UH-1C XM-30
| This page is about the premium American utility helicopter UH-1C XM-30. For other versions, see UH-1 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The UH-1C XM-30 is a premium gift rank V American utility helicopter
with a battle rating of 9.0 (AB) and 8.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced as a premium pack in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries" and was removed from sale after the 2019 New Year Sale. It was briefly made available for purchase with Golden Eagles 
for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 "US Airborne Day" mini-events.
The UH-1C XM-30 is a modified UH-1C with the ability to carry the XM140 30 mm cannons, a weapon unique to this vehicle. It loses the AGM-22s the UH-1C carries, but as the AGM-22s are the UH-1C's starting munitions this does not diminish the vehicle's offensive capabilities in any meaningful way. In all other ways it is for the most part identical to the tech tree UH-1C, and as such the tactics and specific vehicle quirks are mostly identical to it.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - at sea level) |
Max altitude (metres) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | ||
| Stock | 203 | 196 | 5900 |
| Upgraded | 230 | 217 | |
Survivability and armour
The UH-1C XM-30 has very little protection - consisting of a composite screen around the seats of both cockpit crew members with a thickness of 8 mm. These screens may stop the odd 7.62 mm round, but anything above that damage threshold will make short work of your pilot and gunner. As they are armored around the seats, it is to be noted that if a 7.62 mm round comes from the front, it may directly hit your crew members. Considering the rate of fire on those machine guns, a penetrating hit will most likely mean many more consecutive penetrations, and it is thus important to keep your vehicle far away from harm's way if possible.
Modifications and economy
2 × 50 / 300 / 430 % 2 × 220 / 220 / 220 % | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The UH-1C XM-30 is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- Without offensive armament
- 1 x 40 mm M75 cannon (150 rpg)
Suspended armament
The UH-1C XM-30 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- 2 x 30 mm XM140 cannons (600 rpg = 1,200 total)
- 38 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
- 6 x BGM-71C Improved TOW missiles
- 2 x 7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (1,500 rpg = 3,000 total)
- 76 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets
- 38 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets + 2 x 7.62 mm M134 Minigun machine guns (3,000 rpg = 6,000 total)
Usage in battles
The UH-1C XM-30 is an utility helicopter, and is thus not built for the extreme agility, high performance characteristics a frontline combat helicopter might come with. Despite this, the UH-1 airframe is still more than capable of fulfilling the basic needs of any aspiring helicopter pilot - getting in, quickly striking a target and then quickly breaking line-of-sight to retreat to safety.
Air-to-Ground Engagements
The UH-1C XM-30 can equip two XM140 cannons, two I-TOW launchers with 6 missiles in total or FFAR rockets with 2 x 7.62 mm gunpods. The standout feature of the UH-1C XM-30 is its long range air-to-ground ordnance, mainly the I-TOWs. The I-TOWs have a range of 3.75 kilometers and allows the UH-1C XM-30 to safely engage enemy gun-based SPAAs without having to get in too close, and against tanks their damage is respectable as well. However, due to its SACLOS guidance and lack of a tandem warhead, the ATGM may struggle against vehicles with soft or hard-kill systems, such as the T-55AMD-1 and its Drozd Active Protection System or the Magach 5 which has Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) covering the vast majority of the vehicle's front profile. Luckily, vehicles with IRCM (soft-kill APS) or hard-kill APS are rare vehicles to face when playing the UH-1C XM-30, and the same goes for vehicles with ERA; Against most targets, the UH-1C XM-30 will have little issue securing kills.
Against SPAAs it is advised to stay at a safe distance of at least 2 to 3 kilometers, as it gives you ample time to react to an enemy firing non-proximity fuse rounds at you. Even a slight sideways motion from left to right can cause them to miss all their shots as your I-TOW lands squarely on their turrets, so mastering this skill will greatly enhance your survivability. If the UH-1C XM-30 is uptiered, however, the helicopter may encounter vehicles such as the Strela-10M2 which have Electro-Optical Lock, which you can reduce the effectiveness of by flying extremely low. Other SPAAs of note are vehicles such as the VEAK 40, WZ305 and in Mixed Battles the M247 as all 3 vehicles have proximity rounds that can shred your unarmored helicopter in a single burst. The M247 in particular has tracerless proximity fuse rounds, and as you lack a RWR this can lead to a seemingly out-of-nowhere death. The silver lining is that you rarely see mixed games, and as such the M247 will not be a major threat to you.
