The world's most comprehensive encyclopedta of the rnilitary vveapons of the A&th eentrury

An t/KDD 9Onffi':"T.&,
- #&*,
Pubiicotion
IR $1.15 Aus $2.15 NZ $z.ss sR ne.+s sinsr $4.s0
5'#
-H ffi%
n#e#'

,ts'rnmd tmrcms mf the World: $oviet Navy (Fart 3)

'Th* ffiymaxmffirffi
i* A*{9mm
ffhe ${e}immptmr
ffffieS fm Wnflr*s:

A fwX&y *&XxxmtrmKffid Wexgde'Am Pmst-Wmr ffielfcepters

Volume 8 Issue 96

Published by
Orbis Publ shinq Ltd
@ Ae'ospace Pib rsl-inq Ltd 1985
Colour pro'i es, o aqrams and cura.'.
drawrngs O Pilot Piess Lrd '.
Editorial Offices
War Machine
Aerospace Pubiishing Ltd
179 Dalling Road
London W6 0ES

Managing Editor: Stan Morse

Editorial : Trisha Palmer
Chris Bishop
Chris Chant
lan Drury

Design: Rod Teasdale

Colour Origination: mago Puolishrr j-:
Thame. Oxon

Typesetting: SX Composing Ltd

Consultant Editor: Major General Sit
Film work: Precise Litho Ltd
Jeremy Moore KCB OBE MC, Comman-
Artists: der of British Land Forces during the
Keith Woodcock Falklands campaign.
i. Hasegawa
Picture acknowledgements
Distribution and marketing offices: Cover photogtaphr MoD 1901: US Navy/US Air Force. 1902: -: -:J ::::"US Miline Corps 1903: US Air
4851 Orbis Publishing Ltd Force/ECPArmee 1904:BruceRobertsodvicFlintham. l9)5:-,'::--::--\'1oD. I906:Aerospatiale/USAir
Orbis House Force i90?: Robert L. Lawson/Us Army. 1908; US NavytuS \:'.: t9(Xl: , f -rr Force. 19 12: US Air ForceruS
20-22 Bedfordbury Marine CorcyUS Navy,/US Navy. I913r Robeil L. Lamor. 1916: :-- )\Eka. I91?: Klaus Niska/US Air
Printed tn Great Britain London WC2N 4BT Force/Charles E. Brown RAF Museum, Hendon 1920: MoD (iii): ,i li:':_.' (iv): US Na\y/US Department oI
by The Artrsan Press Ltd Telephone: 01-379 671 1 Defense/Royal Navy

Subscription Manager: Christine Aller Circulation Director: David Breed Cover photographi A Bdstol Belvedere of No 66 SquadroE i: a :: ::r:e is seen in Bomeo during the
0488 72666 Marketing Director: Michael Joyce lndonesian confu onlalron

