picture 204105

Only three out of the first 140 AH-1Js built for Iran were modified to the full configuration compatible with BGM-71 TOW ATGMs before the fall of the Shah in 1979, and thus the majority of the fleet serves until today armed only with the 20mm M197 gun and 3.75in unguided rockets. All are painted in dark yellow sand and dark earth over, and pale grey under. The original crest of the IIAA (applied below the cockpit) was usually replaced by the so-called ‘Onion’ – the official crest of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the form of a stylised word ‘Allah’, applied in red or white in the same place. Service titles were often applied, not only in two different positions but also in two different colours, as shown here. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)