If you wish to spawn the helicopter as either a first spawn or as a late low-cost no-TOW loadout spawn, your options are either to take the XM140 30 mm gunpods or the FFARs when it comes to engaging ground targets. Without your I-TOWs your effectiveness is greatly diminished, as the UH-1s generally do not have the raw performance statistics when it comes to hit-and-run tactics, but it is still more than workable if need be. The XM140 cannons are fairly accurate up to a fair distance of around a kilometer, but may struggle to kill heavier armored tanks; On the other hand, as the UH-1C lacks CCIP the FFARs cannot be aimed accurately outside of player aim compensation, so you may end up wasting all your rockets only to graze an enemy or two and nothing to show for it. It is advised to practice and try out multiple loadouts of different combinations to see which weapon roster fits you best in this case, as tactics and weapon usage may differ heavily between users due to preference.
Air-to-Air Engagements
Inevitably, if you annoy some people in your helicopter, some enemy aircraft may spawn to hunt you down. As a utility helicopter the UH-1C XM-30 is unsuited for air-to-air combat, but the helicopter is not completely defenseless despite this. The helicopter can equip the aforementioned XM140 30 mm autocannons, as well as 7.62 mm machine guns for self defense, and if any of these are equipped you gain a significant advantage in an aerial engagement. The XM140 cannon can pivot around to cover a very wide range in front of you, so with the cannon equipped you can fire at an aircraft even with the nose pointed slightly to the side - although it is advised to face the enemy plane to ensure more accurate aim. With the 7.62 mm machine guns, what they lack in damage they make up for in ammunition count and fire rate. You can sometimes pilot snipe or critically damage overzealous enemy aircraft, and send them back to the hangar in some cases using a combination of these two weapons.
However, if you only have the I-TOWs equipped, you have almost no way to effectively engage any aircraft, be it a biplane or a top rank jet. With FFARs you can attempt to shoot them at the enemy head-on, but as the rockets are much harder to aim than the enemy's cannons, this is seldom effective. It is still important to note that to some extent you have to accept the risk of being shot down when you spawn in the helicopter - you gain the ability to strike ground targets with more freedom, but trade this with an increased level of vulnerability to aircraft if you opt to use all 6 of your TOWs. If you wish to have more versatility it may be a better idea to carry a mixed loadout with at least one minigun or autocannon, but if you want to go all-in for anti-tank standoff capabilities you may be a little bit hard pressed when defending yourself. Stick near your teammates in these cases or call an allied aircraft to assist you - as you play your part, they too will play theirs to win the match.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Relatively fast and nimble for an utility helicopter
- XM-30 version has decent zoomed-in optics
- Powerful 30 mm cannons useful in air combat
- XM140 30 mm cannons can swivel a wide degree and have a semi-accurate spread up to 1 km
- Grenade launcher can overpressure open-topped vehicles
Cons:
- No armour protection
- Poor defensive capabilities against aircraft
- 40 mm grenade launcher has a low rate of fire and is hard to aim
- XM140 cannons lack penetration against most armored targets, limiting effectiveness
History
The United States Army identified in 1952 a need for a new general utility helicopter which could also serve as medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) and instrument training helicopter too. The current inventory of helicopters had several flaws which the Army wanted to overcome including being too large, underpowered or extremely complex to maintain. The Army wanted a workhorse that was easy to maintain and have a fairly small profile. Twenty companies participated in the bidding process and in 1955, Bell Helicopter was selected to build three copies of the Model 204 for evaluation, and this version was designated XH-40 (Experimental Helicopter-40).
The XH-40 was built with the Lycoming YT52-L-1 (LTC1B-1) turbo engine helicopter, the first non-piston helicopter tested by the military and first flew in 1956. Even before the prototype had flown, the Army put in an order for six YH-40 service test aircraft in which they could field test to determine how it would work under military unit operations. Proving successful, Bell was awarded a contract to build another 100 helicopters which were designated HU-1A (Helicopter Utility-1A) and hence was officially named Iroquois. Iroquois ended up being a mouthful for people to say, so a nickname developed from the HU-1 designation which ended up being pronounced as Huey and stuck. In September 1962, the Department of Defense changed up the aircraft identification system to streamline between all of the different aircraft and their variations and changed the HU-1 to UH-1 (Utility Helicopter-1). Even with the change, the official Army name and the new DOD designation was rarely used as Huey was so well recognised as the name, that is what was to most people.
