Bell AH-1J Sea Cobra

The Bell AH-1J Sea Cobra was an attack helicopter developed in only six months from the successful Bell UH-1 Huey, sharing the Huey’s turbine engine, transmission, and rotor system while using a redesigned and streamlined fuselage with tandem seating that placed the pilot behind and above the gunner. Its chin-mounted three-barreled cannon was devastating against ground targets, and Marine Corps J variants used twin engines and larger guns than U.S. Army Cobras, giving Marine aviators additional firepower and greater safety. The first AH-1J Sea Cobras were deployed to South Vietnam for combat evaluation in February 1971, where they escorted CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters and fought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. Short winglets on either side of the fuselage served as pylons for weapons including TOW missiles, which were tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles. This particular Sea Cobra later served in Operation Desert Storm and was the last flying J model to be retired, making its final landing on Intrepid on October 29, 1993, flown by Maj. Warren Fox, USMC, of Marine Aircraft Group 42.

New York, New York · United States