Armed helicopter
An armed helicopter is a military helicopter equipped with aircraft ordnance.[1] Most commonly, it is used for attacking targets on the ground. Such a helicopter could be either purposely designed for a ground-attack mission—in which case it would be more specifically categorized as an attack helicopter—or may have been previously designed for other uses, such as utility, air cargo, aerial reconnaissance, etc., with the weapons mounts being modifications, rather than part of the design of the helicopter. The purpose of the modification to an armed helicopter configuration can be field expediency during combat, the lack of military funding to develop or purchase attack helicopters, or the need to maintain the helicopter for missions that do not require the weapons.
Specialized armed helicopters fly from ships at sea, and are equipped for anti-submarine warfare or strikes with anti-ship missiles.
History
Direct fire support delivered by weapons mounted on helicopters began informally in the Korean War, with United States Marines firing their weapons from the open doors of the aircraft, into the treeline of the landing area below.[2] The concept evolved with the French during the Algerian and the First Indochina wars, in the form of armed helicopters; where utility, cargo, and observation military helicopters were modified to carry various weapons.
Algerian War
The French Army was one of the first military forces to modify and use helicopters in combat in a ground attack role during the Algerian War of 1954–62. In 1955, French field commanders placed infantry machine gunners in the stretcher panniers of their Bell 47 (Sioux H-13) casualty evacuation helicopters. The ad hoc gunships were used to reach FLN guerrilla positions on otherwise inaccessible mountain ridges and peaks, but were far too underpowered.[3]
In 1956, the French Air Force experimented with arming the
The Sikorsky H-34 was also modified into a gunship by the French Navy: standard armament comprised an MG 151 20-mm cannon firing from the cabin door, two 12.7-mm machine guns firing from the cabin windows to port, plus racks for 37 mm or 68 mm rockets. While the CH-34 was effective in the ground attack role, official evaluations at the time indicated that the CH-21 was more likely to survive multiple hits by ground fire than was the CH-34; this was assumed to be a consequence of the location and construction of the CH-34's fuel tanks. Nevertheless, by the close of the Algerian War, attack helicopters such as the CH-34 were being used in synchronized operations with troop-carrying CH-21 helicopters in large-scale counterinsurgency operations.
Vietnam War
The
With the increasing use of the helicopter for infantry transport, the U.S. Army saw a need for specialized helicopters to be used as
Warsaw Pact
During the 1960s, the Soviet Union saw the need for an armed helicopter and equipped Mil Mi-8 helicopters with rocket pods. This armed helicopter eventually developed into the Mil Mi-24, which saw extensive action in Afghanistan during the 80s. Mi-24s were also exported in large numbers to many Asian and African countries.
Special operations variants
In the last 20 years
Other Army Special Operations include the
For longer-range special operations, the Air Force had operated the
Helicopter bombing uses
The idea of the helicopter as a bomber has likely been around since helicopters first came into military service. The helicopter offers what might appear to be a highly stable bombing platform, making the idea all the more attractive. The idea is generally used by air forces conducting counterinsurgencies, and often by those lacking traditional fixed wing options.
Vietnam
Likely the first organized usage of a helicopter as a tactical bomber, the United States Army employed the
The CH-47 was used most often to assist in the clearing of bunkers, using an improvised bomb made from 55-gallon drums of bulk CS powder, designated Bomb, Fuze, and Burster, CS in 55-gallon Drum, XM920.[7] Thirty of these bombs, containing eighty pounds of CS powder, could be carried by a CH-47, and were used to "saturate base camps, way stations, or infiltration routes to deny their use."[8]
The US Army used the UH-1 with a far wider array of systems. Using the M156 Universal Mount, conventional aircraft dispensers for cluster munitions and mines were fitted.[9] Another system developed was the Mortar Aerial Delivery System or MADS. This system used standard 60mm or 81mm mortar rounds in dispensers mounted on the side of the aircraft, and was to be used against both preplanned targets and targets of opportunity.[10] Pictures show this system in use as late as 1969.[11] Even improvised bombs, made from things such as a "can of engine oil...[and] a thermite grenade" or "four or five concussion grenades...[with] belted M-60 ammunition around the grenades" were used.[12]
The US Army also conducted a number of drops of large bombs using the CH-54 helicopter for the purposes of clearing landing zones. Operational drops were conducted using both modified M121 10,000 lb bombs and the
Both the US Army and US Marine Corps also investigated using the
El Salvador
During their conflict with FMLN and other guerrillas between 1980 and 1992, the Salvadoran Army made use of the UH-1 Iroquois in the bombing role. UH-1Hs and UH-1Ms flew punitive strikes against villages linked to the FMLN dropping 250 and 500 pound bombs. The need for this greater flexibility was required by the nature of the conflict and the lack of resources available to the Salvadoran Air Force. Since the bombs utilized used the same type of mounting hardware as the standard rocket launchers, the FAS used M156 universal mounts and essentially unmodified aircraft.[16]
Lebanon
Helicopter bombing was used by the Lebanese Army during the 2007 Siege of Nahr al-Bared when it converted UH-1H utility helicopters into bombers due to the urgent need to fight the Fatah al-Islam terrorist group. They mounted 30-year-old 500 lb (250 kg) Mark 82 bombs, originally carried by Hawker Hunter attack aircraft.[17]
Syria
Helicopters have been used to drop both conventional bombs and improvised
Iraq
Helicopters have been used by the
Tests and evaluations
Other nations have also made moves toward helicopter bombing, but have not put it into practice. The Soviet Union qualified both the Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-24 to use members of the FAB general-purpose bomb family. It is possible these aircraft may have been put into service in this role by the armed forces of Sudan and Sri Lanka.[28]
The Philippines also tested a single Sikorsky H-34 as an attack helicopter, armed with both rockets and bombs on locally fabricated racks. This aircraft appears to have been the extent of the testing, and the Philippines did not introduce any H-34s in this capacity.[29]
See also
Citations and notes
- ISBN 978-0-941375-10-8.
