Bell OH-58 Kiowa: An Ode to the US Army’s Sprightly Scout Helicopter
In the age of spear and sword, light cavalry forayed ahead of the infantry and heavy cavalry to bring tidings on the enemy’s whereabouts to the commander. Without radios or line of sight in complex terrain, mounted scouts were essential for detecting a hostile approach to a marching army’s flanks and rear so that they may be forewarned to orient themselves to face the threat in time; this function is called ‘screening’ or ‘security’. A third function of light cavalry was ‘skirmishing’ — exchanging blows with the enemy to test their responses. Though horses have given way to motor vehicles, helicopters and unmanned aerial systems equipped with radios and data sharing modems, the US Army still designates some combined arms formations that perform scouting, screening and skirmishing as ‘cavalry’. Central to modern US cavalry squadrons after the Vietnam War till its retirement in 2017 was Bell’s petite light helicopter, the Bell OH-58 Kiowa.
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
The Kiowa’s career in the US Army began as a second chance tale. In 1960, the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) competition was announced to procure a replacement for the Bell OH-13 Sioux and Hiller OH-23 Raven. These two aircraft were adequate for training and medical evacuation in Korea but struggled with piston engines offering a…
