During the early stages of the war in Viet Nam, American forces pioneered the "Airmobile" concept of transporting troops into combat zone by helicopter. As this practice developed operationally, it became apparent that a heavily armed "gunship" helicopter would be of great value to protect and assist the troop carriers. In response, many modifications were made to standard UH-1 Hueys, but it soon became clear that only a purpose-built gunship would do.
In 1965, as a private venture without government funding, Bell Helicopter began development of the model 209. The 209's design drew heavily on the earlier Huey troop transport's proven transmission, rotor system and power plant, but these component were to be installed into a newly designed narrow fuselage with its pilots sitting in tandem, one behind the other. The new "Cobra" first flew on September 7, 1965, and it had taken Bell only six months to complete the prototype.
In March of 1966, the Cobra was accepted by the U.S. Army with the designation AH-1G. Delivery of production aircraft began in May of 1967 and by September, Cobra were deployed with many operational units in Viet Nam. By 1971, the Army and Marine Corps had acquired over 900 Cobras and had used them extensively for combat in Southeast Asia.
With the advent of later models such as the Army's AH-1S, the Marines's AH-1T Sea Cobra and now the USMC's AH-1W, known officially as the Super Cobra, the Cobra gunship simply gets better and more lethal with age. As the US Army became more involved I it's AH-64 Apache program, the USMC began to develope an improved version of the AH-1T that could take advantage of some of the new systems and developments in weapons and aircraft technology, beginning delivers in 1985 of the improved AH-1W. This newest snake now lays claim to being the most versatile helicopter gunship in the world.

Various weapons included.
Fully engraved panel lines & rivet details.
Highly detailed engine & rotor assembly.