The Snake! The AH-1G Cobra was developed in the mid 1960s to meet the US ARMY's need for a gunship helicopter in Vietnam. It used many of the same parts as the UH-1, which had proven itself a very capable platform in the war. The first AH-1Gs arrived in Vietnam in 1967 and collectively flew over one million operational flight hours during the conflict.
AH-1G 66-15318 was delivered to the US ARMY in 1967 and arrived in Vietnam in 1968. It was known as “Dashing Cavalier.” It participated in multiple combat sorties and sustained battle damage on multiple occasions. In October of 1969, while on a Close-Air-Support mission, the aircraft was hit by an RPG, forcing the crew to land. The crew was unharmed, but the aircraft was badly damaged. It sustained an additional 17K dollars in damage by NVA while on the ground. The Cobra was later sling load flown back to base. After returning to the US, “318” was upgraded to an “S” model and arrived at Fort Rucker in 1981 to serve as a flight school aircraft. In 1994, 318 was redesignated an “F” model and served with the Arizona National Guard until May 2001. At the time of its retirement, 66-15318 had logged over 7000 flight hours. The aircraft is now on display at a memorial park in New York.
The tail boom was replaced at some point in its life. This tag run was cut from the removed boom, which features bright yellow markings, that would have been applied while it was at Fort Rucker.
To pay homage to this aircraft’s incredible history and its multiple upgrades and depot level overhauls, this tag will be offered with 2 different cards and tag art – AH-1G and AH-1S (MC). This launch is the largest in Jet Eyes’ history at 1000 total tags and it will be broken up into 2 different releases: AH-1G and AH-1S. This listing is for the AH-1G tags. The AH-1S tags will be released on the 27th and will be the majority of this tag run. For launch weekend only an AH-1S Exterior Green tag can be added to your AH-1G tag order at 35% off!
The AH-1G tags come with a Vietnam inspired card by BVR and a tag with a G model Cobra on it by Planeform. This AH-1G run is limited to 100 tags and will only be available for 1 week. Just like the Snake, the tag will get an “upgrade” and the S model tags will drop on the 27th with an S card and S tag art.
The AH-1G tag is offered in a single variant: Exterior Green. The AH-1S tags on the 27th will be offered in multiple variants and colors. The AH-1G tags were cut from the port side of the boom and many of them feature portions of the “UNITED STATES ARMY” stenciling on them. This stenciling is light and these tags will ship first.
This tag is a special one. Awesome airframe with real combat history!