The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Operation Junction City (Feb 22 - Mar 17, 1967)

End of Phase I, 25 February-17 March

During the rest of Phase I (which was officially terminated at midnight of 17 March) the units of both divisions continued their meticulous search of the operational area. Since the hammer forces had completed their operations, the units of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, started leaving their portion of the horseshoe as early as 2 March when one battalion was airlifted to Quan Loi. A second battalion was lifted the following day to Minh Thanh, and on 4 March the 1st Brigade terminated Phase I. On 3 March the 1st Engineers completed the Katum airfield;2 the next day all of the battalion had terminated Phase I and began relocating to the east-ern edge of War Zone C. (For all intents and purposes the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division and the 1st Engineer Battalion began Phase II on 7 March when they started operations west of An Loc along Route 246 and at the destroyed bridge site where that road crosses the Saigon River.)

Artillery ammunition and C-rations, dropped by parachutes to the 82nd Arty, 196th Light Inf Bde, fall to the ground in War Zone "C", 70 miles north east of Saigon, 26 February 1967

During this 21-day period the action was marked mainly by contacts with small forces (one to ten men) and the continual discovery of more and more base camps. Rice, documents, dried fish, ammunition and explosives, some weapons, and much communication equipment (including miles of wire) were the principal items found. Along Route 4 convoy vehicles continued to hit mines and be harassed by RPG2 antitank weapons and small arms fire.

The two major battles fought during Phase I occurred at or near Prek Klok on 28 February and 10 March. However, there were other occurrences and sizable engagements during this period which are worthy of mention.

On 26 February a company of the 3d Brigade, 4th Division, west of Route 22, engaged the 3d Battalion, 271st Viet Cong Regiment, in the latter's base camp. The company was completely surrounded and another company came to its relief. Eleven enemy were killed with U.S. losses 5 killed and 19 wounded.

SP4 Russell Roever (New York City), Hq & Hq Co, 2nd Bn, 503rd Inf, 173rd Abn Bde (Sept), disconnects the parachute form a crate of 105mm howitzer ammunition in War Zone "C" 26-27 Feb 1967

Two days later the 173d Brigade northeast of Katum found what appeared to be the public information office for psychological propaganda of the Central Office of South Vietnam. In an underground photographic laboratory the troopers found 120 reels of motion picture film, numerous still photographs, and pictures and busts of Communist leaders. This discovery proved to be one of the major intelligence coups of the war.

On the following day, 1 March, a battalion of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, sweeping in the same general area as the location of the COSVN military affairs section, found what appeared to be a school and propaganda center. There were light, office-type huts, a mess hall, two dispensaries, and sleeping quarters, but no fighting positions. Among the items taken were a loudspeaker system com-plete with speakers and amplifiers, material for making identification cards, and a bag of documents.

On 3 March a company of the 173d Brigade made contact with an estimated enemy company east of Katum. In an intensive fire fight in which the enemy used small arms, automatic weapons, and M79 grenade launchers, and which lasted only thirty minutes, the enemy lost 39 killed and the U.S. 20 killed and 28 wounded.

On 6 March the 173d Brigade made airmobile assaults with its three battalions into three landing zones located one, three, and six kilometers south of Bo Tuc (on Route 246 southeast of Katum).

The brigade was searching for the COSVN military intelligence bureau reported to be located south of Bo Tuc. During the next seven days of search and destroy the battalions made sporadic con-tact, killing about 40 Viet Cong.

A captain from the 27th Infantry Regiment burns VC supplies and equipment in Tay Ninh province during Operation Junction City in March, 1967.

