The UH-1 came to life as an Army Specification for a general purpose utility helicopter in 1955. Its official name is Iroquois, following the Army tradition of naming their helicopters after Indian tribes. The Huey family of helicopters was derived from the Bell XH-40 prototype. The UH-1 was the Army's first production turbine powered helicopter.
The Huey's first service designation was originally "HU-1" meaning "Helicopter-Utility"... It quickly earned the nickname "Huey" and this name has stood the test of time. Redesignated as the UH-1 in 1962, it was universally refered to as "Huey"... Other names such as "Slick" or "Hog" were used to identify the configuration as lightly or heavily armed. The UH-1 family of helicopters has been used by more than 51 countries and was built in greater numbers than any military aircraft since WWII.
The U.S. military alone used over 11,000 Huey's.
During its 30 plus years of operation, it has seen several upgrades and modifications, ultimately resulting in the Huey's final gross weight being increased to three times that of the original design.
During the Vietnam War, the "Huey" was equipped for medical evacuation, troop transports, flying command posts, and when using various combinations of weapons, it became a lethal gunship. UH-1's were the backbone of Air Assault forces during theVietnam War, and the Huey has become one of the iconic images of the war. The use of the Helicopter in combat was proven during this conflict, largely by the effectiveness of the Huey.
The UH-1 has served in every conceiveable climate, and has set numerous world rotary wing records. Although some are over 30 years old UH-1's still equip many U.S. National Guard units, the U.S. Air Force and Marines, and many are still serving in frontline service in foreign countries. And lets not forget the many Huey's in civilian service, with fire departments, law enforcement, mountain rescue units and those that are privately owned. |
