Q&A · 1:22:06-1:22:54

What robust wartime helicopters would change

Reliable helicopters available in numbers by 1943 would add precise vertical lift and a dangerous new submarine-hunting platform.

Question

How would 50 to 100 reliable Allied helicopters in service by 1943 affect the war?

Short answer

They would transform island operations through precise vertical lift and give Allied anti-submarine forces a highly flexible new weapon.

Notes

In the Pacific, helicopters could insert troops in squad-sized groups more accurately than parachute drops and bypass some landing obstacles. At sea, their ability to hover, search, and attack would create a powerful anti-submarine capability in both major theatres.