Having completed its participation in the hammer operation, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (-) had tuned west on 26 February to continue search and destroy in the 25th Division's operational area. On 6 March the two squadrons of the 11th Armored Cavalry began a sweep along the Cambodian border. The sweep was to cover a zone extending 1,500 meters from the border and was to start four kilometers southwest of the point where Route 22 hits the Cambodian border in the north and was to end at Lo Go. The sweep would include all the border in the "Little Elephant's Ear" proper. Just after noon on 11 March one troop was brought under small arms, automatic weapons, RPG2, and recoilless rifle fire from an estimated Viet Cong company at six kilometers northwest of Lo Go and within 200 meters of the Cambodian border. The enemy was in well-prepared positions with fortified bunkers and an extensive trench system. As friendly fires and air strikes increased, the Viet Cong were trapped on the near bank of the river which marks the border at this point; helicopter gunships kept the river under surveillance to prevent escape into Cambodia. During the night the position was kept under con-tinuous illumination by flareships and under artillery and mini-gun fire from the flareships.

However, the enemy slipped away during the night, leaving twenty-eight dead behind. The reason for the stiff resistance became readily apparent the next morning. Located in reinforced concrete bunkers fifteen feet underground were two large, electrically powered Chinese printing presses weighing nearly a ton each. Manufactured in Shanghai in 1965, each press had an hourly output of 5,000 printed sheets measuring 17 by 24 inches; the presses also had cutting and folding attach-ments. A further search yielded several barrels of lead printer's type as well as thirty-one individual weapons. The presses were airlifted to the 25th Division's base camp. Indications were that the presses were being utilized by the COSVN propaganda and cultural indoctrination section.

Men of the 32d Artillery load a round into a 175mm howitzer at Tay Ninh during Junction City.

The Phase I operations started to wind down beginning 12 March. On the 14th the 3d Brigade, 1st Division, turned over responsibility for the security of Prek Klok Special Forces Camp, the old French Fort, and Route 4 to the 196th Brigade. Colonel Marks commenced repositioning his forces and prepared to relieve the division's 2d Brigade of its Revolutionary Development mission so the brigade could participate in JUNCTION CITY II. On 15 March the 173d left the operational area and reverted to control of II Field Force; on the same day the 11th Cavalry (-) terminated its participation. At midnight on 17 March Phase I officially came to a close. The enemy had lost 835 killed, 15 captured, 264 weapons, and enormous quantities of supplies and equipment.

In the mid-morning hours of February 22, 1967, a task force from the 173d Airborne Brigade jumped into history by making the first United States combat parachute assault in the war against the enemy in South Vietnam - and the first such assault since the Korean War.

173d Troopers loading for Combat Jump

The jump put 845 Sky Soldiers under silk over War Zone C near the Cambodian border long a Viet Cong redoubt. Below them lay drop zone "Charlie" 1,000 by 6,000 feet of dried rice paddies deep in enemy controlled territory.

Within an hour after the start of the parachute assault, an Infantry battalion with artillery, heavy equipment, control teams, and support elements were on the ground, deployed to secure the drop zone and ready for combat as Operation Junction City got underway. To both men and planners, the combat jump was a success.

Map of DZ Charlie

The 1st and 4th Battalions came into adjacent landing zones by airmobile assault. Operation JUNCTION CITY's objective was to locate and destroy the Central Office South Vietnam (COSVN) the supreme headquarters of the Viet Cong in the Republic of Vietnam.

The accomplishments of Phase I of Operation JUNCTION CITY were significant:

266 VC killed by body count, 32 possible kills, and 4 captured, the complete destruction of the (COSVN) Public Information Office for Psychological Propaganda and a COSVN Signal site dealt a heavy blow to the enemy propaganda effort.

JUNCTION CITY was the biggest Allied offensive to date in Vietnam.

173rd ready to jump

At 0825 , the planes took off.
At 0900, the green light flashed
At 0910, 778 Skytroopers were on the DZ ready to do battle.

For the operation, 23 C-130 aircraft were available -
13 for personnel and 10 for heavy equipment.

