User:Hartleyjewelers/sandbox

The Bell model UH-1 helicopter is best known and made famous by its use in the Vietnam War during the 1960s. This is the most famous helicopter of all time.

Tail Rotor Chain The Bell model UH-1 helicopter had what was known as the "silent chain" that was used to change the pitch of the tail rotor blades and was located at the rear of the helicopter. It was first developed in the 1950s. This was a unique chain in that it was only used for this application and was custom build for Bell Helicopters and the U.S. government under contract as a replacement part. The current Bell part number for this chain is 204-001-739-105. It is no longer in production and not currently available from Bell. The military changed from this chain to a different, more reliable and common "bicycle style" chain in the 1960s. Bell still lists this chain as a current part for the commercial model 204B. There are only about 30 of these helicopters still flying and using this chain. Bell did not convert this model as they did to the UH-1H for the military. The reason was the civilian cost to do all the certification required for the change and the fact that the number of commercial helicopters was not large enough to justify it. The current list price of this chain (January 30, 2013) is $8,713. However, there is no current manufacturer and none can be purchased new today. The last known manufacturer of this chain for Bell was Emerson Power Transmission under a cage code of 76474.

Bracelets Crew members of the Huey helicopters often wore bracelets made from the tail rotor chain. In some cases, they were given to crews who survived being shot down or crashed. The Crewchiefs were often the one who made them and handed them out. They cut the chain into lengths, approximately 8", then used a cotter pin to hold them together. This meant, the cotter pin had to be cut off to remove the bracelet.