Description
From the dawn of early aviation, military crews have used their aerial platform to strategic advantage. Operating under extreme adverse conditions, exposed to enemy fire, or landing in a hot LZ, the air crewman who manned the machine gun in the door of his rotor wing aircraft was known for displaying cool courage. Providing essential cover for highly vulnerable embarking and disembarking troops and laying down a lethal fusillade to break enemy formations were just some of the duties performed by these brave and technically proficient warriors of the sky.
Hand-finished with an antique patina for exceptional quality and detail, the obverse features a door gunner manning a machine gun at the door of a helicopter. The reverse features the “B” Model Huey Gunship in attack mode soaring low across a battlefield canopy.
The Huey was enormously successful in Vietnam because of its ideal mix of cabin room, speed, lifting capacity, ruggedness, and service reliability. The HU-1A had an 850-shaft-horsepower (shp) gas turbine engine and was configured for six seats or two stretchers. With the later addition of a 1,000-shp engine, the HU-1C came into its role as the dominant gunship over Vietnam. The UH-1D, with its larger cabin and cargo doors, and twin cabin windows on each side, was redesigned to carry up to twelve troops, plus a crew of two, allowing for larger forces to be deployed in the fight against the Viet Cong.
Each coin measures 1 3/4inches (44mm) in diameter.
