laststandonzombieisland

“Cobras At Night” Vietnam Era, by Robert T. Coleman, March 1968. Acrylic on board, 18″ x 24″ depicting AH-1 Cobra gunships working 2.75-inch rockets amongst the locals.

U.S. Army Center of Military History

Robert T. Coleman attended college at the Kendall School of Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He volunteered for the draft and traveled to Vietnam as part of Combat Artist Team VI from February to March 1968. We have talked about the Vietnam Combat Artist program extensively in the past.

As for the Cobra, the Snake first flew 7 September 1965 and over 2,000 were built of all types through 2019 with single-engine versions still being flown in Bahrain, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey while the twin-engined Super Cobra endures with the U.S. Marines and will continue to do so for some time.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ (Aug. 12, 2019) An AH-1Z Viper helicopter attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 163 (Reinforced), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) takes off during a strait transit aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4).  (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dalton S. Swanbeck/Released)

Not bad for a platform that dates back some 55 years.