From hot air to hellfire

by James W. Bradin

The army's AH-64 helicopter opened the Persian Gulf War by destroying two Iraqi radar stations that otherwise would have warned the enemy of the intending Allied attack and drastically reduced its effectiveness. Apache carried out its mission flawlessly, demonstrating beyond a doubt that army aviation had come of age. Yet it was not always so. The very existence of army attack aviation was in danger for a long time. The story goes back to the creation of the U.S. Air Force in 1947. From the beginning, the air force concentrated on the strategic bombing and air superiority missions at the expense of close air/tactical support for ground forces. Forced to provide its own air cover for troops in battle, the army turned to the helicopter. The concept of air mobility started during the Korean war and was proven in Vietnam. Attack helicopters were created in order to protect the heliborne troops as they airlifted into hostile terrain. The author is himself a veteran of the bureaucratic inter