When Did The Oh-58a First Enter Service In Vietnam

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Bell OH-58A Kiowa
United states — US Regular army observation/picket helicopter

Archive Photos

[Bell Textron OH-58A Kiowa at the 2000 Torrance Airshow, Zamperini Field, Torrance, CA]

Bell Textron OH-58A Kiowa, 2000 Torrance Airshow, Zamperini Field, Torrance, CA

Overview

The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, military helicopters used for observation, utility, and straight fire support. Bell Helicopter originally manufactured the OH-58 for the Us Army, based on the Model 206A JetRanger helicopter. The Kiowa has been in continuous use by the U.S. Army since 1969. The latest model, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, is primarily operated in an armed reconnaissance role in back up of ground troops. The OH-58 has been exported to Republic of austria, Canada, Dominican Republic, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia; as well as having been produced nether license in Australia.

Role: Observation/sentinel helicopter
National: origin United States
Manufacturer: Bell Helicopter
Offset flight: x January 1966 (206A); 6 October 1983 (OH-58D)
Introduced: May 1969
Main users: United States Regular army; Australian Army; Commonwealth of Cathay Army; Royal Saudi Country Forces
Produced: 1966-1989
Number built: 2,200+
Unit of measurement toll 1990 figures $USD: iv.9 million (OH-58D; $vi.7 million (OH-58D KW); $1.3 million (KW retrofit)
Adult from: Bell 206

Design and Development

In October 1960, the Ground forces submitted a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). Bell, along with 12 other manufacturers (including Fairchild-Hiller and Hughes Tool Co. Shipping Partitioning), entered the competition. In January 1961, Bell proposed their Model 206 design, which was selected out of the blueprint stage of the Navy-run competition past the Regular army and designated every bit the YHO-4.

Lite Observation Helicopter (LOH)

Bell produced five prototype aircraft in 1962 for the Regular army'south test and evaluation phase. The get-go prototype flew on 8 Dec 1962. That same year, all aircraft began to be designated according to the new Joint Services designation system, and then the prototype aircraft were redesignated every bit YOH-4A. The YOH-4A too became known as the Ugly Duckling in comparison to the other contending aircraft. During the testing phase, the test pilots complained nigh the power problems of the aircraft, which eliminated information technology from consideration.

When the YOH-4A was rejected by the Army, Bell went about solving the problem of marketing the aircraft. In improver to the image problem, the helicopter lacked cargo space and but provided cramped quarters for the planned three passengers in the dorsum. The solution was a fuselage redesigned to exist more sleek and aesthetic, calculation 16 cubic feet (0.45 m^three) of cargo space in the process. The redesigned aircraft was designated as the Model 206A, and Bong President Edwin J. Ducayet named it the JetRanger cogent an evolution from the pop Model 47J Ranger.

In 1967, the Army reopened the LOH contest for bids because Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Segmentation couldn't meet the contractual production demands. Bell resubmitted for the plan using the Bong 206A. Fairchild-Hiller failed to resubmit their bid with the YOH-5A, which they had successfully marketed as the FH-1100. In the finish, Bell underbid Hughes to win the contract and the Bell 206A was designated as the OH-58A. Following the U.S. Army'due south naming convention for helicopters, the OH-58A was named Kiowa in honor of the Native American tribe.

Avant-garde Scout Helicopter

In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began evaluating the need to improve the capabilities of their lookout man aircraft. The OH-58A lacked the power for operations in areas that exposed the aircraft to loftier altitude and hot temperatures, areas where the ability to acquire targets was a critical deficiency in the tactical warfare capabilities of Ground forces aviation. The ability shortcoming acquired other bug every bit the Army anticipated the AH-64As replacement of the venerable AH-i in the Attack battalions of the Army. The Army began shopping the idea of an Aeriform Scout Program to industry as a prototype practise to stimulate the development of avant-garde technological capabilities for night vision and precision navigation equipment. The stated goals of the plan included prototypes that would: ... possess an extended target conquering range capability past means of a long-range stabilized optical subsystem for the observer, improved position location through apply of a computerized navigation system, improved survivability by reducing audible, visual, radar, and infrared signatures, and an improved flight operation capability derived from a larger engine to provide compatibility with set on helicopters.

