SCHIFFER SIKORSKY H-34 CHOCTAW US ARMY USMC USN HS USCG HUS-1
HSS-1 MARINE CORPS ONE FRANCE
SOFTBOUND BOOK IN
ENGLISH BY LENNART LUNDH
HSS-1, HSS-1N,
H-34A, H-34C, VH-34A, UH-34D, HUS-1A, HUS-1G, S-58C, S-58T
HSS-1 / SH-34G SUD
EST (FUSELAGE DEVELOPMENT) HSS-1F, WESSEX, VH-34G, HSS-1, (600 POUND RESCUE
HOIST) (ENGINE EXHAUST) (SEABAT ANTENNA CONFIGURATION) (TORPEDO LAUNCHER PYLON)
(TAIL FOLD) (CANISTER FLOATS) (MAIN LANDING GEAR)
H-34A CH-34A CHOCTAW
(SUD EST, TROOP TRANSPORT, MEDEVAC CONFIGURATION) (CHOCTAW ANTENNAS) (BASTAN
ENGINE INSTALLATION) (5,000 POUND CARGO SLING) (VH-34 MAIN LANDING GEAR FLOATS)
(VH-34 TAIL FLOAT)
HUS-1 UH-334D
SEAHORSE (UH-34 BOLT ON ARMOR PLATE) OH-34D HUS-1 LH-34D VH-34D (EXTERNAL FUEL
TANK PYLON) (HUS-1 DONUT FLOATS)
S-58 CIVIL
HELICOPTER
-------------------------
Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Sikorsky H-34
"Choctaw" (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined
military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine
warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use
when adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and
Sikorsky as the later S-58T.
H-34s served, mostly as medium
transports, on every continent with the armed forces of 25 countries. It saw
combat in Algeria, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and throughout Southeast
Asia. Other uses included saving flood victims, recovering astronauts, fighting
fires, and carrying presidents. It was the last piston-engined helicopter to be
operated by the United States Marine Corps, having been replaced by
turbine-powered types such as the UH-1 Huey and CH-46 Sea Knight. A total of
2,108 H-34s were manufactured between 1953 and 1970.
The Sikorsky S-58 was developed
as a lengthened and more powerful version of the Sikorsky Model S-55, or UH-19
Chickasaw, with a similar nose, but with a tail-dragger rear fuselage and
landing gear, rather than the high-tail, 4-post pattern. It retained the
nose-mounted radial reciprocating engine with the drive shaft passing through
the cockpit placed high above the cargo compartment.
The aircraft first flew on 8
March 1954. The first production aircraft was ready in September and entered in
service for the United States Navy initially designated HSS-1 Seabat (in its
anti-submarine configuration) and HUS-1 Seahorse (in its utility transport
configuration) under the U.S. Navy designation system for U.S. Navy, United
States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Coast Guard (USCG) aircraft. The
U.S. Army and Marine Corps, respectively, ordered it in 1955 and 1957. Under
the United States Army's aircraft designation system, also used by the United
States Air Force, the helicopter was designated H-34. The U.S. Army also
applied the name Choctaw to the helicopter. In 1962, under the new unified DoD
aircraft designation system, the Seabat was redesignated SH-34, the Seahorse as
the UH-34, and the Choctaw as the CH-34.
Roles included utility
transport, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and VIP transport. In its
standard configuration, transport versions could carry 12 to 16 troops, or
eight stretcher cases if utilized in the MedEvac role, while VIP transports
carried significantly fewer people in much greater comfort.
A total of 135 H-34s were built
in the US and assembled by Sud-Aviation in France, 166 were produced under
licence in France by Sud-Aviation for the French Air Force, Navy and Army
Aviation (ALAT).
The CH-34 was also built and
developed under license from 1958 in the United Kingdom by Westland Aircraft as
the turboshaft engined Wessex which was used by the Royal Navy and Royal Air
Force. The RN Wessex was fitted out with weapons and ASW equipment for use in
an antisubmarine role. The RAF used the Wessex, with turboshaft engines, as an
air/sea rescue helicopter and as troop transporter. Wessexes were also exported
to other countries and produced for civilian use.
The helicopters used by the
French Army Light Aviation (ALAT), including the Sikorsky H-34, aggregated over
190,000 flying hours in Algeria (over 87,000 for the H-21 alone) and helped to
evacuate over 20,000 French combatants from the combat area, including nearly
2,200 at night. By the time the war in Algeria had ended, eight officers and 23
non-commissioned officers from ALAT had been killed.
The use of armed helicopters
during the Algerian War, coupled with helicopter transports which can insert
troops into enemy territory, gave birth to some of the tactics of airmobile
warfare that continue today.
Vietnam War
French evaluations on the
reported ground fire vulnerabilities of the CH-34 may have influenced the U.S.
Army's decision to deploy the CH-21 Shawnee to Vietnam instead of the CH-34,
pending the introduction into widespread service of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois.
U.S. Army H-34s did not participate in Vietnam, and did not fly in the assault
helicopter role, but a quantity were supplied to the Republic of Vietnam Air
Force (RVNAF). These saw little use due to a lack of spare parts and
maintenance.[4]
Its higher availability and
reliability due to its simplicity compared to the newer helicopters led Marines
to ask for it by name. The phrases "give me a HUS", "get me a
HUS" and "cut me a HUS" entered the U.S. Marine Corps
vernacular, being used even after the type was no longer in use to mean
"help me out".
