Friday, May 1, 2020

Circuit breaker Day 25 pix: Republic of Singapore Air Force RSAF UH-1H rocket gunship

It's amazing what you can find in a kid's sticker book on the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

This is one of the few photographs you'll see of a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Bell UH-1H Huey armed with 2.75 inch rocket pods. It was one of the stickers for the Figurine Panini sticker book I bought in the mid-1980s, when I was in my teens.

The 7-round rocket pod appears to be fitted to a hardpoint that looks similar to the Emerson Electric MAMEE system (see below), which also came with M134 7.62mm Miniguns mounted on outboard hardpoints. The 2.75 inch rockets were not known for their accuracy. But as an area suppression weapon to keep the enemy's head down just before a heliborne assault, the rocket and Minigun combo did the job far better than the handheld GPMG fired by a door gunner.

The rocket-armed UH-1H pre-dated the Aérospatiale AS.550A2/C2 Fennec LOH/LAH, which themselves pre-dated the AH-64D Apache attack helicopters.

It's perhaps fitting that the Apaches serve with 120 Squadron, which flew the UH-1Hs years ago as the Hueys also had "teeth" in the form of hard-hitting weapons that few people were aware of.


Coming soon:

  • V-200 Command Post variant
  • Your home-based learning guide to RSAF aircraft tractors and tow bars
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6 comments:

  1. D-BoyMay 1, 2020 at 6:50 PM

    I had that sticker book too! Thanks for the blast from the past...

    @David, could you recall which year did the SAF had a public display at West Coast? I have a fuzzy recollection of a simulated mock attach with AMX-13s, infantry, etc. Am I mistaken?

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  2. IAFMay 1, 2020 at 11:21 PM

    1983 https://images.app.goo.gl/tyxabX3Dfg8VsJBY7

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  3. David BoeyMay 2, 2020 at 12:16 AM

    @D-Boy,
    The SAF Display was held in 1983 at West Coast Park. That was the high water mark of SAF capability demos to the public.

    db

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    Replies
    1. D-BoyMay 2, 2020 at 12:20 PM

      Thanks, David! Thanks also for providing something to look forward to on a daily basis. So far, it's been fantastic!

      @IAF, unfortunately, the link you provided is no longer active.

      Delete
  4. David BoeyMay 2, 2020 at 2:41 PM

    This FB page has a nice album of the SAF Display in 1983

    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2748581798519638&type=3

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  5. UnknownMay 6, 2020 at 6:34 PM

    Thanks David, for posting that rare photo of the M21 armament subsystem. Only the AB-205As were modified for this. Besides the integral M134 miniguns, the RSAF used the LAU-5002/A rocket launchers that fired the CRV7 rockets.

    ReplyDelete