The Sioux (a bubble glassed whirlybird seen on the televison program MASH) was amongst the very first choppers used in Vietnam, followed by the CH-21 Shawnee and CH-34 Choctaw (Marine/Navy version was called the Sea Horse). All US Army birds are named after Indian tribes, except for the AH-1 Cobra (the original Cobra).
All US birds had a combat role; or else they wouldn't have been there. There primary missions were reconnaissance (scouting) & artillery adjustment (called spotting); then medivac (radio call-sign was dustoff) & supply.
As the war progressed, evolution took over. Helicopters became war machines; the Cobra and the Huey Gunship (UH-1 Iroquois).
Those two machines evolved into today's Apache and Blackhawk.
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Besides the US; Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines sent COMBAT units to Vietnam.
The Bell UH-1 series of United States helicopters, are also known as Hueys. The Huey became visually synonymous and symbolic of the Vietnam War in there role as making infantry air mobile and evacuating the wounded.
The helicopter. We not only had the latest technology in helicopters but planes and the navy with air craft carriers that assisted in the bombing of North Vietnam and Cambodia, where they would frequently hide on the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Yes, females did pilot helicopters in the Vietnam War. The Women's Army Corps (WAC) included a group of female helicopter pilots known as the Women's Army Corps Helicopter Pilots (WACHP). These women served as helicopter pilots in Vietnam, flying various missions including medical evacuations, transportation, and reconnaissance. Their contributions were significant and paved the way for future generations of female military aviators.
Helicopters were an important military invention because they enabled direct air transport without needing a runway. They were thus able to act as transports for the wounded in the Korean war and later in Vietnam from the front line directly to military emergency hospitals. This undoubtedly saved the lives of thousands of injured soldiers. ( The TV series 'MASH' is a great depiction of this ) . In Vietnam helicopters were more advanced and by then used to land troops in front line locations and in jungle and hilly areas where fixed wing aircraft could not operate. By the end of Vietnam helicopters were also acting in an assault role, able to operate in areas where jet fighters were relatively useless. In civilian use helicopters became rescue machines for shipping and very useful in many aspects of construction such as helping with erecting power pylons, logging and fire-fighting.