Unfortunately, with all of the positive feedback received for the YH-40, service tests performed by the Army found the T53-L-1A engine was found to be underpowered and could not perform to the level that was needed. Bell proposed to swap the T53-L-1A engine with the T53-L-5 engine, upping the shaft horsepower from 770 to 960 (570 kW to 720 kW) and extended the cabin to accommodate more people, up to 7 passengers or four stretchers and a medical attendant. The first production of the new helicopter UH-1B was delivered for service in 1961.
Several aerodynamic deficiencies of an armed UH-1B was explicitly identified not having enough engine power to lift the necessary weapons systems. The UH-1C was developed to overcome these problems by upgrading the helicopter with the T53-L-11 engine which had 1,100 shaft horsepower or 820 kW. The UH-1B helicopters which were in the service of the Army at the time were also upgraded with the new engine. Several adjustments were made to the UH-1C which included a new rotor-system, however, like many things which are upgraded, domino effect also requires other components and modules also to be updated. A larger diameter rotor was installed to counter blade stall during dives which required the tail boom to be extended and larger synchronized elevators to be added. While operating in military operations, it was determined necessary to add a redundant hydraulic control system to allow for continued operation in the event of a failure in one system. Larger fuel tanks allowed for further range with the total useful load capacity topping out at 4,673 lbs (2,120 kg). Mid-1966 saw the line production of the fully upgraded UH-1C helicopter.
Huey model 204 helicopters were a huge success and were put to use in several different capacities. However, the Army wanted another version which facilitated the carrying of more troops which spawned the Model 205. Bell adjusted by extending the UH-1B's fuselage by a total of 41 in (104 cm), boxed in the transmission and was able to add four more seats, two on each side of the transmission box facing out the side doors. With the side doors being easily removable, options to fly without doors made for quick loading and unloading of the helicopter which could now accommodate 15 persons, including the crew and could now hold six stretchers and a medic. First flown in 1961, the 205 took on many of the same upgrades as the UH-1C including the T53-L-11 which enabled usage of multiple types of fuel. Prototypes of this helicopter were designated YUH-1D, and the final assembly line aircraft was called the UH-1D.
This helicopter while still under evaluation the Army sent it to Vietnam in 1962 where it began operations. Initially only required as a general utility, MEDEVAC, and an instrument trainer, this helicopters role also expanded to include but not limited to air assault, cargo transport, search and rescue, electronic warfare and eventually ground attack.
During the Vietnam War, the UH-1 earned several other nicknames other than "Huey" which quickly identified to troops what role the helicopter had been outfitted for. Gunship versions of the UH-1s were identified as Frogs or Hogs if they carried rockets while if they just carried guns, they were identified as Cobras. Troop transport versions were called Slicks due to weapon pods being absent on the external pylons while they did retain their door gunners. Later in the war from 1967 to 1968, the gunship Huey's were replaced by the new AH-1 attack helicopters.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
External links
| Bell Aircraft Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Aircraft | |
| Fighters | P-39N-0 · P-39Q-5 |
| P-400 | |
| P-63A-10 · P-63A-5 · P-63C-5 · ␠Kingcobra | |
| Jet Fighters | P-59A |
| Export | ▂P-39K-1 · ▂Pokryshkin's P-39N-0 · ▂P-39Q-15 · ▄P-39Q-25 |
| ▂P-63A-5 · ▂P-63A-10 · ▂P-63C-5 · ▄P-63C-5 | |
| Helicopters | |
| Attack | AH-1F · AH-1G · AH-1Z · AH-1W |
| OH-58D | |
| Utility | UH-1B · UH-1C · UH-1C XM-30 |
| Export/Licensed | ▅UH-1B · ◄UH-1D |
| Tzefa A · Tzefa B · Tzefa D/E · ▅AH-1S early · ▅AH-1S · ▅AH-1S Kisarazu · ␗AH-1W | |
| ␗OH-58D | |
| See Also | Fuji Heavy Industries · Agusta |
| USA helicopters | |
|---|---|
| Attack | |
| Black Hawk | MH-60L DAP |
| Choctaw | H-34 |
| Cobra | AH-1F · AH-1G · AH-1Z |
| SuperCobra | AH-1W |
| Kiowa | OH-58D |
| Little Bird | AH-6M |
| Apache | YAH-64 · AH-64A · ▃AH-64A Peten · AH-64A (GR) · AH-64D |
| Utility | |
| Huey | UH-1B · UH-1C · UH-1C XM-30 |
