Comments by "Nattygsbord" (@nattygsbord) on "[Vietnam] Helicopter Insertion Tactics for Recon Team Operations" video.

  1. If they fly at low altitude it harder to hear them, and also to see them from the ground. And even if they happen to fly above your head you will not get many seconds to shoot them down until they have dissapeared when they fly fast at low speed.
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  2. Yes it was. It says so in "The Perfect War: Technowar in Vietnam". Before you could kill enemies you have to find him. And the American military was stuck with the idiotic idea of body counts as a measurement of success, so thats why their tactics was so insane.
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  3. how effective are military helicopters in general Everything is relative I guess. In a military budget I would give them a pretty low priority on my wish list compared to other weapon systems, I don't think they are the most bang for the buch even if I think ambulance helicopters could be valuble. The problems with helicopters in Vietnam were many. They couldn't carry a heavy load, and because of that their armour protection was crap and a single rifle bullet in the hydralics system could make this expensive machine go down along with men inside, they wasn't too suited to Vietnams weather and terrain, and when they landed their winds blow up wood and rocks and that shortened the lifespan if the propeller significantly. And even if the idea of putting a force behind the enemy and smash him in an encirclement sounds great in theory, it seems like not much was done in Vietnam. And helicopters aren't much flexible as one might think either, they can't just put down men and supplies everyware but they need landing zones. And then you often want it to be close enough to your own artillery. And when you found a spot, it could be dangerous to get there. Because the enemy aren't idiots, they know that there is only a very limited number of places where you are likely to land your helicopters. And as I said, it doesn't take much to shot down a helicopter. So therefore the Americans started using attack helicopters and prop planes to protect the landing and helicopters. But the Vietcong also learn the standardized procedures used by America in the video above. And when you finally put down some troops, its likely that it is a limited operation since the carrying capacity of the helicopters are limited. So what do I think about helicopters nowadys? I guess daisycutters have helped creating landing zones easier, I guess new technologies doesn't limit operations to daylight and good weather as much as before, and that helicopters are a bit stronger now so they could carry more. And instead of huey gunships, there are real attack helicopters nowadays. So helicopters have certainly improved. But on the other hand, fact remains that they are expensive and weak and could be easily shot down by cheap weapons. And the ability to carry heavy equipment is severly limited. So I don't think they are a war winning weapon.
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  4. Before the war, the Marines let the best students with highest degrees become jet pilots. And the 2nd best became pilots of propeller aircraft. And the rest that barely qualified became helicopter pilots. And as the the war was getting more intense it became a huge shortage of helicopter pilots, so many stayed in the military, and helicopter pilots from the civilian sector was called for, and many fighter pilots had to switch career just to fill the shortages of helicopter pilots in Vietnam.
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