Cayuse for the aerial cavalry

S

inking a replacement lor its first-generation I Jell and Hiller types, the tJS Army issued a requirement for. і high-performance. easily nuiniuined and cost-effective obsen allot) helicopter. After annouiK ing the ОІІ-6Л Cayuse as the winner, the Army nxenvd ns first in Septeinlx-r 1965 and the helicopter stxm went into cotnhal in Vietnam.

Hughes struggled t«t meet the pressures o| wartime

W«h IS

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T>« Сауию has wceOer. t ar-round vision, well onv a ur<dJJ brdsect to tne ‘ваг

OH-6 A Cayuse

‘Loaches’ served in huge numbers In Vietnam,
where 658 were lost in combat and a further 297
In accidents. Non-standard markings were a
feature of operations in Southeast Asia.

Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

0H-6A Cayuse

Type: 3»it oOuofvatKjn tmlicoptor

Powerplant: one 237-kW (3t8-hp.) Allison T63 A-5A turbosnaft engine derated lo 160 KW (214 hp.) (or continuous njnning and 168 kW (252 hp.) tor take-off

Range: 6t I km (380 mi.» at 1525 m (5000 ft I

Weights: empty equipped 557 kg (1.228 tel
maximum take-off 1225 kg (2.700 lb.)

Armament: one XM27 7.62-nvn machine-gun
<x XM-75 40-mm grenade-launcher: provision
tor two M60 7.62-mm machme-дип»

Accommodation: one ptor end one observer pkis up to (our passengers, or one pilot and one medic and up to two stretchers

Dimensions:

mam rotor diameter 8.03 m (26 ft. 4 in.)

tuselage lengih 7.0t m (23 <*.)

height 2.46 m (8 ft. 2 InJ

mam rotor disc area 50 60 nv (555 sq ft,)

COMBAT DATA

MAXIMUM SPEED

The OH-6A is tour ttian its dole contemporary the Aerospmule SA 318C Atouetle It Although the more recent вагепе AM Mi t tvn gnrerer ipeaa suit it is vunwata»» n combat

0И-4А CATO* 241 km* (ISO aj. h.) ^

ВАШИ AM. Mk 1 Jie»ai1i(t*3m. p.»)

SA 31 SC AlOUrriE II 70S km* / . -« I —

(127 tLpJi.)

CLIMB RATE

Mounted in the rear fusoiago :it in ongio of -5′. Ihd T63 ЦлЬОвНоА nngrKi «met» the m»n rotor and tall rotors Нот a single shaft, Л torn) goa» split* the drive trom this end tnwi«ors и io the fMoectMj rator shafts

CJUFUf AN Ml I WOnvnm 1177» t. p.m. l

tn *n YOH 6A prokXype form the Cayuse dd not how a vorteal toAi Pnxkxton ‘«craft toocurv 0 ffn above and botow the tall boom, with (ho uppw tin Drncod to thn ttnglnd side fin

A mawmum of five poopto can bo earned by the CH-6A In combrtt the нхстпП seldom earned sucti a toad. however. and was иаиову wer a crew of two or three

САДЦІ AN. Mk 1

Corroaretirety (ПОП ranges pertvips «в one meuh pool Ы the 0M-6A lr. ІМЮТ1 the orc/aft frequently tv-л tram ‘XWWltUKl 40 range wai lee* Ы a problem Ardn opereaona area mon the Army he epereted «ham horn US Navy slaps and covert hoses

Suppression and insertion Pram Vmtram to the Gull, the EE?6*’ 1 ns descendants 22? l-.phly capable WbOO!

INSERTION FROM THE PLANK: With a people plank’ on teiher sido of its fuselage, the MH-6H 13 able to drop or pick up two personnel extremely rapidly. Some sources claim mat the ‘plank’ can also be used as a snrpOr platform

FIRE SUPPORT: Rocket and gun-armed AH-6Gs of the US Army’s 160th SOAR fty In support ot «nsertion/exfiltraton missions by the same unit’s MH-6H8 The AH-GGs also provides support for pm placed special forces teams

"’copiers.

«ЕТНа*.- OPS: dr™*»” n Vietnam itncAred tents with rf ‘«mat toT’ «top height.

Hughes/Schweizer