After the Bell Model 47 was certified for civilian use in 1946, the U.S. Army ordered 65 H‑13Bs and 15 of an ambulance version as the H‑13C. In 1949 the 3‑seat Bell 47D‑1 appeared, with an openwork tailboom (as on the H‑13C) and an underfin. Eighty-seven H‑13Ds and 490 dual‑control H‑13Es were supplied to the U.S. Army.

The H‑13D was primarily used by the Army as an evacuation helicopter that became the mainstay of the M.A.S.H. (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) units during the Korean War. Eighty percent of the 25,000 helicopter evacuations in Korea were accomplished by Army and Marine H‑13s. The aircraft was popularized by the hit television show, “M*A*S*H.” Civil and military versions of the aircraft were produced by Bell until 1966 and production continued overseas for many years thereafter.

SOURCE: American Helicopter Museum