AH-1 Cobra

[imaokie2000]

You just never know what you will find. I was traveling thru the farm lands of Central Illinois last Tuesday and in a small town hat didn't even have a convenience store, I find a Vietnam era AH-1. I'd love to have the 20mm cannon!

 

[EOD]

If my memory does not betray me this should be a post VN version (modified after the war then). Someone specialized in this may enlighten us.

Was the little town maybe the place where one of the crew members used to live?

 

[grog18b]

Did they spell "cannon" wrong on the brass plaque? (Canon as in the camera?)Jeesh...

That is a really sweet bird. Wish I had two in my driveway.

 

[Taber10]

Great display. But, really, how often in VN did two LTCs fly together? Most Cobra crews were Warrant Officers if I recall correctly. Also, how "many 1,000" rounds was a three barrel gun capable of firing? Just a couple of thoughts.

 

[imaokie2000]

9grog18b, The word Cannon, when referring to a gun has two "N"s. It's a common mistake. Canon Copiers and ect likely adds to the confusion. Stick around here and you'll see a lot of things spelled all sorts of ways. It's a Multi-national group.

Hey Taber, I see what you mean about the LTCs. With no more information than there was on the plaque, it's hard to say. One LTC may have flown it in Nam and another State Side. Or, maybe both in Nam at different times. Just no way to know. The plaque didn't even mention if one of the men were locals. The cannon is capable of thousands of rounds per minute. I doubt the Cobra would carry enough ammo for a Trigger Happy Pilot though.

I left there and headed on to Peoria and saw an old Tank at the end of someone's driveway. There was oncoming traffic, someone riding my back bumper and I was stressed for time. I have to go back that way in a couple of weeks and hopefully, I can remember where it was.

It sure is odd to see these kinds of things in rural America in very small towns with no budgets.

 

[Slick]

"It sure is odd to see these kinds of things in rural America in very small towns with no budgets"

Having lived in those parts, I recall that nearly every courthouse has/had assorted pieces of artillery and tanks decorating their lawns. Now, it's mostly the VFWs and a few city parks that display the military histories of their locals. Apparently, the newer inhabitants are less inclined to see the honor inherent in these displays. The days of nearly every male in the community serving in the military are long past. With that, those ugly old tanks and cannons in no way reflect the current inhabitant's sense of history. Most of the old warriors, who these pieces honor, have passed.

Up side: Many of these items have ended up in collections and restored.
Down : Lots were returned to the Army/Air Force/Navy for "disposal".

 

[Taber10]

OFF TOPIC: If you (or anyone) gets to fly into Peoria, IL, please note that the commercial/civilian airport has a small memorial to General Wayne Downing, a real "special operator" and one of my personal mentors. Unfortunately, he died in 1996, very shortly after leaving active service.

 

[V40]

I agree, this model was probably put through several modifications before retirement. The originals had a turret at the bottom of the nose with a 7.62x51mm Gatling gun paired up up with a 40mm grenade launcher. Still a beautiful bird, even standing still. We had a squadron of them stationed nearby my house. Loved to hear and see those things flying around. Someday, I will have to tell my personal story about two AH-1's and my Police Car.

 

[beihan62]

It is nice to see the Ah 1 Cobra in such good condition,if it were over here in UK on open display it would have been sprayed with graffiti by some local knuckle dragging Darwins challenge out to show the upper limit of his intelligence,I hope it is looked after for many years to come as a tribute to the aircraft and the crews who flew them,