The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio includes several helicopters.
Sikorsky UH-19B Chickasaw
According to the Museum:
The UH-19B is a U.S. Air Force version of the Sikorsky S-55, an aircraft used by all U.S. military services in the 1950s and 1960s. After the first helicopter flew in November 1949, the USAF ordered production 50 H-19As in 1951. The USAF later acquired 270 H-19Bs with increased engine power, and in 1962 designated it the UH-19.
Many H-19s were assigned to Air Rescue squadrons as SH-19s (later redesignated HH-19s). For rescue service, the SH-19 carried a 400-pound capacity hoist was mounted above the door, and it also could carry an external sling capable of holding 2,000 pounds. During the Korean War, SH-19s became the primary USAF rescue and medical evacuation helicopter.
This aircraft has a top speed of 112 mph, and a range of 330 miles.
Sikorsky YH-5A Dragonfly
According to the Museum:
The H-5, originally designated the R-5 ("H" for "Helicopter;" "R" for "Rotorcraft"), was designed to provide a helicopter with a greater useful load, endurance, speed and service ceiling than the earlier R-4. The first of four XR-5s made its initial flight in August 1943. In March 1944 the U.S. Army Air Forces ordered 26 YR-5As for service testing, and in February 1945 the first YR-5A was delivered.
During its service life, the H-5 flew rescue and mercy missions throughout the world. It gained its greatest fame during the Korean War when it was called upon repeatedly to rescue United Nations pilots shot down behind enemy lines and to evacuate wounded personnel from frontline areas.
More than 300 H-5s had been built by the time production ended in 1951.
This aircraft has a top speed of 90 mph, and a range of 280 miles.
Bell UH-1P Iroquois
According to the Museum:
The UH-1 evolved from a 1955 U.S. Army competition for a new utility helicopter. The Army employed it in various roles, including that of an armed escort or attack gunship in Vietnam. The initial Army designation was HU-1, which led to the common unofficial nickname of "Huey." All U.S. armed services adopted the model as did several other countries, and it was redesignated in 1962 as the UH-1 under a triservice agreement. The USAF ordered the UH-1F Huey in the early 1960s for support duties at missile sites, and TH-1F variants for instrument and hoist training and medical evacuation.
The USAF later ordered more capable versions of the Huey. The HH-1H incorporated a longer fuselage and larger cargo area. The USAF ordered these in 1970 as local base rescue helicopters to replace the HH-43 Huskie. The first of the USAF's UH-1Ns, a twin-engine utility version capable of cruising on one engine, was obtained in 1970.
This aircraft has a top speed of 140 mph, a cruising speed of 115 mph, a range of 330 miles, and a ceiling of 24,830 feet.
Kaman HH-43B Huskie
According to the Museum:
The U.S. Air Force acquired the HH-43 Huskie primarily for local base rescue (LBR) and fighting aircraft fires. Kaman delivered the first USAF H-43As in November 1958, and the B series followed in June 1959. In 1962 the USAF changed the H-43 designation to HH-43 to reflect the aircraft's rescue role. The final USAF version was the HH-43F with engine modifications for improved performance.
The Huskie's interesting intermeshing rotor configuration used two wooden rotors turning in opposite directions, eliminating the need for a tail rotor. Large tabs on the trailing edge of each blade warped the rotors and caused the helicopter to rise or descend.
A Huskie on rescue alert could be airborne in approximately one minute with a fire suppression kit hanging beneath. Developed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, the fire suppression kit weighed only 1,000 pounds, but it could produce almost 700 gallons of fire-fighting foam. Huskies often reached crash sites before ground vehicles arrived, and the foam from the kit plus the powerful downwash of air from the rotors opened a path for rescuers to reach trapped crash victims.
During the Southeast Asia War, the Air Rescue Service (later the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service) first used HH-43 Huskies, which became known unofficially as "Pedros" from their radio call sign. First assigned to Da Nang and Bien Hoa Air Bases in the Republic of South Vietnam and to Nakon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base in 1964, the HH-43 remained the only dedicated USAF rescue helicopter until the arrival of the HH-3 Jolly Greens in late 1965.
