The AH-1 Cobra is the first generation of helicopter gunships developed by the American Bell Helicopter Company, developed from the UH-1 "Iroquoi". The helicopter's workhorse has now been completely replaced by the AH-64 Apache, but there are still improved models in service.
Birth history
In the mid-1960s, helicopters commissioned by the United States in the Vietnam War suffered heavy losses due to poor firepower, weak armor, and slow speed. The U.S. Army is desperate to have a high-speed, heavily armored, high-fire gunship that provides escort for transport helicopters along the way and advances aerial suppressive firepower for infantry. As the world's first generation of helicopter gunships, the AH-1 "Cobra" was born in this context. In September 1965, the PROTOTYPE OF THE AH-1 flew for the first time. In April 1966, the U.S. Army signed the first contract for 110 aircraft. In June 1967, the first AH-1s were delivered and entered service. The aircraft was originally designated UH-1H, but the helicopter gunship's special designation "A" was soon adopted and changed to AH-1. Depending on the model, there are many titles, such as "Viper", "Huey Cobra", "Sea Cobra", "Super Cobra", "W Cobra", "Z Cobra" and so on. As the world's first specially developed specially developed special armed helicopter, ah-1 has good flight and combat performance, strong firepower, is widely used in many countries, has endured and has been modified several times. As of June 2013, the main users of the aircraft include the United States, Turkey, Spain, Jordan, Pakistan, Israel, Chile, Bahrain, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and so on.
Derivative models
The AH-1G Huey Cobra was originally produced, and development began in March 1965 and was first test flown in September of the same year. The U.S. Army ordered 1,075 aircraft, which began delivery in June 1967 and were heavily used in the Vietnamese theater in the fall of the same year. The earliest twin-engine version, an improved version of the AH-1G. Mainly equipped with the U.S. Marine Corps, a total of 67 aircraft were delivered from 1970 to February 1975. The AH-1Q Huey Cobra is a temporary anti-tank version that was modified from the AH-1G. The modification consisted of the addition of 8 BGM-71 "tow" anti-tank missiles and helmet-mounted aiming systems, and a total of 92 AH-1Gs were modified in front and behind. The AH-1T Enhanced Sea Cobra is an improved version of the U.S. Marine Corps-developed AH-1J, with 59 aircraft produced and deliveries beginning in October 1977. The AH-1W Super Cobra is an improved version of the AH-1T that can perform a variety of tasks such as anti-tank, escort, multiple fire support, armed assault, search, and target recognition. The AH-1F is a modern variant of the U.S. Army that includes all previous upgrades. As of 1986, a total of 149 were produced for the U.S. Army. In 1990, 30 were exported to Israel, 24 to Jordan, 20 to Pakistan, 70 to South Korea and 4 to Thailand.
Fuselage structure AH-1 fuselage is a narrow body slender streamlined, with short wings on both sides of the external weapon, and two weapons pylons under the wings. The nose is protruding in the nose, and the cannon is hoisted below. The cockpit is a longitudinal two-seat layout, with the shooter in front and the driver in the rear. The front hatch is on the left and the rear hatch is on the right. The landing gear is tubular skid type and cannot be retracted. The single-engine model has a larger, protruding exhaust pipe that protrudes from the rear of the fuselage and runs parallel to the girder. The twin-engined engines are placed on both shoulders, with shorter exhaust pipes side-by-side at the rear of the fuselage, tilting outward at an angle. The aircraft uses two-blade rotors and two-blade tail rotors. The paddles consist of aluminum girders, stainless steel leading edges and aluminum honeycomb posterior segments, with the paddle tip swept back. The tail paddle consists of an aluminum honeycomb and a stainless steel leading edge and a skin, located on the right side. The tail beam is longer, and there are horizontal stability surfaces on both sides of the middle, which increases the stability of the pitch direction. The tail has a larger swept angle and a smaller chord length.
Combat performance
Attack power: The main weapon of the AH-1 is a 20 mm M197 three-barrel "Gatling" cannon (750 rounds of ammunition), including M56 explosives, M56Al incendiary bombs, M53Al armor-piercing incendiary bombs, M55Al training solid bullets, PGU-28/B armor-piercing explosive shells, etc. The aircraft has 4 weapons mounting points, which can be hung according to different configuration schemes BGM-71 "tow" anti-tank missiles, AGM-114 "Hellfire" air-to-ground missiles, AIM-9 "Sidewinder" air-to-air missiles, AGM-122A "Sidewinder" anti-radiation missiles, as well as rocket launch nests and machine gun pods of different specifications.
Protection: The AH-1's seats, cockpit sides and important parts are protected by armor, and the self-sealing fuel tank can withstand 23 mm cannon shell fire. Its main purpose is to attack armored targets, because the fuselage is slender and the front is narrow, it is not easy to be attacked, and has a defensive advantage.
Power: The AH-1 is powered by two General Dynamics T700-GE-401 turboshaft engines with a single power of 212 kW. The fuselage is equipped with two self-sealing fuel tanks, which can hold 1153 liters of fuel. Short wings on both sides of the fuselage can also be fitted with 2 to 4 fuel tanks. The aircraft is suitable for marine climate operation and occupies less deck space, so it is irreplaceable in the Marine Corps.