Posted on May 18, 2022
How thick was the aluminum skin of a UH-1D helicopter?
1.39K
13
8
5
5
0
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.
Posted in these groups: 
Aviation
Aviation
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
3
3
0
CPT Jack Durish I don't know the answer to your question but I do know that is a cool photo!
(3)
(0)
2
2
0
Not very thick and no armor though there were armor plates under some of the pilots seats.
(2)
(0)
1
1
0
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.
(1)
(0)
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.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google