Ok guys, we’ve all seen it in movies, but can it happen?
The hero, in all his glory, staggers into a field or open space and takes a single crack shot with the last bullet in his gun at a precarious chopper overhead. BANG hits the gas tank, whole thing explodes into a massive fireball.
So is it possible? Is there a certain type of gun one would need to have? Are there certain types of helicopters that simply can’t be destroyed by small arms fire? What about the possibility of hitting the pilot? Thanks for the help.
The thing about helicoptors is, they’re a moving target. Even when they’re hovering they’re not perfectly still.
IF I wanted to down a chopper (which I don’t) I’d probably aim for the pilot - if you get him the machine is not going to be up in the air for long. Rotorcraft are inheretly unstable and required constant human attention to remain under control and aloft.
As for nailing a mechanical part and bringing it down - well, it MIGHT work IF you hit the right spot. Not being an authority on helicopters, I’m not sure what spot(s) would be critical.
Nor am I entirely convinced shooting a gas tank will instantly cause an explosion. Particularly if it’s something like a JetRanger - I’m told JetA is less volitile than avgas.
Not to mention, as someone who does fly regularly, I’m not entirely happy to see speculation on how to shoot down an aircraft.
Yeah well, it could happen but it would have to be a very lucky shot. Of course, in movies, lucky shots are the norm, unless you’re a bad guy in which case you can’t hit anything but extras.
If Die Hard 3 has taught us anything, it’s that you don’t aim for the helicopter, but the power line right above the helicopter…cause hitting the tiny connecting piece of metal at somrething 100 yards away at night with a revolver is easier than aiming for the pilot…yeah…
Shooting the gas tank, no matter what they say in the movies, is not going to cause the vehicle to explode. Not usually, anyway. It will often cause a fuel leak, though, which is dangerous.
Destroying the tail rotor will not cause the helicopter to explode. It will cause the vehicle to go out of control, though. But you aren’t going to do it with anything less than a .45, most likely, and you could waste a great deal of time and ammo trying. Keep in mind you’re basically trying to shoot a large steel fan blade that’s in motion.
If you really want a gun that will make things blow up when you shoot them, I recommend some sort of light antitank weapon. Admittedly, the range ain’t all that great – they aren’t going to replace sniper rifles anytime soon – but they make a lovely BOOM when you hit something with them…
Of course, aiming for the tail rotor is tricky. You would have to hit the assembly in the center. Hitting a blade would be unlikely, since they are spinning very fast. A Jetranger’s tailrotor is spinning at over 2,500 rpm, and has a solidity ratio around 0.1, so good luck hitting the blades themselves. Another problem is if the helicopter is above you, (i.e. Die Hard 3), the engine and most of the important components are usually mounted on top. So to get the best view, you would have to be to the side, with the helicopter flying very low. Then its a question of where to aim. there is a decent amount of empty space inside the engine compartment.
At any rate, your best option in most any scenario is to aim for the pilot.
My old man (ex-fighter pilot, and probably full of shit) told me about a famouse P-47 ace (maybe Grabeski, or however it is spelled) that was shot down over Normandy on D-day by a lucky shot that went thru the prop hub, causing a hydralic leak that allowed the blades to feather.
Seeing as the P-47 was about as rugged as they come, I would say that, Yes a very lucky shot could bring down a chopper.
But there is a better way! Just put a rock star or “impressario” on board, and that sucker is sure to auger in!
Incoming fire is incoming fire, be it from a handgun, a rifle, an enemy aircraft, or a Phalanx. Fly low enough over sufficient volume of ground fire and you will get hit.
I haven’t been able to Google anything up on it, but back in the late 80’s or early 90’s there was a helicopter (IIRC, an AH-1 Cobra gunship) that had to make an emergency landing while conducting night training exercises in New Jersey. The cause was damage from a shotgun, I believe to the rotor blades. Apparently somebody got annoyed by the sounds of low flying helicopters and took a potshot at it.
More modern attack helicopters tend to be armored to be able to withstand small arms fire up to .50 caliber over most areas and up to 23mm anti-aircraft fire over certain vital areas, but even they are still vulnerable to damage from small arms. Other helicopters that are less armored or completely unarmored are vulnerable to small arms fire in a number of places (rotor blades, hydraulics, the engine, the pilot, etc), but the helicopter exploding in mid air is generally a Hollywood invention.
Well, in this one espisode of Airwolf (yeah, that’s a cite for ya’) one of the characters shot down a military chopper by firing a pistol into the little “spout” in front that it uses when refuelling in the air.
I can’t attribute the source for this, but I heard that firing a pisotol into the air intakes would probably render the chopper non-combat ready in short order. I don’t know if there’s a filter or guard to keep debris or pistol-packing nimrods from doing precisely this…
