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H-13 Helicopter


mtncolonel

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Some of you may remember that I am retired Army and a volunteer for the Wings Over the Rockies Air Museum at Lowry here in Denver. I am making a display of 1/72 Army helicopters, and have just received two Italeri Bell AH-1/AB-47 kits - where did they get that designation? The kits seem quite accurate for the H-13H, first made in 1955, after the Korean War. I am going to make one as an H-13H used with the 1st Air Cav in Vietnam, but I want to make the other as an H-13C/D/E during the Korean War. Are there any aftermarket kits with the earlier small oval fuel tank? Where would I find a restored H-13C/D/E to get photos of the earlier model which actually operated in Korea?

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AIRLINERS.net has a couple of decent snaps. We have a nicely restored H-13 hanging in the SD Air & Space Museum, just east of Rapid City. Not sure which version it is, but I can get you some detail shots, if you want. Better yet: Come visit!

 

Have they finished the hangar floor at WOTR yet?

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John - I was a OH-13 pilot in flight school and later at Fort Carson, CO. The OH-13's we flew in flight school were mostly H models I think. I do not think these had the Lycoming TVO-435-25 engines with 260hp Turbo-supercharged engines. I did fly TH-13T's in Colorado in support of Colorado Mast missions. I had never been in a small Aircraft of any type when I climbed into a OH-13 at Fort Walters Texas, 10 hours later I soloed [if you did not solo in about 18 hrs you were washed, out 10 hours was average!]. I had a strange experence in my 1st cross Country Orientation flight. My 21 year Warrant Officer Instructor Pilot passed out at the controls at about 1,500 ft altitude! I grabbed the controls and the aircraft had gone into a straight up attidude because he fell back with the cyclic pulled all the way back and the colective all the way down. I forced the cyclic to the right with full right pedal and did basicly a classic Ag turn, we recoverd maybe 100 ft off the Texas hardpan! I told the "incedident" investagater later that I could see the ground over my shoulder out of the back of the bubble. He said he doubted that because if the OH-13 see even the slightest negitive G's the Rotor Blades will collapse, but I know what I saw. I flew the aircraft back to base and they met me with ambulance and took Instructor to Hospital. They had me hover to the base of tower and "detained" me until they could find out what hapened. They had student pilots attack Instructors in the past and were suspicious. It turned out the Warrent Officer had a enlarged Prostate and had passed out from the pain! They gave me a new Instructor, ex Navy old timer, and he told me that after that incedent I would never be washed out of the Program!

I have attached a photo of me with I think a H model when I Graduted from Flight School. Dan King - Greyhound 10, 240th AHC Vietnam 69/70 and VNAF Contractor in 1973

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FYI - Here's the dirt on the one at SDASM, from the joebaugher.com USAF Serial Numbers website...I love this geeky site!

 

Bell H-13H-BF Sioux (redesignated OH-13H in 1962)

 

T/N 58-1520 (c/n 2284) to MASDC (the boneyard) as XF0183 Jun 28, 1972, to 1H0019 (Navy) Nov 14, 1974. Now at South Dakota Air and Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB (probably via the boneyard again).

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John- I remembered that I have a few 1/72 scale Bell 47 kits made by a company called Esoteric Models, from Oxon England. This is an advanced kit made up of Photoetch for the Truss Tailboom, White Metal for Structral Parts, Resin for Cockpit and Vacuformed clear for the Bubble. It does have the "Peanut" fuel tanks. It has a very nice decal set that lets you build, US Army, Marine, Japan, German, RAF/Royal Army and even TV Mash markings. it is a difficult to build kit, but with moderal tools [like the Hold and Fold type photetch tool], superglue etc it is easier than when this first came out. The tough part is cut and fitting the Vac formed Bubble. You could use it for parts in a kit bash with Plastic 1/72 Sioux. Since this is for a Museum Project I would be glad to Donate it to the cause! Just contact me at - cameoking6@cox.net and we can exchage contact info and I will mail this kit to you.

 

I have attached another photo of what I think is actual Korean War OH-13 that is in the Yanks Museum at Chino Airport California. Dan King

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  • 4 weeks later...

Dan- I found the answer to my question in one of my unbuilt kits, an MRC 1/35 Type 47, which is an H-13E - it has the one-piece lateral fuel tank, bench seat, and dual controls of an E, which did fly in Korea. I am going to make one of the Italeri models into an H-13E for Korea, and the other into an H-13H, which the model is, for the 1st Air Cav in Nam. By the time I was there in 69, H-13s and H-21s were gone. We flew in UH-1Ds, OH-6s, CH-47s (my last flight to Tan Son Nhut) and had support from AH-1Gs and fixed wings. I will use the dimensions of the part from the MRC kit and create an earlier fuel tank for the 1/72 model. Thanks a lot anyway.

John- I remembered that I have a few 1/72 scale Bell 47 kits made by a company called Esoteric Models, from Oxon England. This is an advanced kit made up of Photoetch for the Truss Tailboom, White Metal for Structral Parts, Resin for Cockpit and Vacuformed clear for the Bubble. It does have the "Peanut" fuel tanks. It has a very nice decal set that lets you build, US Army, Marine, Japan, German, RAF/Royal Army and even TV Mash markings. it is a difficult to build kit, but with moderal tools [like the Hold and Fold type photetch tool], superglue etc it is easier than when this first came out. The tough part is cut and fitting the Vac formed Bubble. You could use it for parts in a kit bash with Plastic 1/72 Sioux. Since this is for a Museum Project I would be glad to Donate it to the cause! Just contact me at - cameoking6@cox.net and we can exchage contact info and I will mail this kit to you.

 

I have attached another photo of what I think is actual Korean War OH-13 that is in the Yanks Museum at Chino Airport California. Dan King

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VonL - the hangar floor is nice and shiny now, and the aircraft have been rearranged very nicely. We now have a control tower at the front entrance, and our B-52 in front is now 14 feet higher in a simulated landing/takeoff attitude. We reopened the museum for the public on April 5 and have a number of events since. I got the answer to my H-13 question from one of my unfinished kits, an MRC 1/35 Type 47, which is an H-13E with the lateral fuel tank, bench seat, and dual controls. I am going to kitbash one of the Italeri kits as an H-13E with the fuel tank made to reduced dimensions from the 1/35 kit. I am going to build the other kit into an H-13H, which was used by the 1st Air Cav in Nam in the mid 60s. I didn't get there until 69, so we used only UH-1Ds. CH-47s, and OH-6As. The H-13s and H-21s were all gone. I have found an H-13E at the US Army Aviation Museum at Ft Rucker and am using photos from there, but the 1/35 model gives me the dimensions and spacing I need. I will try to make it up to SD again, maybe make it to Sturgis on my bike.

AIRLINERS.net has a couple of decent snaps. We have a nicely restored H-13 hanging in the SD Air & Space Museum, just east of Rapid City. Not sure which version it is, but I can get you some detail shots, if you want. Better yet: Come visit!

 

Have they finished the hangar floor at WOTR yet?

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