The Sikorsky Stallion series is a proven, time-honored US Navy and Marine Corps helicopter fleet workhorse. Simple Flying now dives deeper into the world of these flying metallic horses.
Manufacturer’s profile
Sikorsky Aircraft, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is arguably the most famous name in American helicopter manufacturing. It was founded in 1923 by the Russian-born Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972), four years after he fled to the United States of America to escape the tyranny of the Russian Revolution and resultant Soviet Communist tyranny. He had already established a sterling reputation as an aviation pioneer back in happier times in Czarist Russia; he designed the world’s first multi-engine airplane in Russia in 1913.
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Sikorsky Aircraft was among the first companies to manufacture choppers for civilian and military use. The company also produced seaplanes for passenger transport and surface vehicles such as boats and trains. United Technologies Corporation owned Sikorsky until November 2015, when Lockheed Martin purchased it.
Photo (Logo): Great Brightstar | Wikimedia Commons
Learn about one of Mr. Sikorsky’s early biplanes .
CH-53D Sea Stallion
The CH-53 is the older version of the Sikorsky Stallion series, making its maiden flight on October 14, 1964 (as the YCH-53 prototype), with the CH-53A officially entering service with the USMC in 1966. In turn, the CH-53D — with an improved transmission, a larger cabin for 55 troops, and automatic rotor blade folding — debuted on January 27, 1969. The D model served alongside the A variant for the remainder of the Vietnam War, with 126 total airframes built. The aircraft was retired by the Marine Corps in 2012.
According to Naval History and Heritage Command:
“The Sea Stallion proved ideally suited to the tactical situation that existed in-country. In their fight against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese regulars, leatherneck ground forces operated from distant fire bases that could not be supplied overland… Other notable use of CH-53A and -53D Sea Stallions in Southeast Asia included the 1975 evacuation of personnel from Saigon, Republic of Vietnam and Phnom Penh, Cambodia during the end of American involvement in Southeast Asia (Operations Eagle Pull and Frequent Wind), and that same year the rescue of American crewmen from the merchant ship Mayaguez, who were being held by Cambodians on the heavily defended island of Koh Tang.”
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“During its service, the CH-53 also performed notable flights demonstrating its capabilities, among them a series of loops and rolls at a gross weight of 27,000 lb. at g-forces ranging from -2 to 2.8 and long distance speed records from New York to Washington, D.C. (156 M.P.H.) [251 km/h; 135 kn] and New York to Boston (163 M.P.H.) [262 km/h; 141 kn]”
The US Air Force had its own version of the whirlybird for special operations and combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) missions, the HH-53
The Stallions: What To Know About The US Military CH-53 Helicopter Variants
