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AH-6C, MH-6 photos from AH6C-SIP-PICS ARE BACK!


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It's hard to tell exactly what colour the AH-6C and MH-6E in the photos are. In the photo where the C is being loaded into a plane, it looks like Olive Drab or CARC Green, but in a lot of the others, it looks like black with OD markings, like today's Little Birds. It will be interesting to see what colour the Wolfpack decals are.

Ray, as regard the hi-res photos, thanks for posting those extra photos. Can you identify the cannon test-fitted to the AH-6F? If there are even more photos in the vault, please keep them coming. Thanks.

LD.

Edited by Loach Driver
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It's hard to tell exactly what colour the AH-6C and MH-6E in the photos are. In the photo where the C is being loaded into a plane, it looks like Olive Drab or CARC Green, but in a lot of the others, it looks like black with OD markings, like today's Little Birds. It will be interesting to see what colour the Wolfpack decals are.

Ray, as regard the hi-res photos, thanks for posting those extra photos. Can you identify the cannon test-fitted to the AH-6E (I think that's what it is)? If there are even more photos in the vault, please keep them coming. Thanks.

LD.

LD,

That is the Hughes 7.62mm Chain gun. Graham said the rate of fire was too slow. Here are a couple of pics of the AH-6E for those who haven't downloaded the images.

Ray

YumaDec820005.jpg

YumaDec820008.jpg

YumaDec820009.jpg

YumaDec820011.jpg

YumaDec820004.jpg

YumaDec820002.jpg

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Graham - thanks so much for sharing these pictures and thanks again for your service to the country! Those are some of the coolest and most detailed pictures I've ever seen of early model TF-160 helos. It's also quite nostalgic looking at the groundcrew in the old OD fatigues and that MAC C-141 in the old-school white and grey high-vis markings.

Ray - as always, thanks for taking the time to post some very, very unique pictures.

In looking at the AH-6C pix, it becomes apparent that even back then, there was some decent variation between aircraft. Especially with those avionics boxes on the tail boom and under the nose. The helo pictured in the snow (0-17298) has repositioned boxes under the tailboom as compared to the aircraft that Graham posed with (0-17191). 298 also has what looks to be radar warning receivers under the nose.

Not sure if these pictures were taken at different times or the early Littlebirds really had that much variation from airframe to airframe. I'm gonna go blind studying these pictures trying to figure out how to build my model. The black paint doesn't help either :cheers: , it tends to mask all those small little details. For instance, what the heck is that little plate type thingie that appears to be attached to the rear of the fuselage navigation light housing?

Couple of other general observations, in that second set of AH-6 pix, it almost looks like they are rolling those Littlebirds out of a garage and getting them ready to fly. That would make a pretty cool diorama. An old WW2 style motor pool garage with a mean looking Littlebird with folded rotors stuffed inside.

Also, I wonder who those athletic looking guys in civies sitting in the back of those MH-6's are? ;)

Thanks again for sharing those wonderful pictures.

John

Just the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it John? FYI though, there might be suttle changes in where the nav antennae were located on the tailboom, but all six Killer Eggs were configured the same. Someone else on this forum thought maybe the FM antennae's folded, they didn't, they were fixed. I think what you percieve John as something under the chin of 298 are really "ammo cans" in the background, on the minigun side. Yes the diorama possibilities are endless.

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It's hard to tell exactly what colour the AH-6C and MH-6E in the photos are. In the photo where the C is being loaded into a plane, it looks like Olive Drab or CARC Green, but in a lot of the others, it looks like black with OD markings, like today's Little Birds. It will be interesting to see what colour the Wolfpack decals are.

Ray, as regard the hi-res photos, thanks for posting those extra photos. Can you identify the cannon test-fitted to the AH-6E (I think that's what it is)? If there are even more photos in the vault, please keep them coming. Thanks.

LD.

Without going into reflective detail, the color is flat black, with OD letters, red strip around the t/b at the aft antennae to warn where the t/r ARC was. Do you guys know what "slime lights" are?

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Say, would those be MH-60A's that you guys were flying with? Got any pictures of the MH-60's :worship:

KeyWestApril840009.jpg

Anyway, thanks again Graham, this is pretty incredible. There's one photo that's in the download that isn't posted, where the rotor blades are spinning and it's on the ground, but there isn't anyone in the cockpit, labeled Range 41 Jan 82 (13). Can you shed some light as to why there isn't anybody in the cockpit?

Thanks,

Austin

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Anyway, thanks again Graham, this is pretty incredible. There's one photo that's in the download that isn't posted, where the rotor blades are spinning and it's on the ground, but there isn't anyone in the cockpit, labeled Range 41 Jan 82 (13). Can you shed some light as to why there isn't anybody in the cockpit?

