Bell UH-1D Iroquois

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the Huey, first flew in 1956 and became the first turbine-powered helicopter to enter military service with the United States. Developed to meet a specific requirement for medical evacuation and utility work. Achieving its nickname from its original designation of HU-1, the UH-1 shot to fame as the primary troop transport of the US Army during the Vietnam War, where out of around 7,000 which were sent to the warzone, over 3,300 were destroyed. The Huey and its subsequent versions remain in service the world over, the most recent version being the UH-1Y developed for the US Marine Corps and also delivered to the Czech Republic. As a testament to the basic airframe versatility, the Huey was also developed into an attack helicopter, renamed the AH-1 Cobra this very skinny helicopter retained a high degree of commonality with its older sibling and still does today in the AH-1Z Venom.

In service with the German Air Force and Army for 54 years from 1967 to 2021, UH-1D was the backbone of the German transport helicopter fleet earning the unique nickname ‘Teppichklopfer’ after the sound the rotor blades made. Built under licence between 1967 and 1981 by Dornier, the German Army received 204 helicopters and the Air Force, the latter using the type heavily for Search and Rescue (SAR). The UH-1D was heavily deployed to the Balkans during the 1990s and in 2016 the remaining fleet was all transferred to the Army. Upon retirement in 2021, the final helicopter was painted in a special farewell scheme and escorted on its final flight by a formation of other helicopter types from the German military.

Making their static display debut at RIAT25 will be CHS Commercial Helicopter Services’ ex-German Air Force UH-1D registration 70+89 which will be operated over the weekend by a dedicated group of people as the Bell UH-1D Demo Team. The airframe was used for SAR by the German Air Force and is painted in the markings it carried during that time, the aircraft will also be on display loaded as it were during service as a SAR helicopter as part of our ‘Eyes in the Skies’ theme.

To read more about the history of the UH-1D in German service and its retirement ceremony, please visit the German Army website here.

Photo Credit: Simon Kopmann