This Leather Bound book was printed for the Veterans of Foriegn Wars in 2007 by Osprey Publishing with 160 pages. The endpapers and pastedowns are adorned with VOFW Logo. The text is unmarked. The binding is sound. The side edge of the rear cover and the top of the spine panel are rubbed through and scuffed. The page edges are lightly foxed. ith the convening of the Howze Board in 1962, the era of US Army helicopter-borne warfare had truly begun. The use of helicopters for "vertical envelopment" through air mobility perfectly suited these new machines, which had in turn given the Army an unparalleled degree of combat flexibility in the post-Korean War era. Gen Hamilton Howze's Board presented its findings to the Army on August 30, 1962, and it recommended the creation of new "Air Cavalry" combat brigades, and the design of specific aircraft for use by these new units. The new "Sky Cav" doctrine, created by the llth Air Assault Division and perfected by them in the jungles of the Republic of Vietnam as the 1st Cavalry Division, would change the face of warfare forever......The early years of the Vietnam War clearly showed that while the doctrine was sound, the equipment being used by the Army could be improved. Bolting weapons onto UH-1A, B and C model Hueys to create gunships to escort troop-carrying helicopters and support troops on the ground was adequate, and from 1962, these aircraft performed the gunship mission very effectively through to the end of the conflict. However, while they were able to do the job, the limitations of these helicopters were readily apparent to both the crews and to the Army at large. The Huey gunships possessed plenty of firepower, but were underpowered and too slow to effectively escort and protect the larger, faster CH-47 Chinook - the standard medium lift helicopter employed by the US Army in Vietnam.....Thus dawned the age of the attack helicopter. The engineers at Bell Helicopter, acutely aware of the future need for a machine of this type, designed a futuristic mockup of a potential contender for the world's first true attack helicopter. Unveiled to the Army in June 1962 at Bell's Fort Worth, Texas, facility, the D255 Iroquois Warrior, as the company-funded project was known, met with a mix of awe and scepticism. Conservative elements within the army saw little need for such a sophisticated and, as yet, unproven helicopter. Proponents viewed the machine as one that could move with near impunity over the modern battlefield......While the D255 was certainly an impressive sight, a great deal of research and development was needed to validate Bell's concept before a prototype could be built. The decision was made to create a flying testbed to prove the principles of armed helicopter doctrine. A hybrid aircraft was duly created utilizing the proven Bell H-13 as the basis for the design. This small helicopter, famous for its service as an air ambulance in the Korean War, was the ideal platform to illustrate this concept......Using the tailboom of a Model 47-J mated to a completely redesigned fuselage, Bell created the Model 207, also known as the OH-13X Sioux Scout. This new aircraft incorporated several features that would become standard on attack helicopter designs for the next 40 years. A tandem, stepped cockpit was added instead of the usual side-by-side seating, the pilot being sat in the rear seat, which was slightly higher than the gunner in front of him. This was done to allow an all-around view for both crewmembers, and also to ensure that the helicopter had as small a frontal silhouette as possible.....Flight-testing of the single testbed Model 207 (carrying civilian register N73927) commenced in 1963, and pilots who flew the helicopter were suitably impressed, although they all wanted an aircraft with more power and capability. The General Electric TAT-101 turret performed well, and its twin M-60 machine guns functioned properly. This turret validated the helicopter as a flexible gun platform, and would later be seen on US Marine Corps UH-1E gunships in Vietnam.

Helicopters,  Vietnam  Air  Tactics,  Air  CAV,  Air  Warfare,  Iriquios,  Soiux