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Category: All About Guns
As with many military innovations, the Huey Hog came to be during war. In Vietnam, U.S. forces were using the UH-1 Iroquois for a variety of missions. It didn’t take long for the troops to request a dedicated attack platform. Until it arrived, UH-1 variants acted as gunships. They were known as Huey Hogs.
The UH-1 Huey helicopter first deployed to Vietnam as a medevac platform in 1962. It soon became obvious that this versatile aircraft was capable of so much more than just extracting wounded troops from the combat zone. More than any other single war machine of its era, the Huey revolutionized modern combat.
Modern war turns on a variety of attributes: firepower, intelligence and doctrine are indeed undeniably important. However, arguably the most critical aspect of modern battle calculus is mobility. In 1784, Ben Franklin opined, “And where is the Prince who can afford so to cover his Country with Troops for its Defense, as that Ten Thousand Men descending from the Clouds, might not in many Places do an infinite deal of Mischief, before a Force could be brought together to repel them?” That guy was indeed a visionary. More so than cumbersome airborne forces delivered via parachute, the Huey helicopter made old Ben’s vision a reality.
Once somebody realized you could pack troops into utility helicopters and land them behind an entrenched enemy force, warfare would never be the same. However, it was simultaneously appreciated that those same troops would be exceptionally vulnerable during the insertion phase of the operation.
Fast mover jets could bring the pain on a massive scale, but they lacked the requisite precision to protect a complex combat helicopter assault. To help suppress enemy forces during this most critical time, a handful of U.S. Army visionaries created the world’s first operational helicopter gunships. They used UH-1 Huey helicopters as a foundation.
Details
Most dedicated Huey gunships were either B, C or M-model aircraft. These machines sported the early stubby fuselage architecture. D and H-models had a stretched fuselage optimized for carrying troops and cargo. The primary differences among the three variants were in the engines and powertrains. C and M-model Hueys featured a wide-chord rotor system and redesigned tail boom to help manage the extra weight of the ordnance they carried.
In Vietnam, these heavily armed aircraft were called Hogs. Of the 16,000 Hueys produced since 1956, roughly 1,000 of them were used as gunships. These early pioneers figured it out as they went along, so there was a great deal of variation concerning weapons, equipment and fire-control systems. However, the archetype was the UH-1M Heavy Scout.
The UH-1 M-model Heavy Scout sported four 7.62x51mm M-60CA1 machine guns mounted in pairs on each side of the aircraft in an XM16 mount. These guns were fired remotely via solenoids and pivoted to allow the pilot to control elevation. The guns fed from big ammo cans mounted in the crew compartment via flexible ammo chutes.
Alongside these guns was typically one M157 seven-shot rocket pod on each side. There were nineteen-shot pods available as well, but these early Hueys typically lacked the horsepower to lift them. The 2.75-inch FFAR (folding fin aerial rocket) was originally called the “Mighty Mouse.” These unguided rockets could carry a variety of warheads.
A typical 2.75-inch rocket was four feet long, weighed about 20 pounds, and packed a roughly 6-pound HE warhead. These rockets could also carry a white phosphorus payload for incendiary or marking purposes. Anti-tank variants had both high-explosive antitank and high-explosive dual-purpose effects. Additionally, these rockets could fire flechette warheads that packed thousands of little pressed steel darts.
Flechettes were called nails in military parlance, and they were extra-special nasty. The WDU-4/A warheads that carried them each packed 2,200 darts that weighed 20 grains apiece. These rockets could be programmed to fly a certain distance and then explode, sending a dense cloud of pointy steel chaos to saturate a target area. When the flechette rounds detonated they gave off a distinctive puff of red smoke.
