BATTLE DAMAGE* Do we build em right, or what! Here's
one of the US
OH-58D Combat Scouts from Iraq. Needless to say, they got into a little
hostile territory. This ship took hundreds of rounds and yet returned
its crew back to base, including direct hits into the engine, transmission,
control systems, avionics, flight computers, and both main and tail
rotor.
The 2-man crew sustained multiple injuries, but survived.
They were very lucky on the Main Rotor lateral control rod. Amazing
pictures, these helicopters can take some abuse!
This shows that "damage tolerance" has a much superior meaning in the
helicopter world than with the fixed wing community.