The UH-1 ‘Iroquois’ is a light multirole utility and combat helicopter. Better known as the ‘Huey’ from its original ‘HU-1’ designation, the UH-1 is one of the world’s most iconic helicopters. A mainstay of U.S. forces in the Vietnam War, the Huey shot to fame following its starring roles in Hollywood blockbusters The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979).
Known as a ‘slick’, the Huey’s primary mission was to insert and extract combat troops. Airborne assaults in Vietnam consisted typically of up to 10 slicks ferrying infantry, with two or three gunships providing protection and a ‘Charlie/Charlie’ Command and Control helicopter orbiting overhead. The Huey’s other missions included forward supply; search and rescue (SAR); reconnaissance and the medical evacuation (Medevac) of injured troops. The UH-1H can carry 4000 lbs of weapons & cargo including up to 14 combat troops or 6 stretchers. Armed with rockets and machine guns, it can also act as an ad hoc gunship.
Developed in the 1950s, the UH-1 entered service in March 1961. The UH-1H with the uprated 1,400 shp (1,000 kW) Lycoming T53-L-13 is the most-produced variant of the 16,000-plus that have been built since then. The Huey continues to serve worldwide in both military and civilian roles.
The DCS: UH-1H features an updated model of the helicopter armed with rockets and door-mounted M134 six-barrel rotary miniguns. The simulation offers superb flight and systems modeling. Helpful Easy Flight and other modes reduce the learning curve for new players. Player positions include pilot, co-pilot, and door gunners. A handcrafted storyline campaign is included as well as a number of single missions and a training course.
A robust and trustworthy work-horse, the UH-1 evokes enormous affection from former crews. When you fly it, you will immediately understand why.
The armament system of the DCS UH-1H consists of the M23 and M21 subsystems.
The M23 armament subsystem is attached to the external stores hardpoint fittings on both sides of the helicopter. The M-60D flexible 7.62 millimeter machine guns are free pointing but limited in traverse, elevation, and depression by cam surfaces and stops on pointless and pintle post assemblies of the two mount assemblies on which the machine guns are mounted. An ejection control bag is latched to the right side of each M60D machine gun to hold the spent cases, unfired rounds and links. Cartridges travel from ammunition box and cover assemblies to M60D machine gun through flexible chute and brace assemblies (machinegun).
The M21 armament subsystem consists of two M134 6x barrel 7.62mm high rate machine guns and two 7 tube (M158) or 19 tube (M159) 2.75 inch aircraft rocket launchers.
The M134 guns are steerable and can be traversed in azimuth and elevation by aiming using the left pilot’s flexible sighting station.
The guns can also be fired by the right pilot in Stow mode using the XM60 infinity sight, in which case they remain boresighted in the forward position.
With gun mounts in the Stow position, the electric drive assembly motor will only receive enough voltage to drive the gun at a rate of 2400 shots per minute. When moving the mounts through the field of deflection, one mount must stop at its inboard limit. Upon reaching the inboard limit, the gun will cease to fire and the opposite gun will accelerate to 4000 shots per minute; therefore, with both guns operational, the constant rate of fire is 4800 rounds per minute. This rate can be reduced to 2400 rounds per minute by selecting one gun (left or right) with the GUN SELECTOR switch on the control panel.
The UH-1H can employ a wide variety of 2.75 inch Hydra 70 rockets using either the XM158 seven-tube launchers or XM159 19-tube launchers. The Hydra 70 has evolved into a wide array of air-to-surface aerial rockets. All of the 2.75 inch Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) in this simulation use the MK66 rocket motor. FFAR rockets are an area effect weapon and are certainly not a precision attack weapon. Common targets for most of the rocket warheads include un-armored or lightly armored targets and they can be useful as a suppression weapon.
DCS: UH-1H Huey includes the following warhead options for 2.75 inch rockets for use with the Huey:
