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The Dark Reason Cobra Pilot BROKE Orders (and Earned Medal of Honor)

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This content details the development and combat effectiveness of the AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter, highlighting its crucial role in Vietnam and culminating in a dramatic rescue mission where pilots defied orders to save a compromised reconnaissance team.

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Four men of a recon team were deep in

enemy territory in Vietnam in the pitch

black night when they saw a strong enemy

force boxing them in from all sides.

They realized their worst fear had come

true and that they'd been compromised.

The team whispered a frantic call for

help over the radio set claymore mines

around them and prepared for the

inevitable. The rescue mission was soon

cancelled as it was deemed too

dangerous. But two Cobra helicopters

piloted by some outright badass pilots

were about to disobey direct orders to

try and save them. what they did would

defy all odds. But as you're about to

hear, it would be anything but easy. So

now, let's start with why the Cobra was

created because the story behind it is

quite fascinating. When the Vietnam War

began, it was thought that the

helicopter's speed alone would be

sufficient protection from enemy fire

and that losses wouldn't be too bad.

Well, it turns out that wasn't quite

true because out of 12,000 helicopters

deployed in Vietnam, half of them

crashed, with enemy fire accounting for

a significant portion of that. You see,

Bell's UH1 Huey, the workhorse

helicopter of the Vietnam War, although

a major improvement over early

helicopters simply wasn't made to

withstand any kind of fire, even from

small arms. The helicopter was made from

aluminum and plexiglass to save weight,

and the only armor was a bit of steel

under the pilot's seats and around key

components, but it wasn't enough to make

it safe from gunfire. Then, when the war

intensified and the North Vietnamese

learned to predict American tactics,

things became horrible for helicopter

crews. The air mobile tactic of

inserting troops directly into or near

the actual battle was revolutionary and

effective for the terrain of Southeast

Asia, no doubt, but it became

predictable, and the North Vietnamese

exploited that. To make matters worse, a

helicopter has to hover low over the

battlefield for a short time while

inserting or extracting troops, which is

its most vulnerable moment, completely

exposed in the open in the middle of

hostile territory and attracting every

available sniper, machine gun, mortar,

or RPG. They would fly into ambushes and

get wrecked by Soviet supplied

anti-aircraft weapons like heavy 51

caliber machine guns and autoc cannons

which the North Vietnamese had plenty

of. Even bursts from an AK at close

range could take out the pilots or hit

the oil coolant or fuel line and that

was it for the helicopter. Quite a few

helicopter crews were shot down this

way, some even more than once. A few

were shot down twice in a row as the

helicopter rescuing them from the first

crash also went down. Early in the war,

the American military was shocked at how

their helicopters were going down left,

right, and center. While the

high-ranking officials were trying to

find a solution in their air conditioned

offices, the troops on the ground took

matters into their own hands and began

improvising to protect themselves

however they could. They couldn't add

sandbags and metal sheets like the

truckers in the transportation corps did

when faced with the same problem. But

they could add machine guns. At first,

Huies flew unarmed except for the crew's

personal weapons. But that was about to

change. The crew chief, the third member

of the helicopter crew besides the pilot

and co-pilot, would take an M60 machine

gun and strap it to the helicopter,

either with a bungee cord or an

improvised pintle mount. He'd cover one

side during approaches and takeoffs,

firing at anything even remotely

suspicious on the ground or returning

fire when under attack. This was, of

course, much better than nothing, so a

fourth member was added to cover the

opposite side from the crew chief, and

that became the door gunner or the

so-called shotgun rider. He soon became

a valuable part of the crew and helped

with everything around the helicopter

from maintenance to missions and of

course laying down heavy suppressive or

counter fire during approaches to hot

landing zones. Now the Huey was much

better protected when it had something

to shoot with and someone got the idea

what if more weapons were added. So they

experimented with more machine guns,

grenade launchers and miniguns and soon

forward-firing machine guns and rocket

pods. It got to the point where some

Hueies were repurposed purely to carry

weapons and serve in the ground attack

role. These became the Huey gunships,

the first of their kind. They could

support units on the ground with heavy

and precise close air support or escort

