Posted on May 18, 2022
How thick was the aluminum skin of a UH-1D helicopter?
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This may sound like a strange question but inquiring young minds want to know. It's a question I'm asked as I guide tours of school children around the H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum in Huntsville, TX. We have a couple on display and I invite the children to press the hull with their finger tips to feel how little there was between us and enemy fire. Ideally, I would like to illustrate with folded aluminum foil that is approximately .02 mm.
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Aviation
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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CPT Jack Durish I don't know the answer to your question but I do know that is a cool photo!
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Not very thick and no armor though there were armor plates under some of the pilots seats.
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I am currently in a place where I occasionally fix the UH-1Y, a current version of the same aircraft, and the skin on most of the surface ranges from 0.025 inches to 0.032 inches. I can't see why they would change it much from that variant to the current version.
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PO1 Jamie Springman
That is true but there are different hardnesses, and even types, that come with each piece of metal used for different purposes. 7075-T6 will have very different characteristics compared to 2024-T3 or even 7075-0 of the same thickness. Not that any of the different metals would stop a bullet shot at it.
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I Flew As a Crew Chief on N Models, in The Late 70s Early 80s and Still Had Some NAM Vet’s Around They Told Stories About Arrows Shot Into The Cabin Through The Skin, When We Went Into Grenada We Wore a Flack Jacket and Sat on One, Yea ! Not Very Thick Skin
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CPT Jack Durish My experience was with the CH-46 Sea Knight and I know that the skin did not offer much protection.
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