Gunship/Attack Helicopter: Differences

[kotor633]

Hi,

I still don't quite understand what the (subtle) difference is between an attack helicopter and a gunship. The Mi-24/35 is called a 'Gunship'. And the Mi-28/AH-64 as 'Attack Helicopter'. Does it make a difference that the Mi-24/35 can transport additional troops? And/or the armament? Does anyone of you know any websites/books where you can read here?

[admiki]

I would say it's standoff capabilities. 

While all those helicopters can do both roles, 28/64 is really meant to keep back, while 24 is quite fine at slugging it out with the enemy.

[Raptor9]

Within the realm of rotary-winged aircraft, there isn't any real difference. A helicopter gunship is simply a nickname or synonym for an armed helicopter equipped for an attack role (ie, offensive weaponry, more than just defensive door guns). They aren't necessarily distinct terms, however "attack helicopter" is a more precise term to describe the doctrinal role that aircraft like the Mi-28 or AH-64 perform since there are also fixed-wing gunships like the AC-130, or multi-role helicopters that can perform attacks as a helicopter gunship like the UH-1 or Mi-8.

Think of it like this: an AH-1 and a UH-1 armed with rocket pods/machine guns are both helicopter gunships. However, the AH-1 is an attack helicopter, but the UH-1 is not. So all attack helicopters are gunships, but not all gunships are attack helicopters.

But even then, it is really arguing semantics. If a country purchases a helicopter from the civilian market and then equips them with weapons specifically to fulfill the attack helicopter role within their military, then those could be considered attack helicopters as well, even if they were intended for a civilian purpose. So if you want to drive down to the literal definition, a helicopter "gunship" describes a helicopter equipped for offensive attacks against enemy forces, but "attack helicopter" is a doctrinal role within a military that a helicopter could be assigned or originally designed to perform.