The Heavy Hog also frequently mounted a 40mm automatic grenade launcher in the nose. The Mini-Hog sported an XM21 armament subsystem. This loadout included the same seven-shot rocket pods as the XM16 but substituted a single M134 minigun on each side in place of the paired M-60s. Each of these armament subsystems rode on the XM-156 multi-armament pylon mount. This mount was slaved to an XM-60 reflex sight that allowed the pilot in command to direct and elevate the weapons in flight. This sight rode on a folding mount that collapsed out of the way when not in use.
With a typical cyclic rate of around 4,000 rounds per minute apiece, the M134 minigun consumed ammunition at a simply breathtaking clip. As a result, each gun was fed by two rows of three ammo boxes interconnected and routed through holes in the cabin floor. Electric motors built into the ammunition boxes helped pull the heavy belts along so that the guns could feed them reliably.
Dependent upon the flying conditions, these heavily-armed gunships might also include door gunners each wielding an M-60 machinegun on a bungee cord or pintle mount. Sometimes these were standard ground -60s. However, a lot of aerial gunners modified their guns with chopped barrels or ancillary forward handgrips to enhance control. These grips were frequently improvised out of a standard M-60 fire control group secured in place on the forearm with pipe clamps. Mounting a C-ration can to the left side of the feed tray would improve reliability as well.
The latest M-model gunships used the same 1,400-shaft horsepower Lycoming engine of the larger H-model Hueys and had the same 9,500-pound max gross weight. These aircraft were at times fitted with .50-caliber guns and crazy-powerful spotlights for night operations. All of this, while effective, simply served as a stepping stone to better things to come.
Ruminations
Lessons learned with the development of the B, C and M-model Huey gunships were folded into the AH-1G Cobra, the world’s first effective mass-produced dedicated attack helicopter. Once rendered obsolete, these old Huey gunships were seconded to National Guard units, gifted to civilian government agencies, or simply scrapped. When I was training at Hanchey Army Heliport at Fort Rucker back in the 1990s, there were a couple of these old M-model Hueys on the flight line. I have no idea what they were used for.
Huey gunships have seen action in brushfire wars worldwide, particularly in El Salvador back in the 1980s. Powerful, effective, vicious and mean, those early Huey gunships helped write the book on attack helicopter operations. For American troops in contact in Vietnam, the arrival of the Hogs quite frequently carried the day.
John Linebaugh, a legendary gunsmith from Cody, Wyoming, famous for producing custom big-bore handguns, died Sunday surrounded by family and doing what he loved: building six-guns.
He was 67.
If a stack of Guns & Ammo magazines is within reach, you know who Linebaugh is. For those who don’t, this firearms innovator was a big deal in the industry.
Six-Gun Scientist
Linebaugh was a pioneer in the shooting and hunting community.
An absolute revolver scientist, he not only revolutionized pistol hunting, he blazed a trail of invention where there was none before.
His legendary .500- and .475-caliber handguns are some of the most powerful in the world. Literally, they’re pocket-sized Sharps made to take down any big game animal on the planet, including the cape buffalo and African elephant.
Linebaugh travelled in likeminded gunpowder circles kibitzing with the likes of Wyoming’s Dick Casull, who moved to the Cowboy State a year after Linebaugh. The hip cannon .454 Casull is still manufactured at the Freedom Arms plant in Freedom, Wyoming.
Linebaugh also was an avid follower in the footsteps of rancher and firearms enthusiast Elmer Keith (1899-1984).
What these shootists all shared was a belief in old-school six-gunning, which Linebaugh defined as “powerful, practical and packable.”
Linebaugh was often quoted as saying things like, “I for one do not like big guns, just big bullets.”
Frustrated by the “lack of horsepower” of a conventional .44 magnum, Linebaugh set out to prove less is more when it comes to muzzle velocity and bang.
“My big bores run best at 1,200 to 1,300 feet per second. After that, you’re just gaining recoil and noise,” Linebaugh told Gun Digest in a February 2013 interview.
The average hunting rifle throws lead at double or triple that speed.
In The Beginning
Linebaugh first began exploring his bigger bullet construct in the early 1980s, soon after his arrival to Wyoming in 1976 from his birthplace of Pickering, Missouri.