Thanks,

Austin

That would be this pic.

Range41Jan8213.jpg

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LD,

That is the Hughes 7.62mm Chain gun. Graham said the rate of fire was too slow. Here are a couple of pics of the AH-6E for those who haven't downloaded the images.

Ray

YumaDec820009.jpg

Hello, I am a plastic modeler from Czech Republic. Thanks for excellent photos!

I have a few questions about Little Birds versions. Under article in Special Warfare magazine from summer 2001 (here) existing these versions of AH-6: AH-6C, AH-6F, AH-6J and AH-6M.

AH-6E according to sources which I have don’t exist. Little Bird No. 23630 was produced in year 1981 as MH-6E (here). It is possible that one Little Bird could be used for attack (AH) as well as for transport (MH) missions? It is possible?

Sorry for my bad english :rolleyes:

Edited by Josef Kral
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I think I made a mistake in calling the armed version of the MH-6E the AH-6E. I think it should have been correctly called the AH-6F. The AH-6F was apparently an MH-6E fitted with the armament package from the AH-6C. I will change the designation in my original post. Sorry for the confusion.

LD.

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I think I made a mistake in calling the armed version of the MH-6E the AH-6E. I think it should have been correctly called the AH-6F. The AH-6F was apparently an MH-6E fitted with the armament package from the AH-6C. I will change the designation in my original post. Sorry for the confusion.

LD.

You guys are totally bewildering me! As far as I am aware, Graham called the Hughes chain gun armed bird an AH-6E. Graham, please correct me if I am wrong.

Ray

Just to muddy the water more, this site lists AH-6C, E, and J but NO F! Also lists MH-6E and J. Who knows if it's correct though.

special ops helos

Edited by rotorwash
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Here is a partial list of early "Little Bird" designations taken from another forum. It's not an "official list" but I think it the accepted public list of the designations for the various versions. However, the only people who know the correct designation for each version are the guys who flew them. So if Graham says it's an AH-6E, it's an AH-6E. I am now more confused than I ever was!

"EH-6B: Special Forces radio relay, Sigint (?) and C3I variant of OH-6A with the original V-tail but powered by a military 420-shp (400?) version of the Allison 250-C20 turboshaft engine and with a ‘Black Hole’ infrared suppression system on the engine exhaust. (The basic OH-6A had the maximum power of its T-63A-5A derated from 400 to 282-shp).

AH-6C: Special Forces ‘gunship’ variant of OH-6A to a similar airframe/engine state as the MH-6B. An initial batch of 15 converted from OH-6A, EH-6B (one) and MH-6B (three). Weapons included Stinger AAMS, TOW (and later Hellfire?) ATGMs, 2.75-inch (70-mm) Hydra rockets in 7-round M-260 or 19-round M-261 rocket pods and M-134 miniguns, or Mk 19 Grenade launchers. The usual load was an M27 gun pod to port, with a seven-round rocket pod to starboard.

MH-6C: Conversion of MH-6B(?) and disarmed conversion of AH-6C used for training, with AH/MH-6J standard Allison 250-C30 engine.

MH-6E: Special Forces insertion/extraction variant of MD369MD with T-tail and 420 SHP Allison 250 C20R engine, A small 'coolie hat' fairing was added above the rotor to smooth airflow over the tail surfaces. Fifteen built, based on 500D/500MD but with four-bladed main rotor?, one more produced by conversion of an EH-6E. Introduced 1981. Shrouded, side-mounted engine exhausts? When JDW published a photo in February 1990, the folded ‘people plank’ was interpreted as being a ‘boxed’ Stinger ATAS!

EH-6E: Special Forces radio relay and C3I variant of MD369D with T-tail and 420 SHP Allison 250 C20R engine. Three built, based on 500D/500MD but with four-bladed main rotor?. Shrouded, side-mounted engine exhausts?

AH-6F: Special Forces ‘gunship’ variant of MD500MD (MG?) with T-tail and 420 SHP Allison 250 C20R engine, equivalent to the MH-6E but with AH-6C armament. Retained (or reverted to?) original rounded nose glazing, rather than the pointed, increased area glazing of the MD500. Nine built for US Army, one for USAF evaluation, based on 500D/500MD but with four-bladed main rotor, one more produced by conversion of an EH-6E. Some reports suggested that a mast-mounted sight was incorporated, others that an M230 Chain gun was added to the weapons options. Introduced 1985. Shrouded, side-mounted engine exhausts?

