine guns, and a 7.5-mm light machine gun were mounted to be fired from the cabin windows[1], but this load proved far too heavy, and even more lightly-armed H-19 gunships proved underpowered. Some Piasecki CH-21 helicopters were armed with fixed, forward-firing rockets and machine guns and a few even had racks for bombs, but the H-21 lacked the maneuverability and performance needed for offensive action. Most CH-21s in service were eventually fitted with a door-mounted 12.7- or 20-mm gun for self-defense only. The Sikorsky UH-19 Chickasaw (formerly known as H-19, outside the US by its manufacturers designation as S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army. ...
The H-21 Shawnee was the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki (later Boeing Vertol). ...
The Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw (also known as the Sikorsky S-58) was a military helicopter originally designed for the US Navy for service in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role. ...
The H-21 Shawnee was the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki (later Boeing Vertol). ...
The Sikorsky CH-34 was also modified into a gunship by the French Navy: standard armament comprised a MG 151 20-mm cannon firing from the cabin door, two 12.7-mm machine guns firing from the cabin windows to port, plus racks for 37 mm or 68 mm rockets. While the CH-34 was effective in the ground attack role, official evaluations at the time indicated that the CH-21 was more likely to survive multiple hits by ground fire than was the CH-34; this was assumed to be a consequence of the location and construction of the CH-34's fuel tanks. Nevertheless, by the close of the Algerian War, attack helicopters such as the CH-34 were being used in synchronized operations with troop-carrying CH-21 helicopters in large-scale counterinsurgency operations. The Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw (also known as the Sikorsky S-58) was a military helicopter originally designed for the US Navy for service in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role. ...
U.S. Army The U.S. Army began to employ helicopters built by Bell, Hiller, Sikorsky and Piasecki. At first, helicopters were used mainly as airborne ambulances, cargo carriers, and observation platforms, or as a rescue craft for picking up pilots downed in the sea or from otherwise inaccessible terrain. However, the U.S. and the United Kingdom soon began modifying existing helicopters as anti-submarine weapons (ASW) platforms, carrying depth bombs and Magnetic Anomaly Detector gear. After learning of French Army experiments, the U.S. Army modified Sikorsky and other larger helicopters with fixed and flexible-mount machine guns, rockets, and cannon. [verification needed] A Hedgehog depth charge launcher. ...
A RNZAF P-3K Orion; the magnetic anomaly dectector protrudes from the tail to minimise interference from the aircrafts avionics. ...
Vietnam and the Gunship
 Helicopters played an integral part in the U.S military's land and air operations. During the 1950s, with the increasing use of the helicopter for infantry transport, the U.S. saw a need for helicopters to be used as aerial artillery to provide fire suppression and ground support close to the battle. The first United States use of the attack helicopter in large-scale combat operations was during Vietnam. The U.S. Army took a UH-1 'Huey' and put machine guns and 2.75" Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) on struts parallel with the fuselage. With its more powerful turbine engine, the Huey UH-1C gunship configuration worked well, and saw considerable combat service in Vietnam. Image File history File links UH-1D_helicopters_in_Vietnam_1966. ...
Image File history File links UH-1D_helicopters_in_Vietnam_1966. ...
Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each having two or more rotor blades. ...
Although sometimes used as a generic term for any armed helicopters, the term Aerial Rocket Artillery (abbreviated ARA, and sometimes just called Aerial Artillery) refers specifically to the armed helicopter units which were organic to the division artillery of the United States Army’s two airmobile divisions during The Vietnam...
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, commonly known as the Huey, was a multipurpose military helicopter, famous for its use in the Vietnam war. ...
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, commonly known as the Huey, was a multipurpose military helicopter, famous for its use in the Vietnam war. ...
