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usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page1-Press IMAGES OF WAR UNITED STATES MILITARY HELICOPTERS RARE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM WARTIME ARCHIVES Michael Green usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page2-Press FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2017by PEN & SWORD AVIATION Animprintof Pen&SwordBooksLtd 47ChurchStreet Barnsley SouthYorkshire S702AS CopyrightfMichaelGreen,2017 ISBN978-1-47389-484-6 TherightofMichaelGreentobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeenassertedbyhimin accordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct 1988. ACIPcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyany means,electronicormechanicalincludingphotocopying,recordingorbyanyinformationstorage andretrievalsystem,withoutpermissionfromthePublisherinwriting. TypesetbyConcept,Huddersfield,WestYorkshireHD45JL. PrintedandboundinIndiabyReplikaPressPvt.Ltd. Pen&SwordBooksLtdincorporatestheimprintsofPen&SwordArchaeology,Atlas,Aviation, Battleground,Discovery,FamilyHistory,History,Maritime,Military,Naval,Politics,Railways,Select, SocialHistory,Transport,TrueCrime,andClaymorePress,FrontlineBooks,LeoCooper, PraetorianPress,RememberWhen,SeaforthPublishingandWharncliffe. ForacompletelistofPen&Swordtitlespleasecontact PEN&SWORDBOOKSLIMITED 47ChurchStreet,Barnsley,SouthYorkshireS702AS,England E-mail:[email protected] Website:www.pen-and-sword.co.uk usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page3-Press Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Notes to the Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Chapter One Piston-Engine Helicopters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Chapter Two Gas Turbine Engine Transport Helicopters . . . . . . . . . . 62 Chapter Three Gunships and Attack Helicopters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Chapter Four Special-Purpose Helicopters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 3 usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page4-Press Dedication The author is dedicating this work to US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Armond H. DeLalio, recipient of the Navy Cross for heroism as pilot with Marine Scout- Bomber Squadron 241 during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. He was also the first Marine certified as a helicopter pilot on 8 August 1946 and commander of theUSNavy’sfirsthelicopter squadron,VX-3.LieutenantColonel DeLaliowaskilled during a helicopter test-flight accident in 1952. 4 usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page5-Press Introduction T his book covers in broad detail the American military’s long involvement with helicopters that began during the Second World War and continues into the twenty-first century. Reflecting their limited design capabilities, from the 1940s into the 1950s the early piston-engine-powered helicopters were unarmed as they lacked the lifting power to carry weapons. They did, however, prove their worth in both the Second World War and the Korean War in the medical evacuation role. By the time the American military became involved in the Vietnam War, experi- ments had already demonstrated the potential of weapon-armed helicopters. The main limiting factor remained the relatively low lifting capacity of reciprocating- engine-powered helicopters. A focused study by industry and the armed forces paved a path to the successful marriage of advanced relatively lighter airframes, light yetpowerfularmamentsandgasturbineenginescapableofmatingallthoseelements together in a rotary wing platform. As successive generations of ever more powerful gas turbine engine-powered helicopters have entered the American military inventory, they have demonstrated that they have become more capable than their predecessors. Equipped with the latestinavionics,theycanflyaroundtheclockinalmostanytypeofweatherdownto tree-top level to deliver personnel or destroy with guns, rockets and missiles any identified enemy threat. The relatively recent introduction of tilt-rotor aircraft into the American military arsenal in place of existing helicopters will also be examined in this book. Combining into a single platform the useful aspects of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, tilt-rotor aircraft may someday replace traditional American military helicopters. 5 usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page6-Press Acknowledgments T he bulk of the non-copyrighted images in this work belong to the various armed services that make up the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and their respective website photograph archives. Thanks must also be given to Piasecki, Bell and Sikorsky for selected images. SomecontemporarypicturesofcurrentandpreservedhistoricalAmericanmilitary helicopters were supplied by friends named in the photo credits. As always, Paul and Loren Hannah were most generous in sharing their photographs with the author. As with all published works, authors also depend on friends for assistance in reviewing their work and in this case Pete Shyvers was especially helpful. 6 usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page7-Press Notes to the Reader 1. The chapter headings are the author’s attempt to divide the history of American military helicopters into manageable portions. With that said, many of the helicopters featured in this work transcend the author’s chapter headings, reflecting the multi-purpose nature of many helicopters. 2. TheofficialdesignationcodesappliedtoAmericanmilitaryhelicopters areseldom employed except in official documents. Many helicopters have been assigned official nicknames, with others having acquired unofficial nicknames that reflect some design feature or combination of their letter prefix designations. In some cases the unofficial nicknames are better known than the official nicknames. 3. Thelistedoperationalparametersofthehelicoptersdiscussedinthisworksuchas top speed, range, service ceiling and maximum loaded weight are theoretical. Weather, altitude and outside air temperature can dramatically affect the opera- tionalparametersofhelicoptersaswellastheamountofweighttheycancarryon any given flight. 4. As some helicopter models are upgraded during their time in service, they may be fitted with external features from newer versions. This can sometimes make precise identification of a specific helicopter difficult without access to their indi- vidual data plates. 7 usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page8-Press usmilitaryhelicopters...(1)-page9-Press Chapter One Piston-Engine Helicopters A merica’s first production military helicopter was designated the R-4B by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) in 1944. It was designed and built by the Sikorsky Aircraft Company, with the pilot and a passenger sitting side-by-side. The fuselage consisted of metal tubing covered by fabric. The prototype of the R-4B flew in January 1942, with pre-production units being ordered for testing early the next year. Theprefix‘R’inR-4BaccordingtotheUSAAFwartimeaircraftdesignationsystem stood for a rotary-wing aircraft. The number ‘4’ in the designation represented the builderproductionsequencefortheaircraft.The‘B’wastodistinguishaminormodel difference. In US Coast Guard service the R-4B was labelled the HNS-1. TheUSNavyhadassignedhelicopterdevelopmenttotheUSCoastGuardinearly 1943. The US Coast Guard serves at the direction of the US Navy during wartime. As a result of the US Coast Guard’s pioneering work with the helicopter during the Second World War, the US Navy took over its development following the end of the conflict. The piston-powered (reciprocating) engine on the R-4B produced 185hp. Of the 100 R-4Bs built (including pre-production test units) during the Second World War the American military took approximately half, with the other half going to the BritishmilitaryviaLend-Lease.InBritishmilitaryservicethehelicopterwasnamedthe ‘Hoverfly’. Most went to the British Royal Navy. Wartime Usage DuringtheSecondWorldWartheR-4Bswereemployed bytheUSAAFindifferent roles. This included, for example, moving small aircraft components between supply vessels and air bases. The R-4B also performed the casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) role, although no medical care was provided by the helicopter crew. A USAAF R-4B executedthe firstcombatsearchand rescue(CSAR) missionin BurmainApril 1944, saving four Allied soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. Non-combat rescue missions are described as Search and Rescue (SAR). The US Coast Guard was convinced early on of the helicopter’s potential as an anti-submarinewarfare(ASW)platform.By 1944,ahandfulcouldbefoundonCoast 9