HOWTO OBTAIN ISSUESAND BINDERS FORWARMACHINE

UK,/EIRE EUROPE MIDDLEEAST AMERICAS/ASIA/AFRICA AUSTRALASIA/FAR EAST

SSUEPRICE:90p/lR€1.15 ISSUEPRCE:-oOc ISSUE PRICE;90p ISSUEPRICE:US$1.95/90p .SS-:PRICE:90p
SUBSCR PTION; SUBSCRIPTIO\ SUBSCRIPT ON; SUBSCRIPT ON Su3SCRIPTION
6 N4onths: f26.00 6 Months a{ . f4L.12 6 Months air: 150.I B 6 Months air: f59.24 6 Vcnihs air: f64-22
1 Year: f52.00 sudace: e36.ia srrrface:136.14 surfacer f36.14 sudace: f36.14
3INDER: Please send E3.gb 1 Year ar. f39.44 1 Year air: lT 00.36 1 Year air: f1 T 9.08 1 Year at: f128.44
cerbrnder, ortake advantage suiace: fi2.28 surface: f72.28 surface: f72.28 surface: f72.28
rf our special offer n early BINDER: (lnc. Postage) BINDER: {inc. Postage) B NDER: (inc. Postage)
SSUES. air: f5.50 air 18.25 air: €9.50 AUSTMLIA
sufface: e5.00 surface: f5.50 surface: f5.50 ISSUEPRICE:AUS$2.15
oblain B NDERSfrom
MALTA SOUTH AFRICA First Post Pty Ltd.
Obtaln BINDERS f rom ISSUE PR CE: SA R2.45 23 Chandos Street
yournewsagentor ' Obtaln BlNDERSfrom St Leonards,
Mi ler(Malta) Ltd, any branch of Central NSW 2065
l\,4A Vassa lli Street, News Agency or
Vaietta, Ma ta lntermag, PO Box NEWZEALAND
Price: f3.95 57394, Springfield 21 37 ISSUE PRICE: NZ$2.65
Obtain BlNDERSfrom
SINGAPORE your newsagent or
ISSUE PRICE: Sing$4.50 Gordon & Gotch (NZ)
obtain BINDERS f rom Ltd. PO Box 1 595.
MPH Distributors Welllnqton
60T Sims Drive
03-41 -21
Singapore T 438

ADDRESS FOH BINDEBS AND BACK
::s>lolishlngLimited
l:siouse
i, 22 ]er'o rCbu ry
-:-::-
,',::\,:3-
Telephone: 01 -379-52 11
.-::-::t:::alOrdersshouldbemadepayabletoOrbisPubishingLimited.
ISSUES NOTE ADDFESS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS
Bindersandbackissuesareobtainablesubjectto OrbisPubishingLimited
avallabilityof stocks.Whlsteveryattemptlsmadeto HurstFarm
keep the price of the ss ues and b nde rs co nstant, the Baydo n Road
publishersreservetherghttolncreasethestated Lambournewoodlands
prlcesatanytimewhenclrcumstances.dictate.Blnders Newbury
depicted n th is publlcatron a re those prod uced fo
I r the Berks
UKandAustraianmarketsonly.Blndersandlssues RG167TW
may be s ubject to mport duty and/o r oca taxes, wh
i L ch Te ephone: 0488-7 2666
arenotincluded ntheabovepricesunlessstated.

Aff ff; ffi

'1,1";:X ?:XT,'I""ii::ff fl:',i [*",".-'
:::. s:-:S:.eSoldatthecoverprlce,and,wedonotchargecatriageintheUK. Subscriptionrates,andprlcesaregiveninSterling.
Posf-l*lftrr
Helicopfers
Themilitary value of an aircraft that was ind.ependent of
nJnways and couldland andtake off in difficult terrainwas
well appreciated duringWorldWar II, butit wasnot untilthe
post-war years that practical machines wete put into
production. Durtng the 1950s helicopters hegan to undertake
what were at the time novel tasks of battlefield casualty
evaeuation, command liaison and se arch and rescue.
Although the concept ol rotary wingeC flight has exercised man,s in-
genuity for centuries, rt was not untrl the 2Oth century and the advent of
ihe internal combustion engrne that such aircraft could become a reality,
Even so, the challenge presented by the technical problems encoun
tered ensured that the development ol the helicopter would be a long
process.
The first practrcal helicopters suitable for mtlitary use made therr
appearance during World War II, wtth Germany producing both small
observation machines and larger multi-purpose aircralt in some num
bers, At the same time, Igor Srkorsky was the leadinq light rn American
helicopter development, and L P Bratukhin was head of a Sovlet desrgn
team producing even larger and more powerful machines.
To the mrlitary, the prospect of being able to move men and equip_
ment by arr rnto areas unsuitable for conventronal aircralt was attractive
Trials were arranged durrng the last years of war, and helicopters
operated off shtps and in climatic conditions ranging lrom Alaskan
vrinter to Burmese monsoon By the outbreakof war rn Korea the mrlitary
helicopter vrras being adapted to tasks ranging lrom seaborne .earch
lrlOrlti:l;rrttti;,
f-
One area where the rapid development of the helicopter was welcor^.t ..,..::
sea, where it revolutionized communications, suppfy and anti_subrr,a:::.: =
warfare. This HRS-3 (the IIS Navy version of the Siiorsfu^S_S5) rs abo.::: :: . ,
on the icebreaker USS Glacierrn J gdg. - _
and rescue, through battlefleld casualty evacuatron to carr;t:,:; _: _
about their commands.
it was not until the mtd 1950s that the change whrch rrias .t r-,::
:
helicopter an essential feature of the modern battlefield cdrl.! : i -
until lhat ttme po'wer was provided by lhe piston enslrle ..,...-
heav7'oronelofallureandraLl].dLhearrlrameUnmA1C-l.
the f,rst fltght of the turbtne powered Aerospatiale Aloue:.= -
smooth hghtweight powerplant opened the way to hrgher s.:=:r: l
payloads together wtth much increased safety.
B_eforelong both the IISAF and the tJS Army were canverts to the he:::::::
From the start, the air force saw the helicopter as a means of.ei..,.. , -
downed pilots, but the late I g|ls saw the iirst expression ot the co: : :
air mobility. Shown here are Piasecki H-2I s in IJS service =:- -
 FBANCE

