Our H-13 (Bell 47) Helicopter

Everyone remembers MASH on TV.  Well, our H-13 helicopter is the model used in the TV Series and on the battlefields of Korea.  Actually, the H-13, or the civilian version called the Bell 47, is a direct descendent of the Bell Model 30 which was manufactured right after World War II ended.  This H-13 was widely used to airlift wounded military personnel to the 4077th MASH unit.

The first MASH unit was formed in July 1950 and began airlifting in 1951.  Lieutenants Joseph Bowler and Willis G. Strawn picked up the first soldiers in their H-14s, after the battle at Pusan.

The H-13 can carry two or three in the enclosed cockpit and had provision for two litters to carry wounded patients, often on the skids outside the chopper.

The rotors measure 37 feet and 2 inches in length, and the machine stands about 8½ feet high.  The loaded weight is around 2,350 pounds.  The engine on our H-13 is a Franklin 6VS C32 that produces 176 horsepower.  Some later machines were powered by Lycoming VO-345 that produced 250 HP.  The top speed was about 100 miles per hour, and the range was about 250 miles.  There are very few instruments or external lights even though the rescue ship was used mostly at night.

Many veterans of the Korean battles remember well the cry, "Choppers!"  That cry was a prayer for the arrival of our H-13 (Bell 47) Helicopter and Medical Personnel.