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Bell 204 / 205
H-1 Iroquois 'Huey'
The
Bell Huey was the first mass-produced helicopter powered by a jet turbine.
With its distinctive "whomp-whomp" sound that could be heard miles away,
the UH/AH-1 aircraft have totalled more than 27 million flight hours since
Oct. 20, 1956 when the "granddaddy" of all H-1's, the XH-40, made its
first flight. Since then, more than 16,000 H-1 helicopters have been
produced by Bell and its licensees -- making it the most successful
military aircraft in aviation history.
Officially the UH-1 series
is the Iroquois. But its unofficial name, Huey, became so commonly used
that the AH-1 attack version was officially named the Huey Cobra.
The Huey story traces back some four decades. In 1955, with an interest in
a utility helicopter designed around a turboshaft engine, the US Army had
the US Air Force develop a new helicopter for its use. At that time the US
Army did not have its own aircraft development capability. The design
selected, Bell's Model 204, was to be powered by a new Lycoming T-53
engine of some 850 shaft horsepower and featured a typical Bell two-blade
teetering rotor.
In the original helicopter
designation series, the first three aircraft received the XH-40
designation.
First flight of the new design was in October 1956, development and
production following.
When the US Army adopted its own two-letter designation system, the H-40
became the HU-1 (Helicopter Utility). From this designation came Huey, the
name by which it has remained known. The US Department of Defence ( DOD )
standard designation system reversed this to UH-1, the first designation
in the new DOD helicopter series. With larger engines and increased
capacity, the UH-1 was developed through successive models.
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