armed helicopter— (DOD, NATO) A helicopter fitted with weapons or weapon systems
- ^ Mazarella, Mark N. "Adequacy of U.S. Army Attack Helicopter Doctrine to Support the Scope of Attack Helicopter Operations in a Multi-Polar World" Archived 9 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1994. Accessed on 12 December 2007.
- ^ "Algerian War, 1954 – 1962". acig.org. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ Tom Cooper (12 November 2003). "Algerian War 1954–1962". Western and North African Database. Air Combat Information Group (www.acig.org). Archived from the original on 23 August 2006.
- ^ Dwayne A. Day (28 February 2003). "Assault Helicopters". Centennial of Flight Commission (www.centennialofflight.net).
- ^ Mutza, 1995. p. 29
- ^ United States, 1969. p. K-2
- ^ Rottman, 2006. p. 46
- ^ United States, 1969. p. B-3, K-2
- ^ United States, 1967. p. 12-3
- ^ Drendel, 1983. p. 51
- ^ Drendel, 1974. p. 20
- ^ Mesko, 1984. p. 48
- ^ United States, 1970. p. 1-3
- ^ Mutza, 2002. p. 10-1, 34
- ^ Cooper, Tom. Air Combat Information Group. 1 September 2003 El Salvador, 1980–1992. Access Date: 3 September 2007
- ^ Kahwaji, Riad. Ya Libnan. 3 September 2007 The victory – Lebanon developed helicopter bombers Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Access Date: 3 September 2007
- ^ Matthew Weaver. "How Brown Moses exposed Syrian arms trafficking from his front room". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ Brown Moses. "Brown Moses Blog". brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Syrian regime Barrel Bomb Being Dropped". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Syria – Barrel Bombing Compilation". YouTube. Retrieved 25 January 2015.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Hague urges end to barrel bomb use". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Deadly barrel bombs reportedly hitting Fallujah". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Iraq reports major effort to recapture Tikrit". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ Al Jazeera, Iraqi military battles for control of Tikrit, retrieved 25 January 2015
- ^ Al Arabiya, Like Assad, Maliki uses explosive barrels to quell rebellion, retrieved 25 January 2015
- ^ "Barrel bombs risk becoming answer to insurgency". Yahoo News. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ Cooper, Tom. Air Combat Information Group. 29 October 2003 Sri Lanka, since 1971. Access Date: 3 September 2007
- ^ Lundh, 1998. p. 100
References
- Drendel, Lou. Gunslingers in Action. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc, 1974. ISBN 0-89747-013-3.
- Drendel, Lou. Huey. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc, 1983. ISBN 0-89747-145-8.
- Lundh, Lennart. Sikorsky H-34: An Illustrated History. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Military/Aviation History, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0522-0
- Mesko, Jim. Airmobile: The Helicopter War in Vietnam. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc, 1984. ISBN 0-89747-159-8.
- Mutza, Wayne. H-13 Sioux Mini in Action. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc, 1995. ISBN 0-89747-345-0.
- Mutza, Wayne. Walk Around: AH-1 Cobra. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc, 2002. ISBN 0-89747-438-4.
- Rottman, Gordon. Viet Cong and NVA Tunnels and Fortifications of the Vietnam War. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-84603-003-X.
- United States. Headquarters, Department of the Army. FM 1-40 Attack Helicopter Gunnery. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 1969.
- United States. Headquarters, Department of the Army. FM 1-100 Army Aviation Utilization. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 1967.
- United States. Headquarters, Pacific Air Force, Directorate, Tactical Evaluation, CHECO Division. Commando Vault. Headquarters, Pacific Air Force, Directorate, Tactical Evaluation, CHECO Division, 1970.