The size of the dropzone and operational plan dictated how the aircraft were to be loaded, the drop zone was 26 seconds long and would require two passes to put all personnel into the drop zone. Each C-130 would carry 60 men and would be cross loaded to put the men of each company on the drop zone in the approximate area of their assigned sectors.

HITTING THE SILK... A U.S. Paratrooper, along with 844 others, jumping behind Viet Cong lines in a vast blocking and encircling operation a few miles from the Cambodian border. Continued air strikes paved the way for the massive ground-air assault of 45,000 troops.

It was imperative that all units react rapidly in clearing and securing the DZ, for the airdrop of supplies and heavy equipment was scheduled to commence 30 minutes after the first man exited the aircraft.

The cargo was being dropped by the container delivery system which uses colored parachutes to denote the contents of the container swaying beneath it. It was a perfect drop Everything landed in a DZ the size of a baseball field without mishap.

Well, almost without incident

As each man hit the ground, he grabbed his weapon and combat gear and moved to his designated assembly area. Colored smoke, colored helium balloons, and colored tape on each man's helmet assisted the task force in rapidly assembling on the ground and identified each man with his unit and section It was imperative that all units react rapidly in clearing and securing the drop zone, for the airdrop of supplies and heavy equipment was scheduled to commence 30 minutes after the first man exited the aircraft.

Right on time and target, the loaded C-l3Os began their heavy drops. Drag chutes pulled jeeps, trucks, mortars, and howitzers from the tail of each plane, and giant canopies lowered this vital equipment to the ground without mishap. Immediately thereafter, more planes appeared over the treetops at low altitude, leaving in their wakes brilliant clusters of colored parachutes over the DZ.

Supply Drop

The heavy equipment and supplies needed to support the task force included the 105mm howitzers and 2,400 rounds of l05mm ammunition, four 3/4-ton trucks, five 1/4-ton trucks, one l/4 ton trailer, six M274 Mule vehicles, four 4.2-inch mortars and 746 mortar rounds six 81mm mortars and 1,500 mortar rounds, 416 five-gallon water Cans, 18,000 sandbags, 746 cases of C-rations, 115,700 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 1,440 grenades for the 40mm M79 launchers, 1,000 fragmentation hand grenades, and 500 smoke grenades.

The success of this parachute assault shows that the airborne concept still has a place in modern warfare. It shows that large numbers of troops and heavy equipment can be delivered quickly and accurately with a minimum number of aircraft.

The spirit and professional enthusiasm demonstrated by the men of the task force during the training for and conduct of the jump into War Zone C made this combat parachute assault a success.

C.J. Magro

Additional Sources:

home.hiwaay.net/~magro/173abn.html
www.discodesigns.com
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil
www.aviation-art.net
www.angelfire.com/pa2/ hotshot/jc.html

February 22, 1967.

I'm sitting in the aircraft just after dawn, rolling down the runway at Bien Hoa, about to make history for the 173d. There is complete silence as we lift off into the unknown. This jump was anticipated because of the two training jumps earlier, but we didn't know where and we didn't know when. The time is now. As I look around the aircraft, I observe my fellow squad members and my best buddy, Dames (Mule) Muiherin, next to me. He and I have been together in the same squad through AIT, jump school and our entire tour of Vietnam, which was somewhat unusual.

Everyone is caught up in their own thoughts, and you could hear a pin drop over the roar of the engines. It was so quiet. I looked down the line to see my squad leader, James, the Rock, Stewart, the best squad leader any trooper could serve under, in the same mode as the rest of us and thinking to myself, how did we get here? All of us were military policemen, Captain Friend, the PM, and Lieutenant Colonel Sigholtz, the battalion commander, had faith in us that we could do the job. Without those two, we would probably not be sitting here today. Thoughts of home were running through my mind, as I did not know what the outcome would be. We were in the plane for about two hours, and the time was drawing near The anticipation got greater and greater, and my feelings and emotions are difficult to put into words as we approached our drop zone.

