The story of the Hiller UH-12 (with its US military designation OH-23 Raven) all started with the ingenuity of the young Stanley Hiller, who had already designed and built his first helicopter (a coaxial design) at the age of 15! In 1942, he started Hiller Industries, which became United Helicopters in 1948, hence the designation UH in the names of the company’s models.

Of all of the firm’s helicopter models, only the UH-12 series was successful. This was a 2/3 seater, light piston engine machine, and used a 2-bladed teetering rotor head. The model was used as an observation and training helicopter and was derived from the 360. Famous is the way the rotor head was designed with its small servo rotor paddles, which added power to the control rods that were moved by the pilot's collective and cyclic controls. Another trademark was the fishbowl canopy, which was introduced with the US military version model OH-23C.

The helicopter was used in combat mainly during the Korean War (1950 - 1953). The OH-23D (an all military version) sold over 1600 units. In total, Hiller sold more than 2000 UH-12 helicopters, making it one of the largest helicopter manufacturers during the 1950s.

Unfortunately, when the US Army started its Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program during the early years of the 1960s, Bell and Hughes, not Hiller, were chosen as suppliers. This paved the way for both Bell and Hughes’s great success in the helicopter market. United Helicopters was never able to catch up, and merged with Fairchild Industries in 1966. Stanley Hiller then changed career and worked for many years as a company turnaround specialist.

The story of the Hiller UH-12 (with its US military designation OH-23 Raven) all started with the ingenuity of the young Stanley Hiller, who had already designed and built his first helicopter (a coaxial design) at the age of 15! In 1942, he started Hiller Industries, which became United Helicopters in 1948, hence the designation UH in the names of the company’s models.

Of all of the firm’s helicopter models, only the UH-12 series was successful. This was a 2/3 seater, light piston engine machine, and used a 2-bladed teetering rotor head. The model was used as an observation and training helicopter and was derived from the 360. Famous is the way the rotor head was designed with its small servo rotor paddles, which added power to the control rods that were moved by the pilot's collective and cyclic controls. Another trademark was the fishbowl canopy, which was introduced with the US military version model OH-23C.

The helicopter was used in combat mainly during the Korean War (1950 - 1953). The OH-23D (an all military version) sold over 1600 units. In total, Hiller sold more than 2000 UH-12 helicopters, making it one of the largest helicopter manufacturers during the 1950s.

Unfortunately, when the US Army started its Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program during the early years of the 1960s, Bell and Hughes, not Hiller, were chosen as suppliers. This paved the way for both Bell and Hughes’s great success in the helicopter market. United Helicopters was never able to catch up, and merged with Fairchild Industries in 1966. Stanley Hiller then changed career and worked for many years as a company turnaround specialist.