Hughes OH-6 Cayuse

Of all the helicopters I saw in Vietnam, I wish I had a chance to take a ride in the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse or Loach as we called them.  The name Loach was an acronym extracted from the three words, Light Observation Helicopter.

A Loach looked like a load of fun to be in.  They always seemed to be in danger, buzzing around close to the trees looking for signs of Vietcong soldiers.  Like a hummingbird, they would flit from location to location quickly and effortlessly.

Recently I owned a Mini Cooper convertible.  I always imagined that buzzing around in that Mini with the top down would be about as close as I would ever get to the feeling of flying in a Loach.

I said in an earlier blog that the Loach won the competition for an Army contract to supply the Army with a light observation helicopter.  The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse beat out helicopters designed by Bell and Fairchild-Hiller.  The helicopter replaced the US Army O-1 Bird Dog, a fixed wing aircraft used by the Artillery for observation and reconnaissance.

The OH-6's capabilities blew away the competition.  It set 23 world records for helicopters in 1966 for speed, endurance and time to climb.  Also it set long distance records that still stand.  In 1966, Robert Ferry flew from Culver City, California to Ormond Beach, Florida, a distance 2,213 miles in fifteen hours.

If you look closely at the picture, just above the strut was mounted a 7.62mm mini gun capable of firing 2,000 to 4,000 rounds per minute.  Wow!