On September 7th of 1965 a weapon took to the air for the first time.
That rotored aircraft would not only stand the test of time, she’s used on today’s battlefield and is loved by infantry on the ground.
Meet the “Killer Snake”; this is the Bell AH-1 Cobra.
Today the Cobra is the main attack helicopter supporting our US Marines but the story spans back to a war where she was used to support our Army.
From Jim Kane, an AH-1 pilot 1968-71 during the Vietnam War:
“A Cobra was like a World War II fighter. It was a joy to fly.”
Before getting into the facts, I’d like to share my personal opinion on the success of the Cobra.
Like two other workhorse weapons of the sky, the F-16 and the A-10 Warthog…this gunship helicopter shared one of the most important elements to “staying power”.
A simple and small design.
Complex weapons turn heads and make the news but this helicopter gets in and out quickly (with little back-and-forth from those worried about the cost of actually using an aircraft).
-Rick
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So how did the Cobra go from Army to Navy/Marines?
Shortly after her first flight, in August of ‘67, the AH-1G Cobra arrived in Vietnam.
During ‘Nam, troops were dropped off by the UH-1 “Iroquois” Huey transports and were left with no firepower from above.
(Huey pictured above)
This was a big deal because those troops were at their most vulnerable point…ding, ding…a light killer could help them get their footing.
Due to its effectiveness during battle, the Marines developed their own version.
Over the years, the Marine’s Cobra began with just 2 main rotor blades above.
It would then add two more rotor blades for a total of 4 lifting power spinners but let’s look at the main addition back in the Navy’s 1968 design…
…Navy aircraft fly over water.
As such, they build in a back-up engine in case one fails while over sea.
(old single engine pictured above)
The newest “Viper” Cobras have two turboshaft engines, both able to churn out 1,800 shaft horsepower (combined 36 hundred shp).
This power gives them a max climb rate of 2,790 feet per minute.
Now let’s get to the firepower.
Up front, the early version AH-1’s swivelling gun turret could be set-up to have two miniguns or two grenade launchers or combo of the two (pictured above/below).
M75 40mm grenade launcher with 7.62mm minigun on an M28/XM9 armament sub-system turret.
Today’s modern AH-1W “Super Cobra” has an M197 Gatling cannon.
It can hold up to 750 rounds that fire from the M97 turret system. Also on the newest AH-1Z “Viper”, the system is linked to the pilot’s helmet…the gun moves up/down and side-to-side while following the motion of where the operator is looking.
The gun’s 3 spinning barrels fire off 25 bullets in one second.
Cobras have multiple rocket configurations.
M158 launchers pack seven 70mm rockets on each side of the aircraft or for even more fun, attach two M200 launchers that pack in 19 rockets (total of 38).
Modern Cobras can also fire up to eight 5-inch “Zuni” rockets with a two by 4-round launcher layout.
A major development beginning back in the Navy’s up-graded version was the use of TOW missiles.
This flyby wire system was much more accurate than mass multi-rocket barrages.
Modern AH-1s also can carry 16 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles in a 4-round configuration.
AGM-114 Hellfires are laser guided missiles for strikes against armored ground targets or specific high-valued individuals…but they’ll clear out multiple bad-guys in the same room too.
On the side hardpoints, AH-1Ws can mount an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile (total of two).
These bad boys help defend against other aircraft.
A crew of 2 operates the Cobra.
The rear copilot operates/launches the rockets firing from the fixed wing.
Up front, the copilot operates the gun system.
Both pilots are trained and capable of flying the helicopter; usually, the rear seat pilots her.
Finally, the newest AH-1Z “Viper” has a max speed of 255 mph.
This leads to my conclusion…
I’ve got about 100 High-res photos that would make for a kick-A follow up post.
I’d like to get into the details of the newest up grades from the older AH-1W Super Cobras to the futuristic new AH-1Z Vipers.
It will show the differences of the older “Whisky” vs the new “Zulu” versions.
Technology has come a long way.
Just compare the older cockpit above…
…to the newer digital “Zulu” cockpit above.
Hope you guys get a chance to check out the post.
Also, I’ll get to the AH-64 Apache too.
Send in those Longbows for a future gallery.
All of these final images come from Chiver submits.
You guys make the site work…Thank You.
THE AH-1 COBRA.
She won’t go quietly into the night.
For you guys that really know your details…Chiver call-out question.
Can you help me with the visual differences between the AH-1W/4BW vs AH-1Z or is it the same after H1 up-grades?
(both have 4 main blades)
