Apache vs Cobra

Everything comes in pairs: F-16 vs F-18, YF-22 vs YF-23, F-4 vs Mig-21, F-15 vs F-14. On every forum there are discussions comparing different aircraft where people argue indefinitely about which aircraft is the best.

In the coming posts I'd like also to compare aircraft. But I won't compare them based on technical merits, nor will I decide which one is the best. Besides such discussions are futile, each weapon system has its strengths and weaknesses. The pilot who fights by maximizing his strengths and exploiting the opponents weaknesses will usually prevail. My only measurement will be, whether I would like to fly in that aircraft.

I'll start the series not with two airplanes but with two helicopters: the AH-1 Cobra and AH-64 Apache.

The Cobra was born over the battlefields of Vietnam. In the early years of the war, the US used the UH-1 Huey as its main transport helicopter. However landing at a hot landing zone (LZ) proved to be a daunting task. Initially the Huey's were equipped with side-firing guns, but these provide not enough fire-power. So forward firing machine guns and rocket pods were installed. Yet the UH-1 is rather bulky (a squad of soldiers have to fit into it) and the machine guns and rocket pods add even more drag. What the US Army needed was an attack helicopter, without the bulky room for troops. Bell, the manufacturer of the Huey, saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Using the transmission, rotor and engine of the Huey, but building a new helicopter around it, they produced the AH-1 Cobra. It is arguably one of the sleekest helicopters still in service with the US Marines.

Where the Cobra was born as a CAS aircraft in jungle warfare, the Apache was born as a CAS aircraft for the German plains.

In the seventies, the US mortal enemy, was the USSR. Everybody expected them to cross the West-German border and flood the NATO-countries with hordes of tanks. What the US needed was an attack helicopter which could stop these tanks in their tracks.

The AH-64 can carry up to 16 laser or radar guided missiles and has a 30 mm canon. The helicopter was designed to take a serious beating in combat and still fly its crew home. But the AH-64 would never kill Soviet tanks on the German plains. It did kill Soviet tanks, but that was during operation Desert Storm. In 2003 the Apache returned to Iraq during operation Iraqi Freedom and as the war in Iraq rages on, the Apache provides valuable close air support in urban fighting.

Which aircraft do I prefer? Honestly it depends: The Cobra is sleek, mean flying machine. Yet the Apache carries a bigger punch and has better survivability chances in combat. So for a photo shoot I would take the Cobra, but for a real shoot, I'd take the Apache.

Next week I'll compare the F-16 and F-18.

By the way, you can find more information on these two helicopters here and here. For my latest chapter of Yaks, you can turn to SimHQ or my blog-novel.

Happy Reading