Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" - In The Movies

get over there hey everyone i'm johnny and today's video is on a true icon of the vietnam war and a centerpiece in many vietnam war movies that is of course the huey helicopter the huey is the most widely used helicopter in movie history and the most produced helicopter in american history so let's take a closer look at this aircraft than some of the movies it's been featured in as most movie directors know vietnam was called the helicopter war and virtually all vietnam blockbusters have a showing of huey's and luckily for studios wanting to recreate the dramatic use of these helicopters there are still many bell uh-1 iroquois around as well as other military and civilian variants but what they don't prepare you for is the incessant use of fortunate sun i'd hear that song anytime i was in a helicopter sorry i'd play more ccr if i own the rights between 1956 and 1987 over 16 000 hueys not including modern variants were produced that's only second in the world to the soviet mill mi-8 what you'll primarily see on film is the uh-1 iroquois which was originally designated the hu1 hence the nickname huey they were even occasionally referred to as taxis due to their frequent and prolific use numerous variants of huey are common on film another common variant is the twin huey introduced in 1970 with two turboprop engines driving a single shaft providing extra power and reliability as the huey can run up to 30 minutes on a single engine but that's just one of the many interesting variants we're reenacting the vietnam war this chopper will take you to base camp get in probably a fan favorite in cinema is the ah-1 cobra sometimes called the huey cobra it uses the same engine transmission and rotary system as the uh-1 though obviously built as an attack helicopter the vietnam war was a proving ground for the huey helicopter and the concept of helicopter warfare as a whole it was the first time helicopters were used on this scale and the largest use of helicopters in any single war thousands of helicopters would be used throughout the lengthy conflict which was 19 years for american forces only recently being bumped as america's longest war by the war in afghanistan vietnam would prove numerous helicopter designs like the sikorsky h-34 or as shown here the westland wessex a british variant of the design ultimately though it'd be the huey design that stuck around in 2018 the us marines started receiving mass-produced deliveries of the uh-1y venom dubbed the superhuey yet another beefed-up design of the ancient platform no doubt future variants will continue to pop up for the foreseeable future [Music] but heading back to vietnam where huey's in their cruise saw the majority of frontline action we're gonna give you some entertainment [Music] in context of modern warfare many people view piloting aircraft as being a relatively safe role in relation to troops on the ground however this was hardly the case for pilots particularly helicopter pilots during the vietnam war hughes were responsible for carrying troops right to the front line providing close air support and most dangerously evacuations in the thick of combat including airlifting the injured let's go let's go all right uh-1s and variants flew more combat hours during vietnam than any other aircraft in the history of warfare as effective as the huey was its losses were staggering during the war over 1 900 hues were lost in combat while just under 1 400 were lost in operational accidents in relation to flight time and frontline combat usage these numbers actually reflect an effective aircraft and not a fragile one the accidental losses were insightful to similar issues experienced during the battle of britain which was the high fatigue rate for huey pilots and their crews we're coming in with two full loads and when you come in come in from the east out i want few other air crews in history had to perform the constant frontline medic combat and air support roles in the same way the huey did another harsh reality for aircrew was being captured by the north vietnamese eighty percent of pows were air crew and pilots they could expect treatment that was as harsh as the overall war and i can only think of one man who somehow softens the reality of being a pow in vietnam prisoner 2-4-6-0-1 oh god i wore this for two years in a viet cong internment center never thought i'd see the old girl again still fits at the start of the vietnam war the huey was first seen as a quick and effective way to get troops in and out of inaccessible areas of the country for which it was highly effective however it was almost immediately and continually up gunned throughout the war at first by the crew and companies themselves fabricating their own mounting systems as such on film there is no need to be overly critical of what is or isn't mounted on a huey as there are significant variants regulated and unregulated throughout the vietnam war as uh-1s continue to be upgraded they would often join forces with oh-58s or oh-6s for example forming dedicated hunter-killer teams though the role of attack gunship would actually decrease later in the war due to increased nva anti-aircraft defenses and the increased availability of dedicated attack helicopters after vietnam attack helicopters became a permanent part of american military air support uh-1s had 960 standard horsepower and a maximum speed of just over 200 kilometers an hour it was generally operated with a crew of three it could carry 10 passengers or six stretchers it also had an impressive hauling ability and could internally carry up to 1500 kilograms i believe what the huey will be most remembered for particularly by those who needed it was its role as a medevac the huey throughout vietnam transported two million wounded and injured soldiers and civilians right up to the end of the war famously evacuating the us embassy in the last days of the conflict for america all right i'm johnny thanks for watching this quick overview on the huey as always i'm just an amateur movie fan so please share any personal experience or additional information you might have in the comment section below and we'll see you next time

Channel: Johnny Johnson

Views: 192,939

Keywords: Huey, Bell UH-1 Iroquois, uh-1, bell, hell helicopter, vietnam, vietnam war, war movies, war movie, military helicopter, war helicopter, vietnam war movies, vietnam battles, vietnam battle, vietnam history, american in vietnam, what helicopter was used in vietnam, vietnam helicopter, vietnam helicopters, american helicopters, attack helicopter, troop transport, air taxi, n. vietnamese, nva, asian battles, military movies, new war movies, vietnam war zone, vietnam famous, war

Id: HHyfDLJFH3Q

Length: 9min 2sec (542 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 20 2021