Agusta-Bell HH-212A

The UH-1N Twin Huey/Iroquois is the military version of the Bell 212 which was originally developed for the Royal Canadian Air Force as the CH-135. A twin-engine highly updated version of the original Huey, the US military ordered significant numbers of the UH-1N for the Air Force who used it for special operations work in Vietnam and for the US Marine Corps. The USMC operated the UH-1N as their workhorse transport helicopter up until 2014 when the type was retired, replaced by the new UH-1Y Venom. The UH-1N has seen substantial service around the globe and was also used by Argentina in the Falklands conflict for search and rescue. In Europe, Bell licensed production to Agusta as the AgustaBell-212 who sold the type on the civilian and military markets.

The Italian Air Force operate the UH-1N/AB-212 as the HH-212A as a utility transport and medical evacuation helicopter. The Italian Air Force acquired 36 HH-212s from Agusta in 1979 and the type has seen significant combat duty since, including being the first Italian helicopter to be deployed to Afghanistan due to its excellent hot and high performance.

The Italian Air Force will be sending one of their HH-212As for static display at this year's Air Tattoo as part of our celebration of their centenary. The helicopter will be provided by 9° Stormo from Grazzanise just north of Napoli.

Photo Credit: Peter Reoch

On display

Role
Static