This aircraft has a top speed of 120 mph, a range of 185 miles, and a ceiling of 25,000 feet.
Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant
According to the Museum:
The U.S. Air Force developed the Sikorsky HH-3E helicopter, nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant," to perform combat search and rescue (CSAR) to recover downed Airmen during the Southeast Asia War. A highly modified version of Sikorsky's CH-3 transport helicopter, the HH-3E carried both armor plating and armament to protect it from hostile forces during rescues of aircrews in a combat area.
Fifty CH-3Es were converted to HH-3Es with the addition of armor, defensive armament, self-sealing fuel tanks and a rescue hoist. With a watertight hull, the HH-3E could land on water, and its large rear door and ramp permitted easy loading and unloading.
The first air-refuelable helicopter to be produced, the HH-3E's retractable fuel probe and external fuel tanks gave it a range limited only by the endurance of the aircrew. In fact, in 1967, two aerial refueled HH-3Es set the long-distance record for helicopters by flying non-stop from New York to Paris, France. This long-range capability allowed HH-3Es to conduct CSAR operations anywhere in the Southeast Asia theater of operations, and they participated in the attempt to rescue American prisoners of war from the Son Tay prison camp in 1970.
This aircraft has a top speed of 177 mph, and a range of 177 miles.
Sikorsky CH-3E Black Mariah
According to the Museum:
The CH-3E is the U.S. Air Force's version of the Sikorsky S-61 amphibious transport helicopter developed for the U.S. Navy. The USAF initially operated six Navy HSS-2 (SH-3A) versions of the S-61 in 1962, eventually designating them CH-3A/Bs. They were so successful the USAF ordered 75 modified versions, designated CH-3C. First flown in June 1963, the CH-3C featured a new rear fuselage design with a ramp for vehicles and other cargo. When 41 CH-3Cs were updated with more powerful engines in 1966, they were redesignated CH-3Es, and 45 more were newly manufactured.
This aircraft has a top speed of 177 mph, a cruising speed of 154 mph, a range of 779 miles with external fuel tanks, and a ceiling of 21,000 feet.
Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV
According to the Museum:
U.S. Air Force special operations forces used the Sikorsky MH-53M to covertly enter enemy territory. Capable of operating at day or night or in bad weather, these helicopters conducted long-range, low-level missions to insert, extract, and resupply special operations forces.
The MH-53 helicopters were originally HH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giants" used by the U.S. Air Force in the Southeast Asia War. Over the years, however, they received many upgrades and improvements. After the 1960s, they were completely re-skinned and had their engines and rotors replaced. Along with these improvements came a new designation, MH-53 ("M" for Multi-mission and "H" for helicopter).
The most significant enhancement to the Super Jollies was the Pave Low program, which modified them for operating at night or during bad weather. Equipped with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors, inertial global positioning systems (GPS), Doppler radar navigation systems, and terrain-following and terrain-avoidance radar, the MH-53 could fly clandestine, low-level missions in any weather, day or night.
The MH-53M Pave Low IV has a system that greatly increased the aircraft's capabilities. This system gave the aircrew instant access to the total battlefield situation on a color, digital map screen that was compatible with night vision goggles. Using feeds from satellite links, the system displayed nearly real-time information about potential hazards along the flight route such as power lines or enemy electronic threats.
In 2008 the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) retired the MH-53 from active service.
This aircraft has a top speed of 165 mph, a range of 690 miles, and a ceiling of 16,000 feet.
More aircraft
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Evergreen Aviation: Hiller Helicopters (photo diary)
Evergreen Aviation: Some Unusual Helicopters (Photo diary)
Evergreen Aviation: Helicopters (photo diary)
Olympic Flight Museum: Helicopters (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Vertical takeoff aircraft (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Some experimental VSTOL aircraft (photo diary)
Air Force Museum: Some Presidential Airplanes (photo diary)