The AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter was the United States Military's FIRST "Attack Helicopter" that was designed and built specifically for war; and was deployed directly into combat in Vietnam in 1966/67 (sources vary). The same company that developed the UH-1 Huey built the AH-1 Cobra, Bell. The Cobra fired a 7.62mm NATO cartridge (today's civilian .308 Winchester rifle cartridge) from a belly (under the nose) mounted mini-gun (electrically powered US Civil War designed multi-barreled GATLING GUN); and fired 2.75 inch rockets. The Cobra attacked and damaged numerous NVA PT-76 amphibious light tanks and NVA T54/55 medium tanks with it's 2.75" rockets, during Operation Lam Son 719 in 1971 (the US Army's last major offensive of the Vietnam War); which occurred in Laos on the South Vietnamese border, during the invasion of Laos that year. Although the Cobra was the first designed and deployed gunship (attack helicopter), it was the UH-1 Huey (Utility Helicopter) that actually was the first (modified into a...) successful attack helicopter, and it was the UH-1 that actually DESTROYED the first tanks in combat by the US Army's NEW MISSILE; the TOW Anti-Armor Missile(Tube Launched, Optically tracked, Wired Guided-TOW), during the NVA's "Spring Offensive" in 1972 (aka Easter Offensive). UH-1's equipped with TOW missiles destroyed 24 tanks during the NVA offensive in 1972. During the Vietnam War, nearly 12,000 US helicopters were deployed, and over 5,000 helicopters were destroyed, of that number, about 270 Cobra helicopters were destroyed. Cobra's flew over 1 million combat hours during the Vietnam War. Cobra's utilized by the US Military, primarily the US Marines after Vietnam, were up-graded into SUPER "Cobras" with extra engines and cannons to replace the machine gun gatling guns (mini-guns). The US Army transitioned from the Cobra into the current APACHE Attack Helicopter.
US forces could attack or re-supply ANYTIME & ANYWHERE!
The AH-1 COBRA was America's first designed & built "Attack Helicopter" that was successfully fielded in combat for the first time in Vietnam in 1965/66. It accompanied it's sister ship, the UH-1 Huey in the Vietnam War. The official name of the UH-1 Huey was the Iroquois. The official name of the AH-1 was the Cobra.
During the Vietnam War, approximately 2,000 UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) helicopter crewmen were killed.
Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, US Army, 9/13/68, helicopter was shot down in Vietnam.
The cobra is a god or a goddess, a cobra didn't have really a role. Most people feared the cobra and thought of them as a sign of evil from the underworld
All blackhawks can be combat helicopters, but not all combat helicopters are blackhawks.
AH-1W Super Cobra HelicopterCost $10,700,000.00
the original AH-1 Cobra flew at 170 mph
No, a Cobra helicopter cannot break the sound barrier. The maximum speed of a Cobra helicopter is around 185-190 mph, which is significantly lower than the speed of sound (about 767 mph at sea level).
The AH-1 Cobra was first fielded in South Vietnam in 1966.
The AH-1 Cobra was the first attack helicopter that saw general combat service in 1965/66 (not a proto-type experiment). The AH-56 Cheyenne gunship made it's first experimental flight in 1967.
It used to be the CH-34 Choctaw (known as the sea horse in the Navy/Marines). By '65 it had been replaced by the UH-1 Iroquois (aka Huey). UH stands for Utility Helicopter; CH stands for Cargo Helicopter. The world's FIRST (designed and built) attack helicopter was the AH-1 Cobra, deployed and combat tested in South Vietnam in '66. Both the Cobra and the Iroquois were built by the same company and both birds used the same engine.
Cruising speed is about 150 mph.
The SUPER Cobra (two engines instead of one) is a "post" Vietnam helicopter used by the USMC because it was cheaper to buy than the newe APACHE attack helicopter.
The Cobra was invented because the Huey was too slow and couldn't carry enough firepower
Black Hawk was a helicopter in the movie Transformers. The helicopter was destroyed.
The Bell AH-1 Cobra had a Lycoming T-53- L13 Turboshaft of 1,100 hp