No aircraft came to symbolize the war in Vietnam more than the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better known to the men who flew, and fought from this aircraft – and to those who were to owe it their survival, by just one never-to-be-forgotten name – the ‘Huey’.

Ideally suited to the terrain of South Vietnam – formidable mountain peaks, dense jungle, almost every other acre of land under water, and the fact that large tracts of the countryside were controlled by the Vietcong and impassable, the Huey became one of the US Army’s most effective weapons of the war. With the ability to carry eight fully equipped troops, the Huey was also ideal for use as Medevac ‘flying ambulances’, which were to create their own legend. By the end of the conflict the Huey’s had notched up a staggering 34 million combat sorties flown!

In July 1965 the 1st Air Cavalry, equipped with 500 Huey’s arrived in South Vietnam to begin what became the longest tour of duty in American combat history. Under the command of the flamboyant Colonel John Stockton, the 1st Air Cavalry went on the immediate offensive, swiftly creating a devastating impact on the enemy, bringing them to battle wherever they could be found.