transport Hueies called slicks and

protect them during approaches to hot

landing zones. They became quite a

capable fighting unit, but the original

problem still remained. The Huey gunship

was now heavier than the transport

Hueies with all that weaponry and

ammunition, and they couldn't carry

enough fuel to go ahead of the slicks to

prepare the landing zone, stay there to

cover the insertion, and then remain a

bit longer to support the troops on the

ground, as the Cobra would soon be able

to do. Even more importantly, the Huey

was simply not built to trade punches in

direct combat. It was in essence a

transport aircraft, and making a gunship

out of it was like trying to make a tank

out of a cargo truck. Oh, and yes, they

were doing that as well, but that's a

different topic. Okay, so now we have

door gunners and Huey gunships proving

that the attack role of a helicopter

could indeed be very effective just if

it was based on the right platform. And

this is where the Cobra comes into the

story. There had been some prototypes of

helicopters purposefully built for the

attack role, but none had gone very far.

However, Bell took what they already

had, a reliable and familiar rotor

system, engine, and transmission from

the Huey and tried to make it work in an

only 36-in wide fuselage with tandem

cockpits. The model 209 in particular

caught the attention of the American

military. It shared around 80% of the

Huey's components, but had that slick,

narrow design and stub wings to carry

ordinance. The prototype proved very

agile during testing and able to carry

serious firepower. And because the

development of the AH56 Cheyenne that

was supposed to be the new attack

helicopter was still years away, they

ordered this one to be urgently

developed and made ready for use in

Vietnam as soon as possible. Some

modifications were made and soon the

gunship called AH1G Cobra was born. It

was the first ever dedicated attack

helicopter in the world and as soon as

it was completed in 1967, it was sent to

its combat debut in Vietnam. Now the

Cobra's narrow fuselage gave it better

speed and agility and also presented a

smaller target from the front. The pilot

sat in the rear able to fire forward

firing weapons. And in front of him in

tandem seating was the co-pilot/g gunner

who commanded both the chin-mounted

turret and rockets, but could also fly

the helicopter from his position if

needed. These two had to work closely

together to be effective in combat. They

now had armored seats and a self-sealing

fuel tank providing some protection

against enemy fire. Better than the

Huey, but still relying mostly on speed

for real protection. They still had thin

plexiglass windshields, so they also

carried flack jackets and the so-called

chicken plates, ceramic body armor used

to protect them from bullets going

through the windshield. Stub wings on

either side of the fuselage carried

rocket pods with hydra 70 2.75 in

unguided rockets that could deliver

various warheads like high explosive

smoke or illumination. And each pod

could carry between 7 and 19 rockets

depending on the mission. But what's

more interesting is the Cobra's nose

turret where the 7.62 62mm M134 minigun

and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher

were positioned. These gave the Cobra

some serious firepower and could cover a

wide arc fired by the gunner or by the

pilot when locked forward and aimed by

turning the entire helicopter. This was

the basic and initial armorament for the

Cobra and very soon it would evolve with

different weapons from additional

forward firing miniguns to a 20 mm

rotary cannon and tow or other missiles

for fighting armor which would be

introduced later in the war. So now, as

you see, the Cobra had serious

capability to support ground units with

precise fire, but its missions would

also evolve once it entered combat. Also

remember that besides the seats for the

pilot and co-pilot, there was no place

for anyone else to fly on a Cobra, which

would be important when we get to the

insane mission of that badass pilot

we'll tell you about. As for speed, the

Cobra had a maximum of 219 km hour and a

range of about 300 km. Pilots loved to

fly it as it could skim just feet above

the treetops, water, or ground in the

so-called nap of the earth flight. This

would muffle the rotor sound and help

avoid detection before popping up to

attack, surprising the enemy on the

ground. Because it was anything but a

safe technique, as you can imagine, the

Cobra required a well-trained pilot to

fly it, as it was a temperamental

machine. Soon, around 300 Cobras were

operating in Vietnam, and they replaced

the Huey gunships in attack roles. Their

firepower and speed were highly

appreciated and immediately recognized

by the enemy who learned to respect and

fear the snakes. Troops on the ground

could now call in air support and get

heavy fire delivered exactly where they

needed it. Unlike fast-moving fighter

jets that often missed and sometimes hit

friendly units with bombs or nap, which

by the way happened disturbingly often.

