Bell UH-1 Iroquois

UH-1 troop transports were designated by Blue teams, hence the nickname for troops carried in by these Hueys as the Blues.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] or observation teams were White teams. The attack ships were called Red
teams.

Over the duration of the conflict the tactics used by the military evolved and teams were mixed for more effective results.

Purple teams with one or two Blue slicks dropping off the troops, while a Red attack team provided protection until the troops could defend themselves. Another highly effective team was the Pink Recon/Attack team, which offered the capability of carrying out assaults upon areas where the enemy was known to be present but could not be pinpointed.

During the course of the war, the UH-1 went through several upgrades.

The UH-1A, B, and C models (short fuselage, Bell 204) and the UH-1D and H models (stretched-fuselage, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien])
each had improved performance and load-carrying capabilities.

The UH-1B and C performed the gunship, and some of the transport, duties in the early years of the Vietnam War. UH-1B/C gunships were replaced by the new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] attack helicopter from 1967 to late 1968.

The increasing intensity and sophistication of NVA anti-aircraft defenses made continued use of UH-1 gunships impractical, and after Vietnam the Cobra was adopted as the Army's main attack helicopter.

Devotees of the UH-1 in the gunship role cite its ability to act as an impromptu dustoff if the need arose, as well as the superior observational capabilities of the larger Huey cockpit, which allowed return fire from door gunners to the rear and sides of the aircraft.

During the war 7,013 UH-1s served in Vietnam and of these 3,305 were destroyed. In total 1,074 Huey pilots were killed, along with 1,103 other crew members.
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The US Army phased out the UH-1 with the introduction of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], although the Army UH-1 Residual Fleet has around 700 UH-1s that were to be retained until 2015, primarily in support of Army Aviation training at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and in selected [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] units.

Army support for the craft was intended to end in 2004.

In 2009, Army National Guard retirements of the UH-1 accelerated with the introduction of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

U.S. Air Force

In October 1965, the USAF 20th Helicopter Squadron was formed at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in South Vietnam, equipped initially with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] helicopters.

By June 1967 the UH-1F and UH-1P were also added to the unit's inventory, and by the end of the year the entire unit had shifted from Tan Son Nhut to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], with the CH-3s transferring to the 21st Helicopter Squadron.

On 1 August 1968, the unit was redesignated the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The 20th SOS's UH-1s were known as the Green Hornets, stemming from their color, a primarily green two-tone camouflage (green and tan) was carried, and radio call-sign "hornet".

The main role of these helicopters were to insert and extract reconnaissance teams, provide cover for such operations, conduct psychological warfare, and other support roles for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] especially in Laos and Cambodia during the so-called [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

US Navy


The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] began acquiring UH-1B helicopters from the Army and these aircraft were modified into gunships with special gun mounts and radar altimeters and were known as Seawolves in service with Navy Helicopter Attack (Light)
(HA(L)-3).
UH-1C helicopters were also acquired in the 1970s.

The Seawolves worked as a team with Navy river patrol operations.

Australia


The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] also employed the UH-1H until 1989. Iroquois helicopters of RAAF No. 9 Squadron were deployed to South Vietnam in mid 1966 as part of the 1st Australian Task Force.

In this role they were armed with single [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] doorguns.

In 1969 four of No. 9 Squadron's helicopters were converted to gunships (known as 'Bushrangers'), armed with two fixed forward firing M134 7.62 mm minigun (one each side) and a 7 round rocket pod on each side.

Aircrew were armed with twin M60 flexible mounts in each door.

UH-1 helicopters were used in many roles including troop transport, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Bushranger gunships for armed support.
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Between 1982 and 1986 the Squadron contributed aircraft and aircrew to the Australian helicopter detachment which formed part of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] force in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Peninsula, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].