- Yes
- No
General Info
The history of what at the time was known as the Bell 47 began straight after WW2, a lot of advancements would be made in terms of designing new helicopters and retrofitting them for various roles. Bell would design with what was known as the Bell 47, many believe them to be pioneers due to how widespread the concept would become. Previously similar designs had proven to be mostly failures, so having a design which worked was a major breakthrough. It did not take long for variants to be designed for the world of defence. The US Army and Air Force had already begun ordering the design en mass. The Bell 47 first came into service inside of the American Helicopter Air Transport on the 31st December of 1946. Of course the success would lead to the design being sold and exported to several nations outside of the US. It would become the first rotary wing platform in the world to be used operationally on a large scale (around 5600 made). In 1949 the Italian Air Force would send 2 pilots to the US to familiarize themselves with the platform as there was a huge interest in putting the design into service. Agusta saw the potential and by 1952 they managed to gain the license to produce the Bell 47 in Italy and market them for an Italian and European market. The Bell 47 would then be renamed into the Agusta-Bell 47 to reflect this, Agusta would go unto produce this helicopter from 1954 till 1978. The Italian AB-47’s would be produced at the Cascina Costa facilities, this was a major stepping stone for Agusta as shortly beforehand they were mainly known for their production of motorcycles. In 1954 the first 10 units of the AB-47 would enter service with the Italian Airforce. The Italian army instead put the AB-47 in service by 1956. Although in service it typically was not fitted with armament, there had been several tests over the years where armed variants of this platform would be tested, they would be one of the earliest known instances of armed helicopters in Italy. Italy had seen that America had armed their version of the helicopter so they also got inspired to do the same. The armament which would go unto be fitted unto Italian AB-47’s included 7.62mm Browning machine-guns (7.62mm), 70mm Oerlikon rocket launchers, SS.11/12 ATGM’s, Cobra ATGM’s, Mosquito ATGM’s and 57mm recoiless rifles. Ultimately the only standard issue armament which seemingly would be put into service would be the 7.62mm machine-guns. The reasoning the other tested armament would not go unto be used operationaly was mainly due to the fact that they proved to not be very accurate/not sufficiently effective on the battlefield. At the time the concept of armed helicopters was still relatively new and not many nations had decided to adopt them. Thus the idea was scrapped in favour of other more well-known solutions. In terms of mobility, the AB-47 could reach speeds of 196km an hour, but this would obviously change if different engines were fitted. This experience was still vital for both Agusta and the Italian army, the concept would soon come back which would see Italy arm its Huey’s with various types of armaments. Italy managed to export the AB-47 to many nations in many variants, The last AB-47’s operating in Italy were progressively phased out in favour of the Breda-Nardi Hughes NH-500E.
Armament+Equipment
x2 70mm Oerlikon rocket launchers
x2 M18 57mm Recoiless Rifles
x2 Browning machine-guns (7.62mm)
x2 Contraves Mosquito ATGM’s
x2 Cobra ATGM’s
x4 SS.11 ATGM’s
Specifications
Spoiler
Why it should be in game
The AB-47 should be added to the game as it would be a unique low tier helicopter for Italy with some interesting armament options. It would be easy to model and documentation is really easy to find. The introduction of an Italian version could also lead to other nations in game to also recieve them. It wouldn’t be very OP as armament wise its not anything special, it would be a standard low tier helicopter that would probably be best used in Ground realistic battles. It lacks any form of countermesures and would need to be very close to the battlefield to be actually effective. Meaning that SPAA can easily take it out.
Sources
Spoiler
Agusta Bell 47 brochure
Storia Militare n284 (Author G.Tonicchi)
Franco Storaro AB-47, AB-204, AB-412 in Italian service
Aviolibri A129 Mangusta (first pages talk about the AB-47)
L’Aviazione dell’Esercito in Sardegna Meridionale - Carlo Dedoni
GLI ELICOTTERI AGUSTA – Museo Agusta
Agusta-Bell AB-47 G - elicottero - meccanica, AgustaWestland – Patrimonio scientifico e tecnologico – Lombardia Beni Culturali
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/mezzi/mstorici/Pagine/AUGUSTA-BELL-AB47.aspx
Il Bell 47G storia, descrizione tecnica e prestazioni - Heli Archive
La storia del Bell 47J Ranger - Heli Archive
Avialogs: Aviation Library - Model 47
https://www.museoaviazione.com/portfolio-items/agusta-bell-a-b-47g2/
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/museostorico/Pagine/AgustaBellAB47J.aspx
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/museostorico/Pagine/AgustaBellAB47G2.aspx
Ispirazione che Nasce dalla Potenza
Bell 47 - Wikipedia
L'Agusta-Bell AB-47, la "libellula" che vegliava sull'Italia
Photos
