First official combat mission of a Bell AH-1 Cobra (AH-1G)

Description

The first twelve AH-1Gs (including 66-15247, a hand-built pre-production test aircraft) arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base, Viet Nam on August 29th, 1967 as part of the "New Equipment Training Team." Comprised of combat-experienced pilots as well as specialists from Bell Helicopter, Emerson Electric and Lycoming, the NETT was first established in August 1966 to train UH-1 crews on the brand-new AH-1.

The first flight of an AH-1G in Vietnam was on August 29th (their first day of arrival). Six AH-1Gs remained with the NETT, while the other six were assigned to Army units (see notes). First combat (unofficial) occured on a training mission on September 4th, 1967, five days after the aircraft arrived in Viet Nam.

The mission was flown by aircraft of the 1st Platoon (Playboys), 334th Armed Helicopter Company, 12th CAG.