This is one of the few photographs you'll see of a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Bell UH-1H Huey armed with 2.75 inch rocket pods. It was one of the stickers for the Figurine Panini sticker book I bought in the mid-1980s, when I was in my teens.
The 7-round rocket pod appears to be fitted to a hardpoint that looks similar to the Emerson Electric MAMEE system (see below), which also came with M134 7.62mm Miniguns mounted on outboard hardpoints. The 2.75 inch rockets were not known for their accuracy. But as an area suppression weapon to keep the enemy's head down just before a heliborne assault, the rocket and Minigun combo did the job far better than the handheld GPMG fired by a door gunner.
The rocket-armed UH-1H pre-dated the Aérospatiale AS.550A2/C2 Fennec LOH/LAH, which themselves pre-dated the AH-64D Apache attack helicopters.
It's perhaps fitting that the Apaches serve with 120 Squadron, which flew the UH-1Hs years ago as the Hueys also had "teeth" in the form of hard-hitting weapons that few people were aware of.
Coming soon:
- V-200 Command Post variant
- Your home-based learning guide to RSAF aircraft tractors and tow bars