Preserving History Army Aviation Museum restoring Huey prototype

The helicopter that helped change the way wars are fought and how battlefield operations are conducted will soon get a facelift.

Only one XH-40 prototype, the grandfather of the famous UH-1 Huey helicopter, remains in existence and the U.S. Army Aviation Museum wants to restore it to former glory. The aircraft has sat in storage for quite a while, following time spent as the “gate guard” showpiece for Fort Rucker.

Robert Mitchell, Army Aviation Museum curator, said the XH-40 is the lone surviving prototype.

“This represents a paradigm shift in transportation, warfare and medical evacuation,” Mitchell said. “This is the helicopter that really changed the world. This aircraft represents a significant change in thinking — from the reciprocating gasoline engines that weren’t very reliable or powerful, to an efficient aircraft with an efficient engine. This aircraft is very significant to modern Army Aviation.”

The chopper will travel to Blast Off Inc., located in Atmore, where a one-year restoration will get under way soon. Blast Off has restored dozens of aircraft over the past 25 years, including the “Que Sera Sera” plane, the first to land at the South Pole, and the KC-135 Stratotanker that currently resides at the Johnson Space Center in Texas.

The restoration will be time consuming, meticulous and correct, per Mitchell.

“They are going to take this aircraft in, strip all the paint off it and basically take the aircraft apart,” said Mitchell. “Through meticulous drawings, photographs and archival material, they will begin to reassemble the aircraft in its original configuration. This happens to be the only one of these left in the world. This aircraft is a pretty big deal.”

The XH-40’s tail insignia shows it was the first prototype ever produced. Military records show this aircraft first took to the skies on Oct. 20, 1956. Following successful test flights, more units were ordered and it soon became the Army’s favored helicopter.

Initially purposed as a medical evacuation aircraft, the Huey soon proved itself to be one of the more versatile helicopters in the Army fleet.

“Once the Army started to test the aircraft for medical evacuation purposes, they realized it could be used for all kinds of things,” Mitchell said. “If you needed to evacuate casualties, the Huey could do it. If you needed to transport troops, the Huey could do it. If you needed an attack helicopter, the Huey could be fitted with guns and rockets and do it.”

The XH-40 prototype soon turned into the UH-1 and was given the name “Iroquois.” The helicopter possessed by Fort Rucker was subsequently rolled in to service and saw action in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm.

More than 16,000 Hueys have been produced and have performed operations in more than 40 countries around the globe. The UH-1 “Huey” helicopter was used in Vietnam by all branches of the service. According to Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association statistics, 7,013 Hueys flew in Vietnam.

The Huey name is still flying above bases and battlefields around the world in newer, updated forms.

Fort Rucker trains nearly every Army aviator, and without the XH-40 and its subsequent models, the aviation hub would more than likely still be farmland.

“Fort Rucker is the home of Army Aviation, and it all started with this aircraft,” Mitchell said. “Until then (the completion of the Huey), the Army had helicopters and airplanes, but their roles were limited to the capabilities of those aircraft, which were expanded by the UH-1.”

Mitchell said this restoration project was made possible by numerous donations from the general public. For more information on how to donate to the U.S. Army Aviation Museum, call (334) 598-2509 or visit www.armyaviationmuseum.org.