173D Troopers in Air over DZ Charlie

As time was getting near, being passed around in our aircraft was a large, confidential aerial photograph of the drop zone. As it got to me, I studied it to try to figure out where we would be landing and hoped we would be landing in that drop zone, not way off course which has happened in the past to other paratroopers, going all the way back to World War II. I thought to myself that this would make a great souvenir so I folded the map into fours and slipped it into my shirt. I probably became the only PFC with a confidential photo of the drop zone prior to our jumping.

When Tim Stout, the editor, came to Milwaukee for a visit last fall, I shared my scrapbook of Vietnam photos and memorabilia. He immediately noticed the map and indicated that he would like to put it into the anniversary issue of the Newsletter for the jump.

That map photo is on the cover of that newsletter. The rest is history.

PFC Gary Ski" Krolikowski, HHC Bde

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on August 12:
1753 Thomas Bewick England, artist (British Birds, Aesop's Fables)
1757 ALF, alien life form (ALF)
1762 George IV king of England (1820-30)
1774 Robert Southey English poet laureate, biographer of Nelson
1781 Robert Mills US, architect (Washington Monument)
1820 Oliver Mowat a founder of the Canadian Confederation
1859 Katharine Lee Bates US, author (America the Beautiful)
1866 Jacinto Benavente y Mart¡nez Spanish dramatist (Nobel 1922)
1867 Edith Hamilton US, writer (Mythology)
1876 Mary Roberts Rinehart mystery writer (Miss Pinkerton)
1880 Christy Mathewson HOF baseball pitcher (Won 37 in 1908)
1881 Cecil B deMille Mass, directed God (10 Commandments)
1884 Frank Swinnerton England, novelist (Summer Storm, Sanctuary)
1887 Erwin Schrodinger Austria, physicist (had a cat)
1890 Al Goodman Nikopol Russia, orch leader (NBC Comedy Hour)
1893 Howard Smith Attleboro Mass, actor (Harvey Griffin-Hazel)
1904 Frank Ervin harness racer (Hambletonian 1959, 66)
1911 Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) Mexico, actor (Around World in 80 Days)
1912 Jane Wyatt Campgaw NJ, actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek)
1913 Kurt Kaszner Vienna Austria, actor (Cmdr Fitzhugh-Land of the Giants)
1915 Alex Wojciechowicz NFL center (Lions, Eagles)
1919 Michael Kidd [Milton Greenwald] choreographer (7 Brides for 7 Bros)
1921 Marjorie Reynolds Buhl Idaho, actress (Peggy-Life of Riley)
1925 Dale Bumpers (Sen-D-Ark)
1925 Norris McWhirter author (Guinness Book of World Records)
1925 Ross McWhirter author (Guinness Book of World Records)
1926 John Derek LA Calif, actor/director (10, Annapolis Story)
1927 Ralph Waite White Plains NY, actor (John-Waltons, Roots)
1929 Buck Owens Sherman Texas, country singer (Hee Haw)
1931 William Goldman author (Lord of the Flies-Nobel 1983)
1932 Porter Wagoner country singer, discovered Dolly Parton (Y'All Come)
1936 Hans Haacke Cologne Germany, artist (Right to Life, Dripper Boxes)
1936 John Poindexter US Chief of Staff
1939 George Hamilton Memphis Tn, (Love at 1st Bite, Where the Boys Are)
1941 Deborah Walley Bridgeport Ct, actress (Mothers-in-Law)
1941 Jennifer Warren NYC, actress (Slap Shot, Fatal Beauty, Mutant)
1949 Mark Knopfler guitar/vocals (Dire Straits-Sultans of Swing)
1951 Charles E Brady Jr Pinehurst NC, USN Commander/astronaut
1951 Hector Rodriguez Cuba, lightweight judo (Olympic-gold-1976)
1954 Pat Metheny jazz guitarist (As Wichita Falls)
1954 Sam J Jones Chicago Ill, actor (Chris-Code Red, The Highway Man)
1960 Lonny Chin Liverpool England, playmate (Jan, 1983)
1960 Morty Black heavy metal rocker (TNT-7 Seas)
1961 Pete De Freitas rocker (Echo & the Bunnymen-Heaven Up Here)
1961 Roy Hay guitarist (Culture Club-Do You Really Want to Hurt Me)

