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pluto-st t1_jb3pime wrote

A quick google search tells me helicopters were used toward the end of the war. If helicopters were used since the start, would they have had a major impact on the war? Would they have needed to be more advanced?

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Doctor_Impossible_ t1_jb6yam0 wrote

>If helicopters were used since the start, would they have had a major impact on the war?

Production at larger scales impacts production of other aircraft, as materiel and, especially, production capability is not infinite. There definitely is a use case for heliborne assault, but that needs models capable of substantial troop-carrying capacity, and for those to be accompanied by very focused SEAD in order to not become a bloodbath, and there were rather a lot of AA guns that would have found helicopters a juicy target. Even if the helicopters are physically designed, built, and capable of doing something like replacing a paradrop on somewhere like Crete, for instance, the doctrine isn't there. It's not just about the airframes.

You can't use them as gunships because they don't have guided weaponry and they're not capable of outgunning likely targets. Any helicopter flying in WWII would have come up against a panoply of 20mm, 40mm, and larger, AA guns. AAA would have a field day against a helicopter formation. You would need to develop (again) doctrine and training in order to avoid catastrophe, as well as deploying more forward airbases in order to have them within operational range of enemies. The logistics to keep them running are not inconsiderable.

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pluto-st t1_jb80m6q wrote

Thank you so much. Fantastic response. Thanks for taking the time!

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bangdazap t1_jb5bjzr wrote

I think they needed to be more advanced. In the Korean War helicopters were mainly used for search and rescue.

But who knows? The Germans (IIRC) scrapped plans to station gyrocopters (they're an earlier form of helicopter) on their ships on the outbreak of WWII. Maybe if they had used them, other nations would have followed suit and made more advanced helicopters. There was a lot more money for R&D during WWII compared to the Korean War.

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pluto-st t1_jb80pfg wrote

Very thankful for your response! Thank you for taking the time!

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OsoCheco t1_jb9pm10 wrote

Well, even today, armed helicopters are... questionable. They are great against inferior enemy, but in open conflicts, they are just giant slow target waiting to be shot down. Their main selling point is the ability to hover over battleground, which is simply not possible if the enemy has proper AA weapons.

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