Huey Loose and the News.................

I have just finished reading the book ‘Chickenhawk’ by Robert Mason; an account of a Huey helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War – and what a great read it is. The Huey was the helicopter that is most closely associated with Vietnam and it saw extensive use both in its troop carrying ‘Slick’ configuration and as a gunship. Want to know what it was like to drop or pick up troops from a hot landing zone? This would be the book for you. It is graphic and pulls few punches when describing the action – both in the front line and in the rear areas. The technical detail and descriptions of actually flying a Huey; what it can and cannot do, is really interesting and provides much food for thought in respect of how best to replicate their use within the context of Memoir 44.

I am not sure at the moment how the use of helicopters will fit into the game but I will certainly be employing them. I was concerned initially at best to represent them but have come up with a simple solution – I will make use of either 1/200th or 1/300th scale models, rather like the aircraft that come with the Memoir 44 Air expansion pack. It should be easy enough to get these – Navwar have a good range in 1/300th – and for helicopters on the ground I will try and source some overhead views of a helicopter to mount on a terrain tile or a counter. I do not envisage needing many models for this so it should be fairly cheap to set up.