In early on March 1974, the Regular army created a special task force to develop the organisation requirements for the Aeriform Scout Helicopter program, and in 1975 the job force had formulated the requirements for the Advanced Watch Helicopter (ASH) program. The requirements were formulated around an aircraft capable of performing in mean solar day, nighttime, and agin weather and compatible with all the advanced weapons systems planned for evolution and fielding into the 1980s. The program was approved by the Organization Conquering Review Council and the Army prepared for competitive development to begin the adjacent year. However, as the Army tried to get the programme off the footing, Congress declined to provide funding for it in the fiscal year 1977 budget and the ASH Project Manager'due south Part (PM-ASH) was closed on thirty September 1976.

While no development occurred during the next few years, the program survived every bit a requirement without funding. On thirty November 1979, the decision was fabricated to defer development of an advanced lookout helicopter in favor of pursuing modification of existing airframes in the inventory as a virtually term scout helicopter (NTSH) option. The development of a mast-mounted sight would exist the primary focus to improve the aircraft's ability to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, and target conquering missions while remaining hidden behind copse and terrain. Both the UH-1 and the OH-58 were evaluated as NTSH candidates, merely the UH-1 was dropped from consideration due to its larger size and ease of detection. The OH-58, on the other hand demonstrated a dramatic reduction in detectability with an MMS.

On ten July 1980, the Army decided that the NTSH would be a competitive modification program based on developments in the commercial helicopter industry, peculiarly Hughes Helicopters development of the Hughes 500D which provided significant improvements over the OH-half dozen.

Army Helicopter Improvement Plan (AHIP)

The Regular army'due south determination to acquire the NTSH resulted in the "Army Helicopter Improvement Programme (AHIP)". Both Bell Helicopter and Hughes Helicopters redesigned their scout aircraft to compete for the contract. Bong offered a more robust version of the OH-58 in their model 406 aircraft, and Hughes offered an upgraded version of the OH-6, and on 21 September 1981, Bong Helicopter Textron was awarded a development contract. The first prototype flew on 6 Oct 1983, and the aircraft entered service in 1985 equally the OH-58D.

Initially intended to exist used in attack, cavalry and artillery roles, the Army just canonical a low initial product level and confined the role of the OH-58D to field artillery observation. The Army as well directed that a follow-on test exist conducted to further evaluate the aircraft due to perceived deficiencies. On 1 April 1986, the Army formed a chore force at Fort Rucker, Alabama, to remedy deficiencies in the AHIP. As a result of those deliberations, the Army had planned to discontinue the OH-58D in 1988 and focus on the LHX, just Congress approved $138 1000000 for expanding the programme, calling for the AHIP to operate with the Apache as a hunter/killer team; the AHIP would locate the targets, and the Apache would destroy them in a throwback to the traditional OH-58/AH-1 relationship.

The Secretary of the Army directed instead that the aircraft'due south armament systems exist upgraded, based on experience with Task Forcefulness 118's performance operating armed OH-58D helicopters in the Western farsi Gulf in support of Functioning Prime Risk, and that the aircraft be used primarily for scouting and armed reconnaissance. The armed aircraft would be known as the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, denoting its new armed configuration. Starting time with the production of the 202nd aircraft (s/northward 89-0112) in May 1991, all remaining OH-58D aircraft were produced in the Kiowa Warrior configuration. In January 1992, Bell Helicopter received its outset retrofit contract to convert all remaining OH-58D Kiowa helicopters to the Kiowa Warrior configuration.

