Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra – Attack Helicopter, USMC 1/48

Corgi Aviation Archive 1/48 scale US51202: Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra gunship of the US Marine Corps. Superb limited edition model with fantastic detail including sharks mouth nose artwork. Intended mainly for US issue.
PLEASE NOTE: Box has a little scuffing on some edges but generally fine.

The Cobra attack helicopter was developed as a tank killer for the US military to stop the Soviet tanks in Europe. It proved a very effective fighting machine in the jungles of Vietnam as well, riding shotgun for the slower, more lightly armed Hueys that ferried troops to the field and wounded back from it. The armament of VT 26 follows a standard configuration for a single engined AH-1G, M158 A1 seven shot and M200 A1 19 shot 2.75 inch rocket launchers on each wing with an M134 minigun and grenade launcher in the nose turret. First Lieutenant Mark Austin Byrd flew with HML367 and was the first unit to receive the US Army version of the Cobra, the G model. Read how Mark was able to back up Marines on the ground during a daring raid.

Designed to meet an urgent US Army requirement for a helicopter gunship, the Bell AH-1 Cobra—sometimes called The Snake—was first flown on September 7th, 1965. Troop-carrying Hueys depended on the Cobra for fire support; it was fast and very maneuverable, and its narrow 38-inch airframe made for a difficult target. Its main armament was its three-barrel 20mm Gatling gun mounted in a chin turret, but it was also capable of using a variety of other weapons including rocket pods, cannon pods, minigun pods and missiles. Replaced by Apaches in the 1990s, the Cobra now serves the US Forest Service as a firefighter.