In the mid-1960s the U.S. Army concluded that a purpose-built gunship with more speed and firepower was required in the face of increasingly intense ground fire (often using heavy machine guns and anti-tank rockets) from Viet Cong and NVA troops. Based on this realization, and with the growing involvement in Vietnam, the U.S. Army developed the requirements for a dedicated attack helicopter, the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS). The aircraft would be able to hover out of ground effect (OGE) at 6000 feet (PA) and 95 degrees, with a 220 knot speed dash capability and carry a much larger payload of weapons. The aircraft design selected for this program in 1965, was the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne.[2] Categories: Possible copyright violations ...
However, the U.S. Army split its efforts between the acquisition of a dedicated attack helicopter, and the continued use of improvised interim aircraft (such as the UH-1B/C). So, that same year, a group of high-level officers met to evaluate several prototype versions of armed aircraft to determine which provided the most significant increase in capability to the UH-1B. The three highest-ranking aircraft out of the evaluation (Sikorsky S-61, Kaman UH-2, and Bell Huey Cobra) were selected to compete in flight trials conducted by the Aviation Test Activity. As a result, Bell's Huey Cobra was recommended to be the interim armed helicopter until the Cheyenne was fielded. On 13 April 1966, the U.S. Army awarded Bell Helicopter Company a production contract for 110 AH-1G Cobras.[2] The Cobra had a slender fuselage to make the aircraft a smaller target, increased armor protection, and greater speed. The Bell AH-1 Cobra, called the Huey Cobra, Cobra, Sea Cobra, Super Cobra, or Snake (depending on the model), is an attack helicopter, designed by Bell Helicopter Textron. ...
In 1967, the first AH-1Gs were deployed to Vietnam, around the same time that the Cheyenne successfully completed its first flight and initial flight evaluations. And while, the Cheyenne program suffered setbacks over the next few years due to design issues (a result of discrepancies in requirement documents during the contract process), the Cobra was establishing itself as an effective aerial weapons platform, even despite its performance shortcomings when compared to the AH-56[2] and design issues of its own. By 1972, when the Cheyenne program was eventually cancelled to make way for the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH)[2], the interim "Snake" had built a solid reputation as an attack helicopter.
Soviet Army During the 1960s, the Soviet Union, saw the same need for a ground attack helicopter. The Soviets equipped Mil Mi-8's in a similar configuration as the US Army's UH-1s. This attack helicopter was eventually developed into the famous Mi-24 Hind. The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ...
The Mil Mi-24 is a large combat helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport operated from 1976 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations. ...
The Modern Attack Helicopter During the late 70's the U.S. Army saw the need of more sophistication within the attack helicopter corps, allowing them to operate in all weather conditions. With that the Advanced Attack Helicopter program was started. From this program the Hughes YAH-64 came out as the winner. The Russians, watching US aircraft development, saw the need of a more advanced helicopter also. Military officials asked Kamov and Mil to submit designs. The Ka-50 officially won the competition, but Mil decided to continue development of the Mil-28 that they had originally submitted. The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...
Kamov projects, 1999 Nikolai Ilyich Kamov started building his first rotor-winged aircraft in 1929, together with N. K. Skrzhinskii. ...
Mil (Миль) is the short name of the Soviet Russian helicopter producer Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant (design office prefix Mi), named after the constructor Mikhail Mil. ...
Kamov Ka-50 The Ka-50 is a Russian single-seat military helicopter, designed as a gunship. ...
The Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name Havoc) is a Russian tandem two-seat anti-armour and attack helicopter. ...
The 1990's could be seen as the coming-of-age for the U.S. attack helicopter. The AH-64 Apache was used extensively during Operation Desert Storm with great success. Apaches fired the first shots of the war, destroying enemy early warning radar and SAM sites with their Hellfire missiles. They were later used successfully in both of their operational roles, to direct attack against enemy armor and as aerial artillery in support of ground troops. Hellfire and cannon attacks by Apache helicopters destroyed many enemy tanks and armored cars. The Boeing IDS AH-64 Apache is the US Armys principal attack helicopter, the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. ...