Operational History

Major General John Norton, commanding general of the Ground forces Aviation Materiel Command (AMCOM), received the first OH-58A Kiowa at a ceremony at Bell Helicopter's Fort Worth plant in May 1969. Two months later, on 17 Baronial 1969, the showtime production OH-58A Kiowa helicopters were arriving in Vietnam, accompanied past a New Equipment Preparation Team (NETT) from the Army and Bell Helicopters. Although the Kiowa production contract replaced the LOH contract with Hughes, the OH-58A did not automatically supervene upon the OH-6A in operation. Later, the "Kiowa" and the "Cayuse" would go along operating in the aforementioned theater until the finish of the state of war.

Vietnam

On 27 March 1970, an OH-58A Kiowa (due south/north 68-16785) was shot downwardly over Vietnam, one of the first OH-58A losses of the war. The pilot, Warrant Officeholder Ralph Quick, Jr., was flying Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Benoski, Jr. equally an artillery spotter. Later on completing a battle damage assessment for a previous fire mission, the shipping was damaged past .51 cal (13 mm) car gun fire and crashed, killing both crew members. Approximately 45 OH-58A helicopters were destroyed in Vietnam due to combat and accidents. One of the terminal combat losses was of an OH-58A (s/n 68-16888) from A Troop, 3-17^thursday Cavalry, flown by First Lieutenant Thomas Knuckey. On 27 May 1971, Lieutenant Knuckey was likewise flying a battle damage assessment mission when his shipping came under machine gun fire and exploded. Knuckey and his observer, Sergeant Philip Taylor, both died in the explosion.

Functioning Prime Risk

In early 1988, it was decided that armed OH-58D (AHIP) helicopters from the 118^th Aviation Task Force would be phased in to supplant the SEABAT (AH-6/MH-half dozen) teams of Chore Force 160^thursday to carry out Performance Prime Take chances, the escort of oil tankers during the Islamic republic of iran-Iraq War. On 24 Feb 1988, two AHIP helicopters reported to the Wimbrown VII, and the SEABAT team stationed on the barge returned to the United states. For the next few months, the AHIP helicopters on the Wimbrown VII shared patrol duties with the SEABAT team on the Hercules. Coordination was difficult, simply despite frequent requests from TF-160, the SEABAT squad on the Hercules was not replaced past an AHIP disengagement until June 1988. The OH-58D helicopter crews involved in the functioning received deck landing and underwater survival preparation from the Navy.

In November 1988, the number of OH-58D helicopters that supported Task Force 118 was reduced. Still, the aircraft continued to operate from the Navy's Mobile Body of water Base of operations Hercules, the frigate Underwood, and the destroyer Connolly. OH-58D operations primarily entailed reconnaissance flights at night, and depending on maintenance requirements and transport scheduling, Regular army helicopters usually rotated from the mobile sea base and other combatant ships to a land base of operations every vii to fourteen days. On 18 September 1989, an OH-58D crashed during night gunnery do and sank, simply with no loss of personnel. When the Mobile Sea Base Hercules was inactivated in September 1989, all but five OH-58D helicopters redeployed to the continental United States.

RAID

In 1989, Congress mandated that the Ground forces National Guard would be a player in the country's War on Drugs, enabling them to aid federal, state and local law enforcement agencies with "special congressional entitlements". In response, the Army National Guard Bureau created the Reconnaissance and Aeriform Interdiction Detachments (RAID) in 1992, consisting of aviation units in 31 states with 76 specially modified OH-58A helicopters to assume the reconnaissance/interdiction role in the fight against illegal drugs. During 1994 twenty-four states conducted more i,200 aerial counter-drug reconnaissance and interdiction missions, conducting many of these missions at night. Somewhen, the program was expanded to cover 32 states and consisting of 116 aircraft, including dedicated training aircraft at the Western Regular army Aviation Training Site (WAATS) in Marana, Arizona.

The RAID plan's mission has now been expanded to include the war against terrorism and supporting U.S. Border Patrol activities in back up of homeland defense. The National Baby-sit RAID units' Area of Operation (AO) is the just 1 in the Department of Defense that is wholly contained within the borders of the Us.