Deaths which occurred on August 12:
0875 Louis II, king of Italy/emperor of France, dies at about 50
1350 Philip VI, king of France
1827 William Blake, poet/painter
1900 Wilhelm Steinitz Prague, Chess champion (1866-1894)
1944 Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
1964 Ian L Fleming, British journalist/writer (James Bond), dies at 56
1982 Henry Fonda actor (On Golden Pond), dies at 77 from heart disease
1992 John Cage, avante-garde composer, dies of a stroke at 79

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BROWN DONALD H. JR. BERKELEY CA.
[PROB SAM HIT NO PARA BEEP, REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85]
1966 ALLINSON DAVID J. HELENA MT.
[GOOD CHUTE NO RADIO CONTACT]
1966 NEUENS MARTIN J. AURORA WI.
["03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV (IRON MOUNTAIN, MI)" ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 WRYE BLAIR C. AUBURNDALE MA.
[ACFT LOST NO CONTACT, REMAINS RETURNED 09/90]
1967 ATTERBERRY EDWIN L. DALLAS TX.
[03/74 DRV RETURNED REMAINS / DIC 05/18/69]
1967 NORRIS THOMAS E. GODFREY IL.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 1998]
1967 PARROTT THOMAS V. DALTON GA.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, DECEASED OCTOBER 1998]
1968 TULLIER LONNIE JOSEPH EAST BATON ROUGE LA.
[08/68 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1969 SEXTON JOHN C. DETROIT MI.
[10/08/71 RELEASED]
1970 BROWN JAMES A. HUMBOLDT TN.
1972 THOMPSON DAVID M. PITTSBURGH PA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0003 Venus-Jupiter in conjunction -- alleged "Star of Bethlehem"
1099 Crusaders are victorious at Battle of Ascalon
1332 Battle of Dupplin Moor; Scottish dynastic battle
1508 Ponce de Le¢n arrives in Puerto Rico
1553 Pope Julius III orders confiscation & burning of the Talmud
1658 1st US police corps forms (New Amsterdam)
1676 King Philip's War (vs Wampanoag Indians) ends in New England
1851 Isaac Singer granted patent for his sewing machine
1856 Anthony Fass patents accordion
1862 Gen John Hunt Morgan & his raiders capture Gallatin, TX
1863 1st cargo of lumber leaves Burrard Inlet (Vancouver, BC area)
1867 Pres A Johnson defies Congress suspending Sec of War Edwin Stanton
1876 Madeline (US) beats Countess Dufferin (Canada) in 4th America's Cup
1877 Thomas Edison invents the Edisonphone, a sound recording device
1879 1st National Archery Association tournament (Chicago)
1888 Bertha, wife of inventor Karl Benz, makes 1st motor tour
1896 Gold discovered at Klondike River at Dawson
1898 Hawaii formally annexed to US
1898 Peace protocol ends Spanish-American War, signed
1915 "Of Human Bondage," by William Somerset Maugham, published
1923 Enrico Tiraboschi is 1st to swim English Channel westward
1925 KMA-AM in Shenandoah IA begins radio transmissions
1928 9th Olympic Games close in Amsterdam
1935 Babe Ruth's final game at Fenway Park, 41,766 on hand
1936 120ø F (49ø C), Seymour, Texas (state record)
1936 Diver Marjorie Gestring is youngest Olympic gold medalist (13y 268d)
1941 French Marshal Henri Petain gave full support to Nazi Germany
1950 NY Giants (NFL) beat Ottawa Roughriders (CFL) 20-6 in Ottawa
1953 Ann Davidson, 1st woman to sail solo across Atlantic, arrives Miami
1953 Soviet Union conducts secret test of its 1st hydrogen bomb
1955 Pres Eisenhower raises minimum wage from $0.75 to $1 an hour
1956 William Shatner marries Gloria Rand
1959 1st ship firing of a Polaris missile, Observation Island
1960 Echo 1, 1st communications satellite, is launched
1960 Ralph Boston of the US, sets then long jump record at 26' 11¬"
1960 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 41,600 m
1961 Overnight Barbed Wire Divides Berlin. Early the next morning, East German troops sealed off all roads between East and West Berlin, and began laying down barbed wire along the border.
1962 Russia launches Vostok 4, Pavel Popovich, who lands safely Aug 15
