UH-1 Huey | Behind the Wings 

Hey guys, thanks for all the corrections on the speed of the turbine vs. rotor. What I should of said is the "turbine" spins at 6600rpm. The "rotor" spins at 324rpm. - MB

“Who doesn’t love the Huey” Well... The Vietnamese

*fortunate son intensifies*

Unknown Combat Instructor: "The only time you can have too much fuel or ammo........... is when you're on fire..........................."

I was in a Cav unit and I have an artificial knee from going down in a UH1D in 1972. It was a great bird very reliable despite my knee and even today 48 years later just hearing one brings back memories.

I graduated high school in 1974. "Missed it by THAT much", as Maxwell Smart would say. Those UH-1 pilots were SO brave, not much to prevent them from being shot or blown up. Saw many documentaries on air crew duty in Vietnam, and all combat duty there. My best friend served in 1970-71, and was at Khe Sahn for LAM SON 719. I learned not to bring it up, but spent many hours trying to ease his mind and soul. I['m sorry for the experience those guys had, both during their tours, and upon returning home. I thank you for your service, and wish you a peaceful life here on out...

Those two men are still more badass than anyone I can think of today. It's a shame our country didn't appreciate them in their youth.

Col. Bill McPherson and Lt. Col. Ken Overturf you guys are the strength of America in wartime; highest reguards to you both sirs!

I graduated from the Army Flight School in August’68 as a 22 yo Warrant Officer. Upon arriving “in country” I was assigned to the 1st Cav. I flew slicks for 3-4 months out of Dau Tieng and then was transferred to Phuck Vin and Division H. Q. and the Left Bank Squad. One morning our mission area was out around Tay Nin. After pre-flight I hovered over to “POL” to top off the Jp4. We had a crew of 6, CW2 Steve ??? the AC, Ted H. and another radio operator, a crew chief, an observer and myself as 1st pilot. With the crew, all the radio equipment and topped off fuel I could couch the UH D up to a 3’ hover but not maintain it. The air temp, the thin air (density altitude) and the gross weight of the bird made normal flight difficult. After getting clearance for a “running take-off I pulled enough collective (power) to make the ship light on the skids, then slid over to and down the runway slowly picking up speed and at about 24 knots magic happens. It’s called Transitional Lift, where the force of gravity, drag, power, atmospheric conditions and air speed balance allowing the helicopter to beat the air into submission and FLY. Well, sort of fly. Yes the aircraft is off the ground and moving through the air but it is a very delicate situation, no sudden control movements until you burn off fuel and lose weight. It was a slow climb to 1500 feet and not to far from Fire Support Base Thunder 2 when we heard a horrendous metallic grinding noise. Scanning the gages gave no clue to the nature of the source of the horrific brief grinding noise. The crew chief activated the intercom asking “ Sir did you hear that” ,I replied yes and then it happened again. I told Steve, the AC I was initiating auto rotation. Even though all the gauges were “in the green “ I knew the aircraft could not make noise like that and still fly. (After all, a helicopter is just a bunch of critical moving parts moving through the sky in close formation). Was auto rotation the right call? My thinking was if it was an engine problem it would not be operating much longer and I didn’t want it to blow apart and cause secondary damage. If it was a transmission problem I didn’t want power from the engine to make it any worse. Steve, being the A C took control and continued the auto rotation. I made the Mayday call “ Mayday Mayday Mayday Jaguar 27, Two miles NE of Thunder 2 going down. I repeated the call 3 times and the response came in a slow Southern drawl “Jaguar 27 … this is. Ben Hoa approach Control. I. Got. You. On. My. Radar. My instantaneous reply, Rodger Ben Hoa, send me gun ships and medivac. We hit the ground sliding forward ran into something that stopped forward progress and rolled the aircraft onto the right side. I’m in the right seat looking at the ground pressing against door inches from my face and a helmet falls onto the door window right in front of me. I’m looking at the back of a helmet thinking there’s a head still inside it. Thankfully there was not a decapitation this time. All six of us scrambled out and even though JP4 spilled out it did not burn. We landed/crashed close to FSB Thunder 2 and men from there came running out with rifles to see why the heck a Huey would land / crash there. They made a protective perimeter around the site. Meanwhile one of the three Generals of the 1st Cav Division was in the air, his pilot CW3 Jim Nunn heard my Mayday call, recognized the call sign, ( we were hooch mates). Jim told the General and they monitored the extraction process of our crew, the sensitive materials and the broken ship. I flew Left Bank missions,moved over to the left seat and trained newbies for the rest of my tour then did the 6 month extension that the Army offered. I transferred to a Cobra Unit and flew front seat until we were shot down, extricated and I was medivaced home. More tales to tell, some other time, now I lay me down to sleep. CW2 Paul L. Seramur Jr.

