The Bell 205 is a 15-seat medium lift utility helicopter powered by a single Lycoming turboshaft engine.
The single, two-blade rotor gives the helicopter a distinctive whomp-whomp sound that could be heard miles away.
The Bell 205 was developed out of the Bell Model 204, or UH-1B. The Model 205, or UH-1D divers primarily from the
model 204 in having a longer cabin capable of accommodating twelve troops or six casualty stretchers. The
prototype of the Model 205 flew first on 16 August 1961. Series production of the UH-1D commenced during 1963.
Due to the Vietnam War the Bell UH-1 series Iroquois was mass-produced for the U.S. Army. The Bell UH-1D Iroquois,
better known as the "Huey", began arriving in Vietnam in 1967. Ultimately more than 600 UH-1Ds were transferred to
South Vietnam. More than 12,000 Model 205s were built by Bell and its licensees up to the early 1980s of which 344
UH-1Ds were built under license by Dornier in Germany. |