Cody was the last choice of places he wanted to live – the 21-year-old Linebaugh thought it too touristy – but that is where he ran out of money and gas on his way West. He had a job pouring concrete for Speed Spiegelberg the very next day and never left, eventually moving 30 miles north to Clark.
Self-taught, Linebaugh began gunsmithing by modifying a Colt .45 to get it shooting 250-grain bullets at 1,700 feet per second, an increase of about 350 feet per second over its counterparts. He ramped up pressures, torque and RPM. He did it mostly by squeezing heavy loads into very tight chamber specs.
With no name cachet or financial backing, corporate ammunition and firearms companies thought Linebaugh a maverick and a loose cannon. They said he was going to get someone killed.
But when his .500 Linebaugh made the cover of Guns & Ammo magazine in 1986, he had orders pouring in from all over the country.
Linebaugh was officially on the way to becoming a modern era wheel gun wizard.
Laid To Rest
It would probably be fitting to put the legend to rest with his trusty .500 Linebaugh with a 4.25-inch barrel. It was his EDC (every day carry) personal choice, and he was rarely photographed without it.
Above all, Linebaugh believed in “packin’ pistols” – handguns that could be comfortably carried all day in a hip holster and then slipped under a bedroll at night.
A public visitation will be held at Ballard Funeral Home in Cody from 4-6 p.m. Saturday with a private family visitation from 6-7.
Graveside services will be held at the Bennett Buttes Cemetery in Clark at 10:30 a.m. Sunday with Pastor Levi Robinson. A reception will then be held at the Clark Pioneer Recreation Center.
No word yet on whether Linebaugh’s annual Big Bore Shoot will go on this summer. However, it is scheduled for June 14-17 at the Heart Mountain Gun Club in Powell, Wyoming. Admission is $40 for all four days.
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S&W Model 10 M&P Nickel 38 Special
Gunther Lipwicz had not grown up aspiring to be a villain. His father was a barber and his mother a member of the church auxiliary. However, after a brief stint in the West German Bundeswehr he found himself at loose ends. He had answered an advert in the back of a gentleman’s magazine, and so here he was.
His employer was one Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Number 1 of Spectre. Lipwicz had only met Herr Blofeld once during basic henchman orientation. After their brief tour around the evil lair, Blofeld had waltzed in to give the new class of security recruits their welcome speech. Lipwicz found his incessant stroking of that silly cat a bit off-putting.
Working for Spectre had its perks. The hours sucked and sometimes you had to spend weeks on end on remote oil rigs, desolate arctic research stations or stolen NATO submarines. However, security duty on Blofeld’s estate was cherry given all the curvaceous eye candy the Big Man kept underfoot. A few of his classmates had actually been assigned to an orbital space station bristling with nuclear weapons. Lucky dogs. Regardless, the pay was good, and Spectre offered a very competitive dental plan.
This day Lipwicz had drawn guard duty at the Doomsday Device Central Control Facility. Buried deep within the bowels of a dormant volcano, the DDCCF was considered impervious to ground assault. Entry and exit was via a cool underground tram system, and thankfully the place was air-conditioned. Many evil Spectre lairs were more austere. Comrades had warned him, however, to step lively around the Boss’s swimming pool. It was purportedly filled with ravenous sharks.
The uniform this day was a blue satin jumpsuit and a red beret. Lipwicz thought the outfit looked lame, but it was likely crafted by the guy with the creepy cat. He drew his Spectre-issue Sterling submachine gun from the armory along with its single magazine of ammunition and reported to his post. Today would likely just involve a great deal of standing around, just like most days. Evil lair security was a peachy billet.
His first indication that something was amiss was an ominous rumble. Then he heard shouting in the distance. They had security drills all the time, but this felt different. This time the evil scientists were scurrying about, moving with a purpose. In moments the big screen display above the lab started counting down. He hoped that wasn’t something bad. Nobody ever told him anything.
