MBB BO 105 P-1A1 inside Army Aviation Room

The BO 105 P-1A1 is the predecessor of the Eurocopter EC-665 TIGER.

The BO 105 C was developed in 1972 and the German Ministry of Defence selected this model for its light observation helicopter program, purchasing 100 helicopters in 1977. A specialist anti-tank version armed with Euromissile HOTmissiles and designated as the BO 105 PAH-1 was procured by the German Army around the same time, with a total of 212 eventually being delivered.

Military operators would commonly operate the type at a very low altitude to minimise visibility to enemies, the BO 105 being well matched to such operations as the helicopter’s flight qualities effectively removed or greatly minimised several of the hazards such a flight profile could pose to pilots. When outfitted with optional auxiliary fuel tanks, a basic model BO 105 would have a flight endurance of roughly five hours under load.e German Army around the same time, with a total of 212 eventually being delivered.

• BO 105 P/PAH-1 : With its army designation “PAH-1″ and “PAH-1A1″ for the upgraded version (PAH=Panzerabwehrhubschrauber; ‘Tank-defence helicopter’), is an anti-tank helicopter armed with wire-guided HOT ATGMs (HOT2 for the upgraded A1 version). Most of them are being replaced with the new Eurocopter Tiger multirole attack helicopter, some will still stay in service till the end of their life span. The outphased PAH’s are going to be disarmed and downgraded to the VBH version.
• BO 105 P/PAH-1A1 : Improved anti-tank version for the German Army, fitted with six HOT missile tubes.
• BO 105 P/PAH-1 Phase 2 : Proposed night attack version for the German Army.
• BO 105 P/BSH Proposed escort version for the German Army, armed with Stinger air-to-air missiles.

Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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