Helicopter Gunships Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vietnam War

The very first dedicated helicopter gunship was the AH-1 Cobra and it was used during the Vietnam War. The Cobra flew over a million operational hours in the conflict. By the end of the twentieth century the Cobra was being phased out by the U.S. Army. The USDA Forest Service has some of the retired Cobras and they are being refitted to monitor fires using their sensors.

Answer: Havoc

The Havoc is seen as the Russian Apache. When it was first designed it lost out to the Kamov KA-50 "Hokum" during trials. However a better sensor upgrade enabled it to do more than the Hokum and is now becoming the main Russian attack helicopter.

Answer: Marine Corps

The Super Cobra is the attack helicopter of choice for the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marines wanted the Apache, but funding was denied by Congress.

Answer: Rolls Royce

The WAH-64 Apache used by the British Army uses the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca engines. The engines are being tested by the U.S. Government, for use in their Apaches. The British Army use the CRV7 folding fin rocket on their Apaches, instead of the Hydra 70 rockets used by the U.S. Army.

Answer: MH-60L DAP

The MH-60L DAP is the gunship version of the Blackhawk. It is operated solely by the "Night Stalkers", 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Its assortment of weapons that can be deployed with the MH-60 DAP are: rocket pods, M230 30mm chain guns, AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and trainable 7.62mm miniguns.

Answer: Hind

The MI-24 Hind is known as the flying tank. It is one of the very few gunships that can carry troops while carrying its weapon payload. It can carry up to 7 troops and earlier versions of the Hind had gun ports in the windows, so the troops could also fire against the enemy.

This gunship has been involved with more conflicts than any other, from the 1977 to 1978 Ogaden War in Ethiopia up to the 2008 South Ossetia War.

Answer: KA-50 Hokum

The Kamov KA-50 "Hokum" has no tail rotor. It uses a double stacked main rotor system which negates the need for a tail rotor, making the Hokum extremely maneuvrable at high speed. The Hokum-A is crewed by a single pilot, while the Hokum-B is a tandem two seat version.

It was going to become Russia's main attack helicopter, but due to funding restrictions is only used by Russian Special Forces.

Answer: Denel AH-2 Rooivalk

Designed and built in South Africa, the primary user of the "Rooivalk" is the South African Air Force. The need for an attack helicopter came to light during the South African Border War. The Rooivalk is bigger and heavier than the Apache to make it more rugged and survivable over the African landscape.

Answer: Comanche

The RAH-66 Comanche was cancelled in 2004. It used stealth aspects in its design to enable it to find targets for Apaches. In order for the Comanche to be stealthy, it had internal weapon bays and was planned to carry at least six hellfire missiles or Hydra rocket pods.

The U.S. Army did originally plan for the Comanche to fulfill the scout and light attack roles performed by other helicopters.

Answer: Four volunteers strapped themselves to the outside of the Apaches

Not knowing the fate of the missing Royal Marine, four volunteers strapped themselves to the outside of two Apaches, while a third Apache flew as escort and fire support for the mission. Upon landing the volunteers disembarked along with the aircrew to find and recover the body of the missing Marine.

The body of the Marine was also extracted from the site using the same method that the volunteers used to get there. The Apache is normally operated with a pilot and gunner, but it does have attachments on the wings for use in an emergency.

The UK Task Force spokesman, Lt Col Rory Bruce stated "This is believed to be the first time UK forces have ever tried this type of rescue mission. It was an extraordinary tale of heroism and bravery of our airmen, soldiers and Marines who were all prepared to put themselves back into the line of fire to rescue a fallen comrade."