Operation Just Cause

During Operation Merely Crusade, a Sentinel Weapons Team, consisting of an OH-58 and an AH-1, were role of the Aviation Task Force during the securing of Fort Amador in Panama when the OH-58 was fired upon by Panama Defense force Force soldiers and crashed 100 yards (91 grand) away, in the Bay of Panama. The pilot was rescued just the co-pilot died.

Korea

In 17 December 1994, in Korea a Wha-Sung shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile brought downwards a U.Southward. Army OH-58C that had strayed north of the De-Militarized Zone that acts as a sort of "No Human'due south Land", or a buffer, separating Due north and Republic of korea. One pilot was killed, the other survived and was taken prisoner by Democratic people's republic of korea. He was released after several weeks in custody with minor injuries.

Post 9/11

The U.s. Army has employed Kiowa Warriors during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Indelible Liberty. Through attrition to gainsay and accidents, over xxx airframes have been destroyed. The age of the helicopters and the loss of airframes resulted in a plan to procure a new aircraft, the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter ARH-70, which was later canceled due to toll overruns.

Variants

OH-58A: The OH-58A Kiowa is a 4-place observation helicopter. The Kiowa has two-place pilot seating, although the controls in the left seat are designed to exist removed to bear a passenger up forepart. During its Vietnam development, it was fitted with the M134 Minigun, a 7.62 mm electrically operated machine gun. A full of 74 OH-58A helicopters were delivered to the Canadian Armed Forces as COH-58A and afterward redesignated every bit CH-136 Kiowa helicopters. In 1978, OH-58A aircraft began to be converted to the same engine and dynamic components as the OH-58C. And, in 1992, 76 OH-58A were modified with some other engine upgrade, a thermal imaging system, a communications packet for law enforcement, enhanced navigational equipment and high skid gear as part of the Army National Guard's (ARNG) Counter-Drug RAID program.

OH-58B: An export version for the Austrian Air Force.

CAC CA-32: The Australian Authorities too procured the OH-58A for the Australian Army and Majestic Australian Navy. Produced under contract in Australia equally the CA-32 past Commonwealth Shipping Corporation, the aircraft was the equivalent of the 206B-1 (upgraded engine and longer rotor blades). The kickoff twelve of 55 were built in the U.South. then partially disassembled and shipped to Australia where they were reassembled. Helicopters in the naval armada were retired in 2000.

OH-58C: Equipped with a more robust engine, the OH-58C was supposed to solve many issues and concerns regarding the Kiowa's power. In addition to the upgraded engine, the OH-58C had unique IR suppression systems mounted on its turbine frazzle. Early "C" models featured apartment-panel windscreen every bit an effort to reduce glint from the sun, which could requite away the aircraft'south location to an enemy. The windscreen had a negative result of limiting the forward view of the coiffure, a previous strength of the original design. The shipping were besides equipped with a larger instrument panel, roughly a third bigger than the OH-58A panel, which held larger flight instruments. The console was likewise equipped with Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible cockpit lighting. The lights inside the aircraft are modified to prevent them from interfering with the aircrews' employ of NVGs. OH-58C aircraft were also the start U.Due south. Army scout helicopter to be equipped with the AN/APR-39 radar detector, a organization which immune the crew to know when in that location were anti-shipping radar systems in proximity to the aircraft. Some OH-58C aircraft were armed with 2 AIM-92 Stingers. These aircraft are sometimes referred to as OH-58C/S, the "S" referring to the Stinger installation. Called Air-To-Air Stinger (ATAS), the weapon organisation was intended to provide an air defense force capability.