But the North Vietnamese used what was

called the hugging the belt tactic where

they would always try to stay as close

to American troops as possible so that

fire support either from air or

artillery would be dangerously close.

The Cobra solved this problem of

friendly fire because its pilots usually

could directly see where they needed to

shoot and infantry was always relieved

when cobras were nearby. They also began

escorting Hueies, either slicks

inserting troops or dust offs on medevac

missions. But someone soon got an even

better idea or crazier if you ask me.

These were the so-called hunter killer

missions. Here, the Cobra would work

together with the O6 Loach scout

helicopters. The men flying these were

not ordinary men because what they

essentially did with this small toy

looking helicopter was act as bait for

enemy fire. They would fly low and slow

scouting areas suspected of enemy

activity while the cobras stayed behind

and high out of enemy sight. If the

loach spotted something suspicious on

the ground or received fire, which was

usually the case, the twoman crew would

mark that position with smoke grenades

and pull away, at least hopefully if the

enemy fire didn't get them first, while

the Cobra would dive in and blast the

marked position. They were quite

effective at this, and the enemy began

thinking twice before shooting at what

appeared to be an unarmed, vulnerable

helicopter. Although quite a few loaches

were shot down this way, unsurprisingly,

however, it wasn't much better for the

cobras either. At the peak of the war,

there were almost,00 Cobras of various

versions in Vietnam and they flew over 1

million combat hours during the

conflict. So, it's not a surprise that

around 300 cobras were lost in action,

which is a significant portion if you

think about it. Almost 1 in three or

four cobras were lost. During Operation

Lamson, for example, in just 6 weeks, 26

cobras were shot down. But despite the

high risk, they were doing the job that

no other machine in the world could do

at the time. And now, let's talk about

what you've been waiting for. What

happens when a Cobra is piloted by some

badass men? It was June 18th, 1968, and

a four-man long-range reconnaissance

patrol was operating deep behind enemy

lines in South Vietnam. They were part

of a covert wildcat team assigned to

gather intelligence about enemy activity

in the area. Long-range recon missions

were extremely dangerous as the small

teams were on their own and far from any

help if they were compromised or

surrounded in enemy territory. It was

around 900 in the evening, pitch black,

when Sergeant David Hill, the leader of

the recon team, looked through his

Starlight scope and to his horror,

realized that enemy soldiers had just

blocked three sides around them. Moments

later, the fourth and last side where

they could escape was also blocked. They

were now trapped in an open rice patty

with about 80 enemy fighters clearly

determined to find them. The four men

silently lay down in a narrow water

buffalo trail, set claymore mines around

them, and took up positions back to

back. Each man covering one direction,

waiting for the inevitable firefight

they knew they wouldn't survive that

night. Private Firstclass Robert Ellner

whispered into the radio an urgent call

for help, asking for whatever possible

artillery, air support, or extraction.

Given their position, there wasn't much

command could do, and it's even said

that they hesitated to attempt a rescue,

as it would surely cost more lives

trying to save them than leaving four

men to fend for themselves. However, the

call for help was answered by first left

tenant Larry Taylor, who was stationed

at a base near Saigon. He and his

co-pilot Jo Ratliff jumped into their

Cobra helicopter with the call sign

Darkhorse 32. They were accompanied by

Captain Roger Tricker and his co-pilot,

Captain Richard Driggs, flying with

another Cobra as their wingmen, and they

raced toward the position of the small

team. The night was pitch black with no

lights on the ground, and they had to

locate the coordinates only by radio

direction. Remember, this was a time

with no modern night vision devices, and

they had to find four men on the ground

surrounded by the enemy in complete

darkness. After about 20 minutes of

flight, the two Cobras arrived on scene

and contacted the team on the ground,

whispering over the radio. Taylor was in

command, and he didn't want to fire his

rockets until he knew exactly where the

team was, so he wouldn't risk hitting

them. They agreed that once the Cobra

flew directly over them, the team would

confirm it at that exact moment, which

they did. However, the pilots still

couldn't pinpoint their position, so

Taylor requested that they fire a flare.

