In 1961, Agusta started license production
of the AB204B in Italy as a derivative of the well-known Bell UH-1B. Most
of the Agusta-built Hueys were powered by Bristol-Siddeley "Gnome" or G.E.
T-58 turboshafts, with a typical right-hand cranked exhaust.
The Italian Armed Forces
made wide use of this type for utility duties, battlefield support, search
and rescue in monuntain areas. Though production ended in 1974, these helicopters
remained in service until late Nineties with Fire Brigades.
Beyond to domestic sales,
military examples of the AB204B were sold to Austria, Ethiopia, The Netherlands,
Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey while the civil version was also
sold to Lebanon, Norway and Switzerland.
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