USMC H-34s were also among the
first helicopter gunships trialled in theatre, being fitted with the Temporary
Kit-1 (TK-1), comprising two M60C machine guns and two 19-shot 2.75 inch rocket
pods. The operations were met with mixed enthusiasm, and the armed H-34s, known
as "Stingers" were quickly phased out. The TK-1 kit would form the
basis of the TK-2 kit used on the UH-1E helicopters of the USMC.
An H-34 was featured in the
famous early-Vietnam War Time-Life photo essay "One Ride With Yankee Papa
13", photographer Larry Burrows, which depicted stages of a disastrous
combat mission in which several crew were wounded or killed.
Post-Vietnam War
The H-34 remained in service
with United States Army and Marine Corps aviation units into the late 1960s; at
this time it was also standard equipment in Marine Corps Reserve, Army Reserve
and Army National Guard aviation units, eventually being replaced by the UH-1
Iroquois utility helicopter. Sikorsky terminated all production activities in
1968, a total of 1,821 having been built.[6] All H-34 helicopters were retired
from service in the U.S. military by the early 1970s; the type having the
distinction of being the last piston-engined helicopter to be operated by the
Marine Corps. On 3 September 1973, the last flight of a USMC UH-34 occurred as
Bureau Number 147191 which had been formally assigned to Headquarters Squadron,
FMF Pacific was flown from Quantico, Virginia to MCAS New River to be placed on
static display.
France
France purchased an initial
batch of 134 Choctaws; these were shipped in kit-form from the United States
and locally assembled by Sud-Aviation. Later, a further 166 were domestically
manufactured by Sud-Aviation; these were operated by the French Army Light
Aviation (Army), French Naval Aviation (Navy) and Air force.
United Kingdom
The Wessex was used as an
anti-submarine and utility helicopter with the Royal Navy and as a transport
and search and rescue helicopter with the Royal Air Force. British Wessex saw
action in several conflicts: Falklands, Oman, Borneo, Aden, etc.
South Vietnam
Used by RVNAF 219th Squadron to
insert MACV-SOG reconnaissance teams into Laos.[9] The H-34 was the primary
RVNAF helicopter until replaced by the Bell UH-1 Huey.
Israel
Israeli S-58s flew numerous
combat missions after the end of the Six-Day War; these missions were mainly
against Palestinians infiltrating Israel or against their bases in Jordan. On
21 March 1968, various S-58s participated in the Battle of Karameh, bringing
Israeli troops in and out of the theatre as well as evacuating the wounded.
This was the last operation of the S-58 as it was retired shortly later, having
been replaced by the newer Bell 205 and Aérospatiale Super Frelon.
Civilian use
The H-34's lift capacity was
just sufficient to lift a Mercury space capsule. In 1961, the hatch of
Mercury-Redstone 4 was prematurely detached and the capsule was filled with
seawater. The extra weight was too much for the H-34 and the capsule, Liberty
Bell 7, was emergency released and sank in deep water,[12] remaining on the
ocean floor until 1999.
Sikorsky set up a production
line in 1970 to remanufacture existing S-58 aircraft into the S-58T
configuration, replacing the R-1820 engine with a pair of Pratt & Whitney
Canada PT6T-3 Twin-Pac turboshafts; Sikorsky obtained a Federal Aviation
Administration type certificate for the conversion in April 1971. The
conversion enhanced safety, allowing the aircraft to continue flight after an
engine failure, and greatly improved its hot and high performance; whereas the
R-1820 could only provide full power up to an altitude of 700 ft (210 m), the
paired PT-6s provide full power up to 6,000 ft (1,800 m), and an S-58T can fly
at maximum gross weight up to 5,000 ft (1,500 m). The type certificate for the
S-58T was sold to California Helicopter International in 1981.
In the late 1980s and early
1990s, S-58T helicopters were operated by New York Helicopters in scheduled
passenger airline service between JFK International Airport and East 34th
Street Heliport, New York.
In the early 1970s, Orlando
Helicopter Airways developed a novel civil conversion of the S-55/H-19, the
Heli-Camper, a campervan-like conversion—featuring a built-in mini-kitchen and
sleeping accommodations for four.[15] Later in that decade, Orlando developed a
larger version based on the S-58, and participated in a joint effort with
popular American recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer Winnebago Industries to
market both aircraft as the Winnebago Heli-Home. The S-58 version featured a
larger kitchenette, sleeping accommodations for six, a minibar, and an
entertainment system; optional floats were offered for amphibious operations.
The aircraft were featured in several American popular magazines and reportedly
drew large crowds at RV shows and dealerships, but their high purchase price
together with rising 1970s fuel prices resulted in very limited sales;
production is not well documented, but is estimated at only six or seven of the
S-55 and S-58 versions combined.
Operators
Argentina
Argentine Air Force
Argentine Naval Aviation
Belgium
Belgian Air Force
Belgian Navy
Brazil
Brazilian Navy
Canada
Royal Canadian Air Force
Canadian Armed Forces
Chile
Chilean Navy
Costa Rica
Ministry of Public Security
France
French Army
French Navy
West Germany
German Air Force
German Army
German Navy
Haiti
Haitian Air Corps
Indonesia
Indonesian Air Force
Italy
Italian Air Force
Israel
Israeli Air Force
Japan
Japan Maritime Self-Defense
Force
Khmer Republic
Khmer Air Force
Laos Kingdom of Laos
Royal Lao Air Force
Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Navy
Nicaragua
Fuerza Aérea Sandinista
Philippines
Philippine Air Force
South Vietnam
Republic of Vietnam Air Force
Republic of China
Republic of China Army
Thailand
Royal Thai Air Force
United States
Air America
United States Air Force
United States Army
United States Marine Corps
United States Navy
United States Coast Guard
Uruguay
Uruguayan Navy