Hobby Master 1/72 HH1208 WAH-64D Operation Herrick ZJ229, Joint Helicopter Command, 4 Regiment AAC, Afghanistan

In the early 1970’s the US Army wanted a replacement for the AH-1 Cobra so companies submitted proposals. In July 1973 the list was shortened to Hughes and Bell with each building a prototype in 1975. The Army selected the Hughes helicopter because its landing gear was more stable and the main rotor was more damage tolerant. In 1981 3 pre-production AH-64As were given to the Army for testing and named Apache. The Apache went into production in 1982 and has evolved into one of the deadly machines over the battle field.

The first Apache AH1 arrived in the UK in March 1999 with the last of 67 helicopters being delivered in 2004. The British contribution to the War in Afghanistan was called “Operation Herrick”. The operation began in 2002 and finally came to an end in 2014. Part of the many units and squadrons sent to Afghanistan over the years were the Air Army Corps’ third, fourth and ninth regiments. These units spent several tours of five months each tour. WAH-64D c/n DUO63/WAH63 is from the 656th Squadron 4th Regiment AAC.