Huey Helicopter 091, (Bell UH-1 Iroquois)
date: label: Date made
content: 1965
label: deployed
content: 1966-09
name: label: maker
content: Bell Helicopter
notes: label: Description
content: First introduced into U.S. Army service in 1959, the Bell Helicopter UH-1 Iroquois, more commonly known as the “Huey,” became one of the iconic symbols and sounds of the Vietnam War. During the 1960s, the UH-1 found usage with all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, serving as a troops and supply transport, gunship, medevac, reconnaissance, and search and rescue platform. Variants of the UH-1 continue to operate in the United States and overseas, with production numbers exceeding 16,000 examples. Approximately 7,000 served in the Vietnam War, of which over 3,300 would be lost to enemy action, accidents, and other causes.
label: Description
content: Bell Helicopter manufactured this Huey, U.S. Army serial number 65-10091, at its factory in Fort Worth, Texas in 1965. Once to the Republic of Vietnam in September 1966, it would be assigned to the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company, known as the “Robin Hoods.” During operational service the airframe received hostile ground fire on two occasions and sustained damage but returned to base. On 7 January 1967 in a third brush with enemy fire, 091 would be shot down. Army personnel reached the downed helicopter and managed to recover the airframe for repair and return to operational service. Postwar, 091 would serve in the United States with the Army, Navy, Army Reserve, National Guard, Army Flight Training School, and the National Air and Space Administration. In 1995, the Texas Air Command Museum, purchased the helicopter and restored her to flying condition, with the signature yellow hat of the “Robin Hoods” painted on 091’s nose.
label: Description
content: In 2002, Arrowhead Films leased 091 and made her a centerpiece of a documentary film, In the Shadow of the Blade. The film saw over 50 Vietnam War helicopter pilots fly in the left seat of 091 as it flew over 10,000 miles across the nation in a tour of reconciliation and remembrance that brought Vietnam veterans and their stories to people across the nation. Many of those who traveled aboard 091 and met her during the documentary production adorned the interior of the helicopter with patches, pins, photographs, flags, and signatures representing memories of the conflict and the healing brought on by the passage of time.
label: Description
content: In 2004, the Texas Air Command Museum donated 091 to the National Museum of American History. On 19 March 2004, 091 touched down on the National Mall in Washington, DC out front of museum, the final flight of the almost 40-year-old warbird. Thereafter personnel from the Army’s 12 Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, VA together with staff from Bell Helicopter disassembled the helicopter to carefully bring it inside the museum. All fuel and hydraulic fluids were drained, batteries removed, and the engine and rotors replaced for static display.
place: label: place made
content: United States: Texas, Fort Worth
label: used
content: Vietnam
label: Associated Place
content: United States: Texas
label: Associated Place
content: United States: Texas, Fort Worth
topic: label: Subject
content: Air Travel
label: related event
content: Vietnam War
label: related event
content: Postwar United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: ThinkFinity
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of the Texas Air Command Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2004.3023.01
label: nonaccession number
content: 2004.3023
label: serial number
content: 65-10091
label: catalog number
content: 2004.3023.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Helicopter
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 13 19/32 ft x 9 ft x 57 ft; 4.14528 m x 2.7432 m x 17.3736 m
label: Measurements
content: rotor blade: 3 in x 3 in x 48 1/4 ft; 7.62 cm x 7.62 cm x 14.7066 m