Suddenly the heavy steel security door at the end of the lab burst inward under the force of a breaching charge. The alarm klaxon began its brain-boring throb, and all the evil scientists began scurrying for the emergency escape chutes. Gunther Lipwicz had prepared his entire adult life for this moment. He unslung his well-oiled Sterling, pulled the bolt to the rear, and oriented toward the smoking doorway. All of his many years of training came down to this.
The first man through the doorway was a tall figure wearing black and carrying a diminutive German handgun. He was immediately followed by a smoking hot blonde in a tight red leather jumpsuit. The girl’s platinum curls were perfectly permed and shimmered in the pulsating red of the emergency lights. Before Gunther had time to react the big man shot him in the forehead with his little pistol and tossed his submachine gun to the blonde. They only had three minutes to get to the nuclear warhead and disarm it before Spectre precipitated World War III.
Sterling SMG: The Henchman’s Subgun
James Bond. Women want him. Men want to be him. The product of Ian Fleming’s vivid imagination seasoned by his own wartime experiences in covert operations, 007 saved the world and gotten the girl across fourteen books, nine short stories, and twenty-five feature films. Today I thought it might be entertaining to tell the story from the perspective of a longsuffering henchman. The equivalent of the disposable red-shirted security officers who always seem to get vaporized by the Fangor beast in Star Trek, these poor guys never get any respect. The gun our henchman carried, however, is indeed a rarefied piece of iron.
The Sterling submachine gun was initially developed in 1944 as a replacement for the dubious Sten. The inexpensive Sten was the right gun at the right time for Britain with her back against the sea after the miraculous Dunkirk evacuation. However, the crude nature of the Sten along with its abysmal double-column, single-feed magazine left British Tommies rabid for something better.
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The Sterling was designed by one George William Patchett, the chief arms designer at the Sterling Armaments Company of Dagenham. While the basic layout of the Sten and Sterling are grossly similar, the Sterling was the markedly better weapon. For starters, the Sterling used a much-improved magazine.
The 34-round Sterling magazine is a double-column, double-feed design that can be loaded easily with nothing more than a standard set of human fingers. The mag body sports a gentle curve to accommodate the geometry of Georg Luger’s timeless 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The magazine follower also incorporates a novel pair of roller bearings to ensure minimal friction during feeding. While the front aspect of the Sterling magazine has some sharp edges, overall this is likely the finest ammunition magazine ever contrived.
The Sterling itself features a pistol grip oriented at the rough center of balance for easy firing one-handed if necessary. The gun fires from the open bolt via advanced primer ignition. The bolt includes a series of helical grooves that tend to push battlefield grunge clear of the action and enhance reliability.
The folding stock on the Sterling is complicated but effective. The fire selector is oriented underneath the right thumb when firing right-handed. Rear is safe, the middle position is semi, and the forward notch is rock and roll. Placing the gun on safe locks the bolt in place in either position.
The Sterling cycles at around 550 rounds per minute and is eminently controllable. Doubles and triples are easy for the disciplined trigger finger, and a seasoned operator can keep his rounds inside a paper plate at 20 meters without too much effort. The side-mounted magazine makes the gun an easy piece to run from the prone. The parade ground firing technique involves grasping the ventilated barrel shroud with the weak hand and resting the magazine across the forearm.
Ruminations
The Sterling saw production through a variety of marks and soldiered on in active British service until 1994. The L34A1 suppressed variant is still one of the most effective sound-suppressed close-quarters combat weapons in the world. There were more than 400,000 copies produced, and the Sterling is still found in your more austere combat zones even today.
The Sterling’s unique lines landed it top billing as the foundation for the BlasTech E-11 Blasters used in the movie Star Wars. The weapons were also widely used in a variety of Bond films. Sleek, svelte, refined, and cool, the Sterling SMG is one of the world’s classic submachine guns.