- Yes
- No
AH-1T landing aboard USS Iwo Jima during Exercise BRIGHT STAR '85 (source- National Archives)
The Bell AH-1T Improved SeaCobra was an attack helicopter used by the US Marine Corps. An upgrade over the AH-1J, the AH-1T featured improved engines, a modified airframe, and new weaponry and avionics. Its armament ranges from TOW missiles to Sidewinders and includes more unusual weaponry like fire bombs and illumination flares. It also carries an advanced avionics suite, including thermals, RWR, countermeasures, and IR jammers.
As the AH-1T had served through a period of rapid weapons development, there are multiple plausible ways in which it could be implemented in War Thunder depending on the types of weaponry carried. It could be given the most basic missiles and fill the helicopter tree gap between 8.7 and 9.7, or receive the most advanced armament possible and be foldered as an upgrade to the AH-1F or serve as a bridge between the AH-1J and the AH-1W in a separate Marine line. There are two polls at the end of this post, and please consider elaborating on your choice in a comment.
History and design
In 1972, Iran ordered many AH-1Js (along with a similar number of UH-1 Hueys) from Bell. Due to their unique operating environments, they asked for an upgraded version of the AH-1J, specifically with improved engine and flight performance. They agreed to pay for all the R & D costs. This version became known as the AH-1J International, featuring the 1,970 hp P & W Canada T400-WV-402. After the order had been completed, the US Marines saw an opportunity. Since a significant part of the development cost had already been paid, they could get a new SeaCobra at a cheaper price!
On request from the Marines, Bell modified the last two AH-1Js to serve as prototypes for the new SeaCobra. Apart from the new engines and transmission, a lot of new equipment was added, some of which originated from the failed Bell Model 309 KingCobra. The most notable upgrade was the addition of the TOW missile and the associated guidance equipment. The Telescopic Sight Unit (TSU) provided magnification from 2x to 13x and also had a thermal sight to help with target acquisition and combat in poor visibility environments. While designed for guiding TOW missiles, it could also be used to aim the 20 mm M197 autocannon with great accuracy. A digital ballistic computer and HUDs were also fitted, along with the Helmet Sight Subsystem (HSS), which allowed the pilot and gunner to acquire targets and point the sights just by turning their head. In terms of survivability, the AH-1T was fitted with the AN/APR-39(V)1 RWR, AN/ALE-39 countermeasure dispenser, and ALQ-144 IR jammer. Apart from the addition of TOW missiles, available weaponry stayed mostly the same compared to the AH-1J, but the more powerful engines allowed heavier weapons to be carried at the same time. All these additions significantly shifted the SeaCobra’s centre of gravity, so the fuselage was stretched by 12 inches, the extra space allowing for a 14% increase in fuel capacity. To further improve flight performance, a larger main rotor with an increased cord was fitted and the tail rotor was repositioned.
The first production AH-1T was rolled out on 15 October 1977, and HMA-269 received the first AH-1Ts on 4 December 1978. The AH-1T served the US Marines well through several wars and were eventually converted to/replaced by AH-1Ws in the late 1980s.
Specifications
Crew: 2
Airframe and flight performance
Empty weight: 3,879 kg
MTOW: 6,350 kg
Max speed: 352 km/h
Cruise speed: 247 km/h
Climb rate: 9 m/s
Service ceiling: 2255 m
Engine: 1x P&W Canada T400-WV-402 Twin-Pac, 1,970 hp
Avionics and armament:
Avionics:
- Telescopic Sight Unit (TSU):
- Zoom and FOV: 2x zoom with 30˚ FOV to 13x zoom with 4.6˚
- Thermal imaging
- Helmet Sight Subsystem (HSS)
- AN/APR-39(V)1 RWR
- Bands: E-J, missile guidance signals in C and D
- AN/ALE-39 countermeasure dispenser
- Two 30-countermeasure dispensers above each wing, 60 countermeasures total
- ALQ-144 IR jammer
Armament:
- 8x BGM-71 TOW (on outer pylons)
- Somewhat confusingly, the “AH-1 TACTICAL MANUAL” uses the designation BGM-71A, yet later states that the maximum range of the TOW is 3,750 m, a value only achieved from the BGM-71B onwards.
