Bell TH-1L Iroquois

Bell TH-1L Iroquois. . , The "Huey" After winning the U.S. Army's 1952 competition for a light utility helicopter, the H-1 "Huey" became the West's most popular, most versatile, and longest-lived military helicopter. In 1962, the U.S. Marine Corps selected the turbine-powered H-1 to replaced their piston-engine H-34s. Shortly thereafter, the Navy also began acquiring H-1s, including the TH-1L version for intermediate helicopter training. Over the following decades, several utility and attack versions of the Huey were operated by the Marines and Navy. Although Navy H-1s, including TH-1Ls, were retired in 1983, the H-1 remains in the Marine Corps in the form of the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper., Our Display Aircraft PRNAM's H-1, Bureau Number 157842, was accepted by the Navy in April 1970 and served with the Navy's Air Training Command until August 1983. At that time, it was retired and transferred to the Naval Air Test Center's Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate. As a ground test article, our H-1 was fitted with instrumentation to measure the unique vibration "signatures" of various intentionally induced gearbox faults. Findings from this research helped develop a means for detecting gearbox problems before failure. The aircraft was later transferred to PRNAM.,

. Primary Mission: Training; Utility , . Crew: One Instructor, One Student Pilot , . U.S. Service Timeline (H-1 Series): 1964 - present , . Dimensions: 52.9 fuselage length, 44.0 rotor diameter , . Max. Gross Weight: 9,500 lb , . Propulsion: One Lycoming T53-L turboshaft engine , . Max. Operating Speed: 161 MPH (sea level) , . Payload/Armament: None (up to 5 passengers in utility role)

, This aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida . . This historical marker was erected by Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. It is in Lexington Park in St. Mary's County Maryland