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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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