F$ A6rospatiale SE 3I3B Alouette II

Of conventional confrguration but stur-
dy design, the A6rospatiale Alouette II
was one of the first true light multi-
purpose helicopters and excelled in a
varrety of roles This adaptability was
facilitated by its reliable turboshaft en-
gine, easy maintenance, and landing
Qtear which could be either of wheel or
skid type or floats, with provision for
emergency flotation gear
The Alouette II origrnated as the
Sud-Est SE 3i20 Aiouette (lark), a
three-seat light hehcopter designed
mainly for agricultural purposes, The
f,rst SE 3120 prototype was flown on 31
July 1952, powered by a 149.]-kW
(200-hp) Salmson 9NH radial engine,
and a year later estabhshed a new Ln-
ternational helicopter closed-ctrcuit
duration record of 13 hours 56 minutes.
The basic arrframe was then com
pletely redesiqned to take the 268 5-
kW (360-shp) Turbom6ca Artouste I
turboshaft, and the flrst of two pro-
totypes, designated SE 3130, was flown
on 12 March 1955 followed by three
pre-productron arrcralt rn 1956, The
Alouette II was granted a French certi-
flcate of airworthiness on 2 May 1956,
and was soon in demand on the inter-
national market, In 1957 Sud-Est Alouette IIs had been ordered by cus- Turbom6ca Artouste II CO turboshaft, French commanders were the first to
merged with Sud-Avration, at which tomers in 22 different countries and the derated to 268.5 kW (360 shp) see the potential of light helicopters
time the designation of the Alouette II type was being assembled by Repub- Performance: (at maximum take-off sucft as tiese A louettes as mobile
was altered to SE 313 B, remaintng un- lic in the USA and Saab in Sweden, It weight) maximum speed at sea level H Q s, and it w as while leading his
changed after Sud's take-over by also became the frrst French aircraft of iBS krn/h (115 mph); maxrmum men from an Alouette thatColonel
Aerospatiale, any kind, and the flrst helicopter in the cruising speed at sea level 165 krn/h anpierre of the I st REP was killed.
Je
From the beginning, the Alouette II world to be granled an American cer- (103 mph); rate of climb at sea level
proved a most successful design and tification. 2BZ m (925 ft) per minute service milesr: fliqr- endurance with maximum
was found particularly suitable for op- In the military role, the Alouette II ceiling 2 50 m (7.055 fi); hovenng
1 fuel at sea level4 hours 6 minutes
erations in higher altitudes. Thus, dur- can be fitted with a wide variety of ceiling in ground effect 1650 m Weights: empty 895 kq ( I 973 lb);
ing the period 9-13 June 1958, an rockets, missiles and guns. (5,4 l5 ft); hoverinq cerlingr out of maxrmum take-off 1600 kg (3,527 lb)
Artouste-powered Alouette II set up a ground effect 920 m (3 020 ft); range Dimensions: main rotor drameter
helicopter altitude record of l098i m Specification with maximum fuel at sea level 565 km 10.20 m (33 ft 5.6 in); diameter of tail
(36,027 ft) for all classes, and a height A6rospatiale SE 3I38 Alouette II (351 miles); range wrth 545-kg (1,202- rotor LBI m (5 ft I1,3 in) length (rotor
record of 9583 m (31,440 ft) in the 1000/ Type: light general-purpose lb) payload at sea level 100 km (62 blades folded) 9,70 m (31 ft 9.9 rn)
1750-ks (2,205/3,BSB-lb) category. By helicopter mrles); ranqe with 390-kq (B60tb) r
heiqhr 2.75 (9 fr 0 3 rn): maLnrotor
September 1960 no less than 598 Powerplant: one 395, 2-kW (530-shp) payload at sea level 300 km ( lBO disc area B l 70 m'Z (879.4 sq f0

