Bell UH-1 Iroquois

UH-1E

In 1962 the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] held a competition to choose a new assault support helicopter to replace the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] helicopter. The winner was the UH-1B which was already then in service with the US Army.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
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The UH-1B was developed into a special model, designated UH-1E, to meet Marine Corps requirements.

The major changes included the use of all-aluminum construction for corrosion resistance (earlier UH-1s had some magnesium components), special avionics that were compatible with Marine Corps ground frequencies, a rotor brake to stop the rotor quickly on shutdown for shipboard use and a roof-mounted rescue hoist.

The UH-1E was first flown on 7 October 1963 and deliveries commenced 21 February 1964, with 192 aircraft completed.

Due to production line realities at Bell the UH-1E was produced in two different versions, both with the same UH-1E designation.

The first 34 built were essentially UH-1B airframes with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of 1,100 shp (820 kW).

Because Bell was switching Army production to the UH-1C the UH-1E production line was converted to commonality with
the “C”.

This meant the later “Echo” Hueys were completed with the “Charlie” style tailboom including the larger fin, the 540 rotor system and a gross weight of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg).
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The Marines used the UH-1E as both a gunship and troop transport.

Many were upgraded to the Lycoming T53-L-13 engine which produced 1,400 shp (1,000 kW), making these “Echos” similar to the Army “Mike” models.

At least 126 UH-1Es survived their Vietnam service and were still in use more than a decade later.

There was a Marine Corps training version of the UH-1E, which was based on the UH-1C variant and was designated TH-1E. Twenty were delivered in 1965.[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

UH-1F


Bell Helicopters was the winner of a 1963 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] competition for a support helicopter for use on its missile bases.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
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Bell had proposed the UH-1B for the competition but the USAF asked Bell to develop a special version of the "Bravo" in using the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] as a powerplant.

The USAF already had a large inventory of these engines for its fleet of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] rescue helicopters and wanted to have commonality between the types.

This engine was capable of 1,250 hp (932 kW) compared to the UH-1B's 1,100 hp (820 kW) T53-L11.