History of the Helicopter
Flying like a bird has been one of mankind’s oldest dreams. Attempts to build machines capable of flight have been made since ancient times. One of the oldest methods of flight is a spinning propeller on top. In ancient China, children would attach feathers to a stick and spin them between their hands, and the sticks would float away. In 1483, Leonardo da Vinci made a sketch of a large, screw-like object meant to spin and travel in the air.
Many attempts were made to create a flying machine from the 16th to the 18th century, yet they all had one common problem. Steam engines were too large and inefficient to hover, let alone fly. There was no way to sufficiently power such a machine. When the internal combustion engine was invented, the hopes of mankind taking flight once again seemed possible.
There was now a way to power the engine, but there were still some problems. Controlling was a main issue, along with torque, vibrations, and symmetrical lift. The flaws were worked out with various improvements over the next twenty years, but progress was painfully slow.
The invention of the autogyro by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in 1923 was the breakthrough that the progress of helicopters needed. At the time, helicopters used large, fan shaped propellers. An autogyro is comparable to a modern helicopter, if the helicopter had a propeller in front. The front propeller would take the autogyro forward, like an airplane on a runway. The rotor would spin while moving, and the autogyro would lift off. “Auto” means self and “gyro” means spin, so the autogyro makes itself spin! Cierva had many successful flights, and added many upgrades to helicopter design. The autogyro reached its height in popularity in the early 1930’s. Gradually, the true helicopter design outshined the autogyro by adapting the autogyro’s innovations. One could say that the true end of autogyros was on December 9th, 1936, when Cierva died in an airplane crash.
Helicopters first saw combat in WWII, but their role was a small one. Due to the limitations on size and weight capacity, the helicopters could only be used for supplying, reconnaissance, and rescue missions. Helicopters were more numerous in the Korean War, but they were still not used in combat due to lack of size. Vietnam was the first time that the United States used many helicopters in a war.
Helicopters were first used to transport infantry and light vehicles into combat. With the introduction of helicopters to war brought an introduction to surprise attacks deep in enemy territory. Helicopters could pick up a small force and fly into enemy territory. There, the troops had the element of surprise and could fire upon and destroy a select enemy target. Then, they would get back into the helicopter and leave as if nothing happened. Helicopters were also equipped with a large assortment of weapons, such as machine guns, grenade launchers, rockets, and even guided missiles. However, the helicopters still had weaknesses. Between 1962 and 1973, the3 U.S.A. lost approximately 4,850 helicopters in war.
Author: James Redstone