Note that the BGM-71D TOW-2 was approved for field use in 1983, while the AH-1W, the successor to the AH-1T, was first rolled out in 1986 (and the AH-1T probably remained in service for a few extra years after that). Therefore, the AH-1T could plausibly use all TOW versions from the A model to the D model. The actual implementation in War Thunder would depend on its intended position in the tree and balancing concerns.
- Somewhat confusingly, the “AH-1 TACTICAL MANUAL” uses the designation BGM-71A, yet later states that the maximum range of the TOW is 3,750 m, a value only achieved from the BGM-71B onwards.
- 2x AIM-9 (on outer pylons)
- The “AH-1 TACTICAL MANUAL” says that the AH-1T could use the AIM-9H/L/M versions. This is plausible since the AIM-9M was first delivered and achieved IOC in 1983 (while as said above, the AH-1T served at least until 1986). Again, the implementation choice would depend on the desired tech tree position and balance, although I think that adding the 9M would make the AH-1T effectively unbalanceable (even the 9L would push it up to 10.0 minimum, where the TOWs would be a pain to use).
- 2x GPU-2/A gun pod (on inner pylons)
- Contains an M197 20 mm cannon, which should be familiar to AH-1W players.
- 4x LAU-61 (19 tube Mighty Mouse), LAU-68 (7 tube Mighty Mouse), LAU-10 (4 tube Zuni) (on all pylons)
- 2x Mk 77 Fire Bomb (on outer pylons)
- Could be useful for base bombing in PvE Helicopter Battles
- 4x SUU-44/A, SUU-25 flare dispensers (on all pylons)
- These are parachute illumination flares. I’m not sure if they would perform like normal flare decoys, but they would at least blind your opponent if deployed during daylight operations (might be disallowed in-game for health and safety reasons).
- 2x M118 smoke grenade dispensers (on outer pylons)
- Carries up to 12 M8/M18 smoke grenades (normally used by infantry to mark their positions). M8 only comes with white smoke while M18 comes with blue, yellow, white, violet, red or green smoke. Useless in battle and consumes the important outer pylons, but could be fun in custom missions.
Compatible loadout table for the AH-1T (source- AH-1 TACTICAL MANUAL)
More pictures
AH-1T carrying AIM-9 during Exercise COBRA GOLD’88 (source- National Archives)
N.B. While unspecified in the source, the dark grey colouration around the target detector and the fin shape suggests that this is an AIM-9M.
Flexfram putty is applied to protect the leading edges from the Zuni’s efflux (source- Verier)
AH-1T in the Gulf, mounted AIM-9 Sidewinder, AN/ALE-39 pod on top of the wing, ALQ-144 jammer on top of engines, visible (source- Verier)
Sources
- “PRELIMINARY NATOPS FLIGHT MANUAL NAVY MODEL AH-1T (TOW) AIRCRAFT”, dated 1 August 1980
- [“AH-1 TACTICAL MANUAL”, dated June 1986]
(AH-1 TACTICAL MANUAL : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive) - “Bell AH-1 Cobra” by Mike Verier
- “Huey Cobra Gunships” by Chris Bishop
- “Bell AH-1 Cobra Variants” by Kenneth Peoples
- The United States Army | Redstone Arsenal Historical Information
- AIM-9 Sidewinder Archives | Air & Space Forces Magazine
Images:
- BGM-71A
- BGM-71B
- BGM-71C
- BGM-71D
- There should be multiple versions of the AH-1T
- I don’t want the AH-1T
- AIM-9H
- AIM-9L
- AIM-9M
- The AH-1T shouldn’t have access to AIM-9
- There should be multiple versions of the AH-1T
- I don’t want the AH-1T