OH-58D: The OH-58D (Bell Model 406) was the upshot of the Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP). An upgraded transmission and engine gave the shipping the power it needed for nap-of-the-earth flight profiles, and a iv-bladed main rotor made it much quieter than the ii-bladed OH-58C. The OH-58D introduced the about distinctive feature of the Kiowa family unit — a Mast-Mounted Sight (MMS) above the rotor organisation with a gyro-stabilized platform containing a Goggle box System (TVS), a Thermal Imaging System (TIS), and a Laser Range Finder/Designator (LRF/D). These new features gave the aircraft the additional mission adequacy of target conquering and laser designation in both 24-hour interval or night, and in limited-visibility and adverse atmospheric condition.

406CS: Xv aircraft based on the OH-58D (sometimes referred to every bit the MH-58D) were sold to Saudi arabia every bit the Bell 406CS "Gainsay Scout". A Saab HeliTOW sight system was opted for in place of the MMS. The sight was mounted on the roof of the aircraft, just to a higher place the left airplane pilot seat. The 406CS likewise had detachable weapon hard points on each side.

AH-58D: OH-58D aircraft operated by Chore Force 118 (fourth Squadron, 17th Cavalry) and modified with ammunition in back up of Operation Prime Take a chance. The weapons and fire control systems would become the basis for the Kiowa Warrior. AH-58D is not an official DOD aircraft designation, but is used past the Ground forces in reference to these aircraft.

Kiowa Warrior: The Kiowa Warrior, sometimes referred to past its acronym KW, is the armed version of the OH-58D Kiowa. The main difference that distinguishes the Kiowa Warrior from the original AHIP aircraft is a universal weapons pylon establish mounted on both sides of the aircraft. These pylons are capable of conveying combinations of Hellfire missiles, Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS) missiles, 7-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) Hydra-seventy rocket pods, and an M296 .50 quotient motorcar gun. The Kiowa Warrior upgrade also includes improvements in available power, navigation, communication and survivability, also as modifications to improve the aircraft'south deployability.

OH-58X: Modification of the fourth development OH-58D (south/north 69-16322) with partial stealth features and a chin-mounted McDonnell-Douglas Electronics Systems turret as a dark piloting arrangement; including a Kodak FLIR system with a xxx-degree field of view. Avionics systems were consolidated and moved to the nose, making room for a passenger seat in the rear. No shipping were produced.

Operators

Australia
Austria
Canada
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Dominican Republic (OH-58C)
Saudi arabia
United States

Specifications — OH-58A Kiowa

General Characteristics

Crew: 1 pilot, 2 pilots, or 1 airplane pilot and ane observer
Length: 32 ft two in (9.81 m)
Rotor bore: 35 ft 4 in (ten.77 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (ii.92 chiliad)
Empty weight: 1,553 lb (704 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 2,313 lb (1,049 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Allison T63-A-700 turboshaft, 317 shp (236 kW)
Fuel capacity: seventy gal (264.9 liters)

Performance

Maximum speed: 120 knots (222.2 km/h)
Cruise speed: 102 knots (188.ix km/h)

Armament

Guns: I M134 7.62 mm Minigun mounted on the M27 Ammunition Subsystem, or
Ane M129 twoscore mm Grenade Launcher mounted on the XM8 Armament Subsystem

Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

General Characteristics

Crew: ii pilots
Length: 42 ft 2 in (12.85 m)
Main rotor bore: 35 ft 0 in (x.67 m)
Height: 12 ft 105/8 in (3.93 m)
Main rotor area: 14.83 ft^two (1.38 mⁱⁱ)
Gross weight: v,500 lb (2,495 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce T703-Advertizement-700A or 250-C30R/3 turboshaft, 650 hp (485 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 149 mph (241 km/h)
Cruise speed: 127 mph (204 km/h)
Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (four,575 m)

Ammunition

AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles
Hydra lxx rockets
M296 .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine gun (a modified M2 Browning machine gun)
AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles

Notes

The last new build shipping were delivered to the U.S. Army in 1989. The subsequent arming of the AHIP and the Arrangement Safety Enhancement Program (SSEP) caused aircraft to be steadily refitted until 1999.

References