MH-6F: Spurious designation, or Special Forces insertion/extraction variant of MD500MG with T-tail 650 SHP Allison 250 C30 engine???

AH-6G: Up-engined derivative of the AH-6F, equivalent to the MD-530F. Five newly built, seven more by re-engining AH-6Fs. 650-shp Allison 250 C30 engine. Shrouded, side-mounted engine exhausts???

MH-6H: Up-engined derivative of the MH-6E with 650-shp Allison 250 C30 engine. Twelve re-engined MH-6Es and two converted EH-6Es. Shrouded, side-mounted engine exhausts???"

I hope this doesn't confuse things further.

LD.

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Gents:

That's one of two AH-6C's on Wolfpak Decals sheet no. 72-022 that will be on sale on August 19, 2009 along with several other 160th SOAR helos.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Any chance of getting those decals supersized up to 35th scale?

Regards,

John

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Just the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it John? FYI though, there might be suttle changes in where the nav antennae were located on the tailboom, but all six Killer Eggs were configured the same. Someone else on this forum thought maybe the FM antennae's folded, they didn't, they were fixed. I think what you percieve John as something under the chin of 298 are really "ammo cans" in the background, on the minigun side. Yes the diorama possibilities are endless.

Hi Graham,

You are right about the chin antennas; that works for me, one less thing I have to figure out how to scratch build :P

On the tailboom, there do seem to be a couple of differences though. The first set of pics of "your" bird show it with a pretty large avionics box at the very rear of the tailboom (the red TR warning stripe actually runs around this box). The next set of pics, specifically, that nice side shot of the Littlebird in the snow at a rearming pad show this box to be missing. The rest of the lumps and bumps look the same. Regardless, all of your pictures and comments have filled in so much of the info that I was missing. They are hugely appreciated.

In looking at pics of the personnel in these shots, it almost looks like I could get away with using the pilot figures out of the Dragon OH-6A / UH-1H kits. They are stock Vietnam era but with the exception of the survival vests in your shots, it appears that the flight suits and helmets are pretty much the same, I would only have to add the survival vest pockets and gadgets out of putty. The Dragon crew are all wearing ballistic plates but I can live with that, assuming that if it was an operational flight, the crew would have some body armor. Maybe I'll even scratchbuild a set of tiny PVS-5's!

Regards,

John

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Gents:

I might consider a combo sheet of 48th and 35th scale 160th SOAR subjects if there's enough interest. Sound off if you want them.

I hope to have the artwork done shortly. Check back next week. BTW there's 2 AH-6C's, 2 AH-6J's, 1 MH-60L, 1 MH-47E and 1 MH-47G on the 72nd scale sheet.

Mark

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Ray I never said thank you for that ZIP file: Thank you!

I might consider a combo sheet of 48th and 35th scale 160th SOAR subjects if there's enough interest. Sound off if you want them.

Me! Me! I want one!

I have two AH-6J one OH-6A, one MH-60L and one MH-47E all in 1/35 that call for appropriate decals!

Edited by Avus
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LD,

What about the AH-6J/MH-6J? I see MH-6J mentioned in the definitions, but no definition for either variant.

Ray

Yea Ray, you're right. I only posted the first part of the list so the "J" versions aren't mentioned. I think I read somewhere that the 160th NOTAR was going to be called either the H-6J or was due to get a new designation of MH-8 before it got the chop. This link has a concise list of the early Little Birds;

http://books.google.ie/books?id=df_o1ROA3-...ion&f=false

The bottom photo of the camoflauged H-6 NOTAR is very interesting. It looks like the H-6 posted by EDWMatt a while ago. (Sorry for going off topic.)

Thanks as well for posting the YOH-6 prototypes photos.

LD.

Edited by Loach Driver
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Gents:

I might consider a combo sheet of 48th and 35th scale 160th SOAR subjects if there's enough interest. Sound off if you want them.

I hope to have the artwork done shortly. Check back next week. BTW there's 2 AH-6C's, 2 AH-6J's, 1 MH-60L, 1 MH-47E and 1 MH-47G on the 72nd scale sheet.

Mark

Sign me up for a sheet.

Floyd

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Gents:

I might consider a combo sheet of 48th and 35th scale 160th SOAR subjects if there's enough interest. Sound off if you want them.

I hope to have the artwork done shortly. Check back next week. BTW there's 2 AH-6C's, 2 AH-6J's, 1 MH-60L, 1 MH-47E and 1 MH-47G on the 72nd scale sheet.

Mark

Mark,

Any chance you'd consider just a Littlebird sheet in all three scales? If not, I'd definitely be up for a set of 1/72nd and 1/35 decals.

Ray

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