Bell 47 – a name with a history
The Bell 47 is arguably the most famous helicopter of all time. Production on these started near the end of World War II and since then over 5600 of them has been produced. The original Bell was designed by a man named Arthur M. Young and was intended for both military and civilian use. It had a curious combination of an automobile style body and a 178hp Franklin engine. There were a total of 10 original Bell produced. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy all have ordered Bells over the years with the Air Force being the first.
The Model D brought about the now familiar look of the Bell in 1948 when it was first approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. That was when the look that most of civilization is familiar with came about. That trademark bubble canopy, saddle fuel tanks, welded steel tail boom and the landing gear sides was made absolutely famous by it’s appearance in the opening of the smash hit television show M*A*S*H. It made subsequent appearances at the 4077th when it would bring incoming wounded to be operated on by the comedic team of doctors that were stationed there. Set in the Korean War, that was actually the war that the Bell made its military debut in. True to reality, the job of the Bell in Korea was to transport casualties to M*A*S*H units positioned across the Korean countryside.
Not to be outdone, the Whirlybirds, another television show, featured the Bell 47 in every single episode. It has also been fitted with bat wings and dubbed the “Batcopter” in the full length motion picture Batman filmed in 1966.
Production on these icons of aviation stopped in 1973, however many of them remain flying today.