I have a lot of ride time in the Huey (which we used to call them “Slicks”).They could just slip ride in to your location and pick you up or add fire support! Love them!

Matt you do a great job listening during interviews. Don't be shy about making these episodes a tad longer, especially when you're interviewing veterans. Their stories are awesome.

Man these episodes with veterans are always the best. Could be way longer if you ask me

You were right. This is one of the best videos of your channel. It was awesome!. How cool is this!

"I'll see you later honey, I've gotta go down to the hangar and do an interview with this hippy tv host. Heh, he wants to know about the choppers."

Was door gunner on uh1b in first cav in 1967 we had a box on the floor with about 2000 rounds m60 on bungee cord the aircraft I flew on 049 is now restored and flying with American huey 049 in indiana

Thanks for the memories. I was born and raised in mid 60s in south western Vietnam and my father and uncles served the south Vietnam government . Missed the chop chop sounds from these choppers whenever they flew over our school. One of my uncle was Huey maintenance crew in Tan son nhat air base in 70s. He got 2nd degrees burns during the Vietnam war.

Who wouldn't love to sit down with those two pilots over a beer and listen to their stories?!

In the book, Chickenhawk, by Robert Mason, he had a saying among pilots. "Real pilots fly helicopters, everyone else talks about flying." Mason was on the "First Team" in 1965-66. His book acutely describes how to fly the Huey. Excellent book.

The vintage footage was showing mostly UH1D/H models which had the "stretched out" fuselage meant for carrying troops. The M model was an upgraded C model and used as a Gunship. It retained the short body of the A/B/C model Hueys, but with improved engine and rotor blades, as well as improved weapons systems.

When are you guys gonna go give the Tomcat some love?

Huge respect to the pilots who flew these in Vietnam 😎👊☘

Huey by far the most iconic and recognizable American helicopter.

Thank you for sharing your opportunity to interview these Vietnam Veterans.

so many hueys still in service on all sides of the globe. i love em

Always loved hearing the Huey beat the air as they passed overhead. Went for a mapping of the Earth ride in Camp Grayling Mi. Had a blast!

I like the Huey, I love it. It holds a special place in my heart, but the Blackhawk will always hold the key to my heart. I must admit, the Huey has such a soothing rotor sound lol

All my respect to all those crews that flew that bird. UH-1 Huey the ABSOLUTE BEST helicopter that ever flew, the Chinook is right there too. Great episode

This was your best episode yet!!

6,600 RPM for the Main Rotor Blade RPM? No, not even close. Maybe the power plant was spinning at 6,600 RPM. The main rotor blades would fly apart at 6,600 RPM. Main rotor blades would rotate at between 315 and 330 RPM. USMC 6173 2008-2013

*Ride of the valkyries intensifies*

"Loaded for Bear".... Actually, the Huey was loaded for Charlie!

Thanks for this episode and huge respect to everyone who ever worked on or with this machine

Greatest Helicopter of all time! Edit: Best sounding one too!

Pretty sure those two seniors could still get a fine tune out that old girl.

The first Huey flew in 1956, the first Black Hawk became operational in 1979. That's 23 years! The Huey was a real break through helicopter operationally for the time. Cheap to build, easy to fix, very good pay load, good speed and distance, good altitude ability. Easy to transport. Very adaptable. They still fly a bunch them.

What a gorgeous looking airframe! It’s great to listen to the veteran aircrew and their stories. Keep up the good work!

Please keep uploading videos.. love your video's. I hope someday i visit this museum...Love from India

My wife's uncle few them in Vietnam, and then again with the National Guard through the early 00's. He was deployed during Desert Storm flying these very same ships:-).

