Vietnam War Helicopter Model Dioramas ∙ by Ned Costa               UH-1H "Huey" Iroquois

The Bell UH-1 series Iroquois, better known as the "Huey", was the most widely used military helicopter.  The Huey arrived in Vietnam in 1963.  By the end of the Vietnam War, more than 5,400 of these versatile aircraft were introduced to Southeast Asia.  The UH-1s were used for Medivac, Command & Control, Troop & Supply Ttransport and Air Assault Missions, among other things.  The most memorable image for most is of Hueys dropping troops into landing zones or re-supplying them atop a "Fire Base" as shown in the diorama below.

The UH-1D had a longer fuselage than previous models, increased rotor diameter, increased range and a powerful Lycoming T53-L-11 engine with 1100 shp.  It could carry as many as 10 troops with a crew of four and had a range of 293 miles with a top speed of 127 mph (110 knots).

The UH-1H was identical to the UH-1D model, but was equipped with an upgraded engine that allows the transport of up to 11 troops. The UH-1H has a two-bladed semi-rigid seesaw bonded all-metal main rotor and a two-bladed rigid delta hinge bonded all-metal tail rotor. A single Lycoming T53-L-13B 1400 shp, turboshaft engine powers this aircraft.  It had a range of 320 miles.  These aircraft were generally fitted with an M-60 machine gun in each door as well as some pilot armor, reducing passenger lift capacity to about 7 or 8 troops.  Vietnam has been judged the "First Helicopter War", and certainly the Huey remains a symbol of the war. 

"Ready For Another Mission"

UH-1H Iroquois "Huey" Model Diorama

The model above was built from the 1:32 Revell UH-1D Huey Helicopter Kit. This 1969 kit is also out of production and is fast becoming rare and vintage model kit.  The model has many detailed features that makes it a top choice among model builders.  The fuselage length is over 15 inches long with a rotor span of 18 inches.  Unfortunately, this kit does not include the M-60 gun mounts, guns, ammo and ammo boxes or the armor plated pilot seats we added. We purchased them from Cobra Production.  They are an aftermarket company that produces these resin molded items for military aircraft models.

This model also proudly displays the Casper Platoon Ghost on it's nose and the 173d Airborne Brigade insignia on the two pilot doors.