1964 10th time Mantle switch-hits HR in a game, one goes 502 feet
1964 Race riot in Elizabeth NJ
1965 Race riot in West Side of Chicago
1967 New Orleans Saints 1st pre-season victory, beat St Louis 23-14
1969 Boston Celtics sold for an NBA record $6 million
1972 Last American combat ground troops leave Vietnam
1974 Nolan Ryan strikes-out 19 Red Sox
1974 Yankees Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford become 1st teammates elected to hall of fame on the same day
1976 1st approach & lands test (ALT) of orbiter Enterprise
1977 High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1 launched into Earth orbit
1977 Space shuttle Enterprise makes 1st atmospheric flight
1978 Arron Marshall completes a record shower of 336 hours
1978 ICE is launched
1981 IBM introduces the PC and PC-DOS version 1.0
1981 Jon Erikson (US) becomes 1st to triple cross English Channel (38:27)
1985 Japanese Boeing 747 crashes, 520 die (worst in-flight toll)
1986 Don Baylor gets hits by a pitch for a record 25th time in a season
1986 Red Sox pitcher Tim Lollar gets a pinch-hit single
1987 Charles Cole climbs 870'Tyrolean Traverse from top of Elephant Rock
1988 Boston Red Sox set AL consecutive home victories at 23
1988 Movie "Last Temptation of Christ" is released
1988 Nelson Mandela is treated for tuberculosis at the hospital
1988 Richard Thornburgh becomes US Attorney General
1990 12th annual Macy's Tap-o-mania
1990 Iraq President Saddam Hussein says he is ready to resolve the Gulf crisis if Israel withdraws from occupied territories
1991 Creditors vote to support Greyhound Bus reorganization plan
1992 US, Mexico, and Canada agreed to form a free-trade zone North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would eliminate virtually all tariffs
1993 Pope John Paul II begins visit of US
1998 The two largest Swiss banks and representatives of Holocaust survivors and their heirs agreed on a settlement of claims against the banks.
2001 A suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the northern Israeli coastal town of Haifa, killing himself and wounding 21 people.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Cuba : People's Victory Against Machado Tyranny
Massachusetts, Oklahoma : Indian Day
Texas : Pioneer' Day
Thailand : Queen's Birthday
World : Ponce de Leon Day (1508)
Italy : Palio Del Golfo (2nd Sunday) ( Sunday )
Zambia : Youth Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Yukon : Klondike Gold Day (1896) ( Friday )
Don't Wait...Celebrate Week (Day 3)
Elvis International Tribute Week (Day 3)
National Canning Month

Religious Observances
Jewish : Tisha B'Av

Religious History
1838 Birth of Joseph Barnby, English organist and choirmaster. He composed nearly 250 hymn tunes during his life. Of these the most enduring include LAUDES DOMINI ("When Morning Gilds the Skies"), LONGWOOD ("Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart"), MERRIAL ("Now the Day is Over") and ST. ANDREW ("We Give Thee But Thine Own").
1859 Birth of Katherine Lee Bates, American English teacher. She published over 20 books, but is best remembered today for writing the patriotic hymn, "America, the Beautiful" (a.k.a. "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies").
1952 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'I must come to be aware of Satan. He may never get me into hell, but he may cause God shame in defeating me. Preserve me from the lion, Lord. Let him not swallow me up.'
1978 In Rome, the first papal funeral ever held outdoors was conducted for Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Square.
1988 In Hollywood, the controversial religious movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" was released, sparking protests from evangelical church groups across the nation.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Too much of a good thing is wonderful."