Lovely documentary. Thanks

I was in Nam in 70/71 and was an infantry grunt. We came out of the bush for a stand-down, me and two buddies went down to the PX and there was a 8mm film color movie camera for sale and I bought it. Took movies of buddies and when we about ready to go back in the bush, I asked a clerk to put it into our Company storeroom until I returned. He simply said it would get stolen, so after thinking about it, I put it in a M-60 ammo can to keep it dry. I took movies of our truck ride to the landing zone and with my legs hanging out sitting on the floor of the Huey I took movies of the entire combat assault and then when I got to the ground continued. I also have pictures of 174th Sharks, one I am sitting in the co-pilot seat. When I got home from Nam I put the film reels into a closet and didn't look at them until 2007. I decided to post them on RU-vid. History Channel contacted me and asked if they could use my footage in their documentary Vietnam in HD. I sent them the reels and upgraded them to HD and then sent me digital copies. I decided to edit the footage and add narration and pay Tribute to the last Chaplain to be killed in combat in Nam. It was Easter Sunday 1971 and he brought hot food. He asked if he could eat lunch with us and I was sorta blessed to sit next to him for over an hour. I felt he was my new best friend. Unfortunately, his helicopter was ambushed and he and 10 other men were killed right in front of us. This video has been seen almost 1.9 million times. Wolfie the Grunt is the title.

God Bless these two Veterans God Bless ALL Veterans God Bless all 🇺🇸 American Military God Bless 🇺🇸America🇺🇸

Thank you for this, what an awesome video... Also thank you, gentlemen, for your service!

I'm sure you thanked these magnificent gentlemen for their service.

Outstanding. Love the Huey!!! Special Thank you to our Hero's that gave us the background on this aircraft. Thank you for your service!!

Love how the USMC UHY1 Venom video is shown. Great video. Thanks

Weirdly animated war hippie with gameshow music. *Subscribed*

This channel deserves more subs. Really cool to see vets telling their experience.

Simply so well done. Fascinating and a real treat to watch. Thank you.

Used to fly in the UH1H, and Super Huey in the fire service. Love these old birds! Always look up when I hear the familiar twin blade rotors!

We still use that here in the Philippines. Get some!!

I'm super stoked to have found Behind the Wings, I can't wait for life to go back to normal so I can go around and see all these awesome aircraft

As a prior service Aircraft Mechanic, I was told in training that the empennage of the UH-1, was constructed with "J" stringers. Which to the layman means the profile shape of the stringer running length wise of the tail, was actually copied from the Russian Mig-15, as the Mig-15 has "J" stringers,

Two fantastic chaps right there and on top of that a fantastic and versatile helicopter that would become the icon for that brutal conflict we know to be Vietnam. Love the way you Yanks are so fantastic at keeping their history alive. Greetings from Britain 🇬🇧

Outstanding! Fly Army Air!

One more awesome episode. Thanks!!!!.

Thank you, Mr. Burchette! 👍

The engine had an output of 6600 rpm after a lot of internal reductions from a turbine speed upwards of 20,000 rpm. Most huey's of the earlier types used either the L9 or L11 versions of the T53 and produced around 1100 hp. The 540 rotor system originated with the C model UH1, and later in the series was used on the M model. A variation of the 540 system was also used on the AH 1 Cobra.

Great video!Here in Greece still in service!

Being an air cavalryman is awesome but those hats are even more awesome! Thank you Gentlemen for your service!

Yoo..! I'm also a middle 1960's Vietnam with three tours behind me ( 2 PH's )..! In my days, I could be flying a Huey one day and operating on a wounded Marine the next day.. Most of my fellow combat friends that did not die in the war have since died off one by one. Looking at 80, I will be with my buddies in the near future. Semper Fi, " DOC '.

I had one land in my front yard as a kid in the 70s. Still burnt into my mind.

Great episode! Can't wait for more! Hopefully that Tomcat back there would love to get the camera on her!

A very concise explanation of what it takes to maneuver a rotor wing aircraft in flight!

There are two historically brilliant beautiful idiosyncratic aircraft that have captured the hearts of their nations and lovers of aircraft in military history, the British Spitfire and the UH-1 Huey. They are special creations

Awesome museum that greatly appreciates the local military. They hosted several unit send offs from the Colorado Army National Guard Aviation from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado.

Nothing but respect for my veterants!

Thank you very much for the service of those 2 gentlemen

Great Video, Thanks to the Col. , and Lt Col. Thanks for your service! MIA/POW Never Forgotten !

