The Bell Helicopter UH-1 Iroquois, commonly known as the "Huey", is a multipurpose military helicopter, famous for its use in the Vietnam War.

Anxious to obtain a powerful medevac helicopter, the US Army awarded Bell a contract to develop a next generation turbine powered helicopter. Designated the XH-40 (Bell 204), and powered by a Lycoming T53-L-11 turboshaft, it first flew in 1956 with testing and development continuing into 1957 and 58.

Bell believed the YH-40 was ideal for troop transport and cargo carrying as well as the medevac role, a view soon adopted by the Army who ordered more.

First used by the Army in 1959, the Huey went into tri-service production in 1962 as the UH-1 and in its 14 year production over 16,000 were made, of which around 7,000 saw use in the Vietnam War and over 2,500 were destroyed.

Tasked with ground attack and armed escort roles in Vietnam, many UH-1s were outfitted with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and machine guns; these armed Hueys would later lead to UH-1s sister helicopter the AH-1 Cobra.

A twin-engined variant of the UH-1, the UH-1N Twin Huey, entered service with the US armed forces in 1970, powered by a PT6T-3 Turbo Twin Pac made up of two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T turboshaft engines. The USN has also launched low-rate production of the UH-1Y.

The US Army phased out the UH-1 Huey with the introduction of the UH-60 Black Hawk in 1979, although the Army still has a Residual Fleet of around 700 UH-1s.

Did you know?

The UH-1 has seen active service with over 70 nations and there are almost 40 variants of the UH-1 in the US Army alone.

The UH-1 gained its nickname from its original designation, the HU-1.