Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkSheppard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karagin
That would be when the helicopter was starting to see more use in Korea and may saw it as the answer to all airborne operations.
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I actually wrote something on the feasibility of helicopter use in WWII; let me break out the part about the advantages of even 1950s helicopters as a replacement for gliders:
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1.) You no longer need to keep a huge Transport fleet around to carry gliders – D-Day utilized around 800 x C-47s.
2.) Unlike gliders, helicopters can be reused after landing in the drop zone. They can be used for local liaison/observation/transport tasks in the drop zone.
3.) Tying into #2, unlike gliders, you simply fuel up helicopters and fly them away, as opposed to mounting a large recovery and repair operation that consumes a large amount of manpower.
4.) The short range of piston-powered helicopters (200 miles or less) is not an issue; since gliders are limited to only 1.15 to 1.5 hours in the air due to pilot fatigue (gliders were unpowered, with no power boost for the controls); which at the top tow speed of around 120 MPH for a CG-4, is 138-180 miles. |
All valid points, but like with gliders they can be shot down just as easily, and unlike gliders, they are noisy, granted the sound is normally not heard till they are almost on top of you but that sound does give them away.
The point about the gliders being a one-use item until recovered and repaired is in some ways the same for helicopters. Any damage taken while trying to land or take off from a hot LZ means you are out that craft, even if they do get away it's going to be days to weeks before it's back in the fight. So the trade comes down to the idea of re-use and the fact that the same vehicle can do both drop and recovery. Like everything else there are trade-offs and the biggest one is weight and carry. Not every helicopter can carry heavy weapons as well as have the fuel to return, whereas a glider can carry and it's already known it's a one-way trip.
I have seen older reports of mixing all three ideas together, use the transports to drop the airborne and gliders into the area and then helicopters to support and evac wounded or bring in reinforcement at critical areas until ground forces linked up. Nothing ever went with this because like all things post-WW2 and Korea, budget cuts and new wonder hight tech toys were seen as the future, and the old silliness leftover from THE WAR was well outdated and didn't work. Recall all the cool pictures of a single man flying hover platforms and similar items. Also here in the last six months, the Navy has been back to playing with jump packs aka jet packs for SEALS and Marines to board ships, etc...so old is new again keeps coming along. Imagine a glider built with composites and better materials we have today and a bit of that magical stealth technology tossed...