With no other option, the recon team

fired off a flare that immediately

revealed their position, both to the

Cobra pilots and to the enemy only about

100 meters away. Now, the enemy opened

fire from all sides toward the flare,

and the Cobras engaged in a heavy

firefight while the recon team fought

back with their personal weapons. Traces

filled the air, and both Cobras were hit

by bullets multiple times. In about 45

minutes of fighting, the Cobras fired

their miniguns and rockets while the

team tried to push the enemy back. A

rescue Huey helicopter was requested to

come and pick up the team while the

cobras tried to suppress the area.

Taylor was frantically radioing

headquarters, asking when the rescue

helicopter would arrive until he was

finally told that because of the heavy

fire from the ground, the rescue was

cancelled. Taylor and his wingman were

now running low on ammunition and fuel,

and there wasn't much they could do.

They were ordered to return to base,

basically leaving the recon team to be

killed, as saving them would likely get

more helicopters shot down and even more

people killed. Taylor was still

frantically doing calculations and

finally decided to act on his plan. The

team on the ground screamed over the

radio that they were out of ammo except

for a few hand grenades they were

probably saving for themselves to avoid

being captured alive. Taylor then

ordered over the radio for them to

position all their claymores on one side

of the rice patty. When he gave the

signal, they would detonate the mines

and run in the opposite direction as

fast as they could toward a nearby

clearing. Taylor then ordered his

wingman, who was already low on fuel, to

fire all remaining ammo and return to

base while he went in for one last

attack with the few rounds and rockets

they had left. Both Cobras fired

everything they had and were now

completely out of ammo. But Taylor

wasn't going back to base. He gave the

signal to the team, turned on his

lights, and made a faint strafing run

without ammo to draw the enemy's

attention to himself and give the team a

chance to reach the clearing. He then

turned around and went down to land

while taking heavy fire. But if you

remember, the Cobra had no space for

passengers besides the two pilots. When

the team saw Taylor's Cobra landing,

they sprinted toward it, throwing their

last hand grenades behind them. As

Taylor said later, he didn't need to

tell them anything because all four men

immediately jumped on and clung to the

skids and rocket pods. They were on the

ground for only 10 seconds before Taylor

heard two hard taps on the canopy,

meaning simply go. But Taylor couldn't

just fly off the way he normally would

because the rotor wash and wind could

easily blow them off. He had to

carefully balance between flying gently

and slowly while also evading enemy

traces. By his calculations, they had a

25-minute trip to base with only 20

minutes of fuel. When they were finally

clear of enemy fire, he carefully landed

the team in a spot where they could

connect with nearby friendly units, then

raced back to base, running dangerously

low on fuel. After jumping off, the

fourman team quickly asked for the

pilot's name and saluted him for saving

their lives before he flew off. Taylor's

Cobra barely made it back to base with

the little fuel they had left. The two

Cobras combined fired 32,000 minigun

rounds and around 150 rockets, doing

everything they could to save the team,

with Taylor directly disobeying orders

to do so. The pilots were awarded silver

and bronze stars, while Taylor's Silver

Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor

long after the war in 2023. As for the

Cobra, it continued its combat journey

through the Vietnam War. But it didn't

end there. While the Huey was mostly

withdrawn after the war, the Cobra was

improved and evolved through many

versions. Modern technology was added,

including night vision, laser

rangefinders, and improved 20 mm cannon,

better armor for the pilots, and many

other upgrades. These improvements made

the various versions of the Cobra a

highly useful attack platform, and it

even saw intense action in the 1990s

during Operation Desert Storm.

Modernized Cobra versions are still used

by many countries today, despite being

designed so far back during the Vietnam

War. The Cobra's direct descendant is

the AH1Z Viper with Hellfire missiles

and the most advanced modern systems.

However, the US Army eventually shifted

toward a newer platform with the project

that became the AH64 Apache. A

helicopter that essentially does

everything the Cobra did but better and

with the most sophisticated technology available.

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YouTube Transcript:The Dark Reason Cobra Pilot BROKE Orders (and Earned Medal of Honor)