Combatants U.S.-led coalition Iraq Commanders George H. W. Bush, Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, Hussein Kamel Strength 660,000 ~545,000 Casualties 345 dead, 1,000 wounded 25,000 - 100,000 dead, 100,000 - 300,000 wounded The 1991 Gulf War (also Persian...
An early warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its selected targets. ...
Akash Missile Firing French Air Force Crotale battery Bendix Rim-8 Talos surface to air missile of the US Navy A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ...
Today, the attack helicopter has been further refined, and the AH-64D Apache Longbow demonstrates many of the advanced technologies being considered for deployment on future gunships. The Russians are currently deploying the Ka-50, and Mi-28, though these attack aircraft are not linked into a command and control system at a level comparable to current U.S. equipment. Many students of ground attack helicopter warfare feel that this is a requirement of today's modern armies, since attack helicopters are being increasingly incorporated as part of a linked support element system by most of the armies of the world. The Ka-50 is a Russian single-seat military helicopter, designed as a gunship. ...
The Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name Havoc) is a tandem two-seat anti-armour and attack helicopter. ...
In the last 20 years USSOCOM has been developing the armed special forces gunship, using the MH-60. These helicopters are to be used as an attack element with Special Operators to do the clean up, or to deliver the operators and support them on the ground. They were used successfully (to the chagrin of CINC CENTCOM) during the Scud Hunt. Emblem of the United States Special Operations Command. ...
The US Army typically uses observation helicopters (such as the OH-58 and OH-6) in support of attack helicopter. But it is starting to fall out of favor as the gunships are getting as sophisticated or more than the observation helicopters deployed to support them. OH-58 Kiowa OH-58D Kiowa Warrior The OH-58 Kiowa scout is a helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron. ...
The Hughes H-6 is a family of light utility civilian and assault helicopters of the United States Army. ...
Models
 An Apache Helicopter of the U.S Army Modern examples include: Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4288x2848, 1536 KB) An Army AH-64 Apache helicopter provides air support for U.S. Army soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, and Iraqi army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, during a...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4288x2848, 1536 KB) An Army AH-64 Apache helicopter provides air support for U.S. Army soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, and Iraqi army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, during a...
The Bell AH-1 Cobra, called the Huey Cobra, Cobra, Sea Cobra, Super Cobra, or Snake (depending on the model), is an attack helicopter, designed by Bell Helicopter Textron. ...
Mi-24D Hind-D of the Polish Army. ...
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is the United States Armys principal attack helicopter, and is the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. ...
The Agusta A129 Mangusta (Mongoose) is an attack helicopter manufactured by Agusta (part of AgustaWestland) of Italy. ...
The Eurocopter Tiger is an attack helicopter manufactured by the Eurocopter Group. ...
The Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name Havoc) is a Russian tandem two-seat anti-armour and attack helicopter. ...
Kamov Ka-50 The Ka-50 is a Russian single-seat military helicopter, designed as a gunship. ...
The Kamov Ka-52 (also known as Ka-50-2, NATO reporting name Hokum), nicknamed the Alligator is a Russian attack helicopter. ...
The Denel Aviation AH-2 Rooivalk is a latest generation attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa. ...
References - ^ Tom Cooper (12 Nov 2003). Algerian War 1954-1962. Western and North African Database. Air Combat Information Group (www.acig.org).
- ^ a b c d Office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (1973). "An Abridged History of the Army Attack Helicopter Program". Department of the Army.
Uncited References - Duke, R.A., Helicopter Operations in Algeria [Trans. French], Dept. of the Army (1959)
- France, Operations Research Group, Report of the Operations Research Mission on H-21 Helicopter (1957)
- Leuliette, Pierre, St. Michael and the Dragon: Memoirs of a Paratrooper, New York:Houghton Mifflin (1964)
- Riley, David, French Helicopter Operations in Algeria Marine Corps Gazette, February 1958, pp. 21-26.
- Shrader, Charles R. The First Helicopter War: Logistics and Mobility in Algeria, 1954-1962 Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers (1999)
- Spenser, Jay P., Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press (1998)
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