The turbine model is the famed Lycoming T-53 which had many different versions starting at L-11,L-13,L-13B etc. The original versions had coking problems on the fuel nozzles and cracking problems as well.

The engine shown looks to be, at best, a T53L11D. It is certainly not a T53L13 since they had a variety of difficulties and were quickly replaced by the T53L13A which also had issues and was upgraded to the T53L13B which operated spectacularly, logging 10s of millions of flight hours in Viet Nam.

I just remembered my neighbor Benny Crespo who wash shot down over Vietnam in a Huey. He survied the war and died a few years ago in Miami. God bless him.

Informative n interesting video, especially the walk around. Looking forward to your next video.

Keep the videos coming!!!

Sorry for the shit you boys got when you got back, we never forget and always remember, thank you Sir

Just beautiful to see and hear - the men and the bird.

Very impressive video. Thank You Colonel's for your service. SALUTE.

My dad used to service these helicopters in Germany

The Charlie Model had the L11 engine, the Mike Model was L13 At 1300 and !3B was 1400. We went RVN with Chuck model. Never got Mike models. Got Cobras in 67. Love the Chuck models

THANK YOU !!

Thanks for producing this video; I enjoyed it. I was startled to hear the main rotor ran 6,600 RPM... 330 was my recollection from 50 years ago :) Glad to see others caught the same. Nice to see and hear the Colonel's recollections.

Love the Huey. Mad love. I wanna fly one then marry it.

The 9SQN RAAF UH-1 Bushrangers had a similar setup but with twin M60s mounted on each door.

rotor wing interview, that's cool, thanks for the Huey episode.

Thanks for your story and the real pilots. Very easy to understand a legend helicopter

1:46 guy who jumped out of the left side was KIA when boots touched the dirt.

When did we get so OLD?

Thank you for your service respect

Thank you gentlemen.

I can already hear 'fortunate son'

When the trees start speaking Vietnamese and the Huey’s start talking

Thanks for the video enjoyed

This is really cool to see. My grandfather flew these while in Vietnam as part of the 281st AHC

Lycoming T53-L-13B is the engine I fixed them in the Army. I worked on everything that spins.

I'm here with a REAL AND ALIVE PERSON

Engine a Lycoming T53-L-13. M-23 door gun mount would be very unusual on a B/C/M gunship, usually a "free 60" suspended from a bungee cord was normal for gunners. Would also be more likely to have M134 miniguns instead of the XM-6 quad machine gun system especially later in the war, though that may be understandably difficult/expensive for the museum to obtain. Also, small cover on upper part of the nose indicates it could have been fitted with the XM-5 40mm grenade launcher; this was where the feed chute was fitted. Huey my favorite aircraft of all. Only got to actually ride in one once. Could do almost anything, such a versatile platform. Saw one fly over the other day, was an obvious ex-military H model but in civilian colors. Actually have a book with pictures of a Nebraska ARNG UH-1M being worked on in 1987!

Great series!!, love it

Whoever gave your script should be fired. The UH-1C Huey Gunship UH-1C: The UH-1B gunship lacked the power necessary to carry weapons and ammunition and keep up with transport Hueys, and so Bell designed yet another Huey variant, the "UH-1C", intended strictly for the gunship role. It is an UH-1B with improved engine, modified blades and rotor-head for better performance in the gunship role.[13] 767 built.[67] Later on, the Charlie Model was upgraded to the Mike Model UH-1M: Gunship specific UH-1C upgrade with Lycoming T53-L-13 engine of 1,400 shp (1,000 kW).[13] The M-60 mounting for the Door Gunners was Never Used and the 500 round ammo box was never used. In my unit, we shot the M-60 FreeHand and used empty shipping boxes as ammo boxes to contain about 1,200 rounds of ammo. So if this aircraft served with 1 Cav. So why does it also have the makings of the 174th Sharks?. Not a good job on the part " Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum " I server with the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company Black Cats & Alley Cats. Crew Chief 3rd Platoon Alley Cats December 1970-71 @ Marble Mountain Airfield, DaNang, Republic of South Vietnam.

I always wondered what Mr. Van Driessen from Beavis and butthead was doing these days. Teaching about aircraft

ayy props to matt for taking the time to respond to comments and try improve the videos.

Great video. 👍🏻👍🏻