You might be a Monty Python fan if...
you constantly end sentences with, "Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!"

Murphys Law of the day...(Toddlers Laws)
The intensity of the tantrum is directly proportional to the amount of people around to witness.

Cliff Clavin says it a little known fact that...
The last member of the famous Bonaparte family, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, died in 1945, of injuries sustained from tripping over his dog's leash.

Air Power
Bell AH-1 "Cobra"

The AH-1 Super Cobra is a two-place, twin-engine attack helicopter capable of land- or sea-based operations. It provides rotary-wing close air support (CAS), anti-armor/anti-helicopter, armed escort, armed and visual reconnaissance, and supporting arms coordination (SAC) during day/night and adverse weather conditions.

The Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter has struck fear in the hearts of the enemy for more than 30 years. Armed helicopters came into widespread use in Vietnam in the early Sixties. Limitations of the modified armed utility helicopters used led to the specially configured attack helicopter. Instead, the AH-1F Cobra, with its proven firepower and maneuverability, went on to fight in every major US military operation since Vietnam. The Cobra continues its service with the US Marines, as well as eight other foreign nations.

The Cobra traces its lineage from the UH-1 Huey and was originally developed for the US Army in the mid-sixties. The original Cobra retained the Huey's engine, transmission, and other major parts, but replaced the Huey's bulky fuselage with a thin profile fuselage with tandem seating. The Marine Corps later adopted a twin engine variant of the airframe to perform troop helicopter escort and provide autonomous tank killing capability. Through the years, the Cobra has gone through extensive modernization. Today's Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra boasts an advanced Night Targeting System (NTS) and a full suite of survivability equipment.

The primary missions of the Cobra are helicopter Close Air Support (CAS), escort of transport helicopters and ground convoys, armed reconnaissance, helicopter air-to-air attack, anti-shipping operations, and coordination and terminal control of fixed wing CAS, artillery, mortars, and naval gunfire.It is the only western attack helicopter with a proven air-to-air and anti-radar missile capability. The rear seat pilot is primarily responsible for maneuvering the aircraft. The front pilot controls the aircraft's weapons systems, but he also has a full set aircraft controls.

Specifications:
Contractor: Bell Helicopter TEXTRON, Inc. (Prime), General Electric, Kollsman Inc.
Power Plant: Two General Electric T700-GE-401 Turboshaft engines with 1,690 horsepower each.
Accommodations: Two seats, in tandem (pilot in rear, copilot/gunner in front)

Dimensions:
Main rotor diameter: 14.63 m
Tail rotor diameter: 02.97 m
Wing span: 03.28 m
Length: overall, rotors turning 17.68 m
Length: fuselage 13.87 m
Width overall: 03.28 m
Height: (to top of rotor head) 04.11 m

Performance :
Climb rate: 1,925 feet per minute
Maximum altitude: 14,750 feet
Maximum attainable speed: 170 knots (195 mph)
Maximum cruising speed: 152 knots (173 mph)
Range at S/L with standard fuel, no reserves: 317 nm

Armaments:
One M197 three barrel 20 mm gun (mounted under the nose with 750 round ammo container)
Underwing attachments for:
four TOW missiles, or
eight Hellfire missiles, or
one AIM-9L Sidewinder missile
Can also be equipped with Zuni rocket launchers

Countermeasures: AN/ALE-39 Chaff system and SUU-4/1 Flare dispensers

All photos Copyright of Global Security.org

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