€= %usht-sikorsky R-4 and R-o

DerMngr its place in history from the
iact that it was the flrst helicopter
ordered in quantity for service with the
US forces, Sikorsky's imtral production
helicopter was based on the VS-300 of
.939. A prototype of the two-seat XR-4
:onducted its maiden flight on 13 Janu-
1942, Iollowed by rhree pre-series
=ry
YR-44 (134,2-kW180-hp Warner R-
550-1) and 41 YR-48 (with a larger
::abin) heiicopters Seven of the latter
,',ent to the US Navy as HNS-I
::achines, All bore the company de-
h
::gnation Vought-Sikorsky VS-3I64,
as a result of their gross weight
=d
-:oreasing from the prototype's -l titj,if$sstY:i1llryiryr' :'
-- -1 kq (2,450 ]b) to 1315 kq (2,900 lb)
r:v suffered a drastic fall oftop speed
::n 164km,,h (102mph) to 121km/h
,l nph), Nevertheless the early R-4s main rotor replaced by the larger unit to Canada. Problems with the R-6A's AVoughtSikorsky R-4 comes in to
'-:-iertook valuable trials work, includ- introduced from the YR-4A onwards. engrne shortened service life and led land by the side of a B-29
:-3: ieployments in Burma and Alaska Metal skinning replaced fabric on to plans for an R-6B powered by a Superfortress on the Marianas
the first US heircopter landing the more streamlined VS-3I68 or R-6, a Lycoming O-435-7 of 167.8-kW Islands a few weeks atter the end of
=i
=-:=:dashrp. inMay 1943 preparrno prototype of which flew on 15 October (225 hp), but this farled to emerge, as thewar.
i:: -,',alr for 100 R-4B models (149. 1- 1943, powered by a 167.8-kW (225-hp) did the R-7 which would have had a
.:',','230-hp R-550-3), 22 of which be- Franklrn 0-437-7. Five pfe-series XR- 179-kW (240-hp) O-405-9.
-=::-= HNS-ls with the US Navy and US 6A helicopters with the 179-kW (240- 2438 m (B 000 ft); range 209 km (130
l.: ".: Guard. Diversions were made to hp) 0-435-9 included three passed to Specification mrles)
:-: - K of two YR-4As, five YR-4Bs and the US Narry as the XHOS-I, although Vought-SikorskyYR-4B Weights: empty916 kg(2,202 lb);
-:: :.-iBs. these mainly serving the main production was by Nash- Type: iwo-seat general-purpose maximum take-off I 150 kq (2,535 lb)
i.:-;^- \^-- as the Hoverfly Mk I, apart Kelvrnator Corp of 26 YR-6A and 193 Dimensions: main rotor diameter
r::: l:e iorwarded to the Royal Cana- R-6A helicopters. Of the 193 the US Powerplant: one 134 2-kW (180-hp) 11.58 m(38 ft0 in); tuselagelength
:--- -l: Force. The sole XR-4C was Navy absorbed 38 as the HOS-I, whlle Warner R-550- I radral pislon engLne 10 79 m (35 ft 5 in); heisht 3,78 m (1! .
:-= ::-gr-ral prototype modified tn 1943 the UK received only 43 of a planned Performance: maximum speed 5 in); mainrotordiscarea 105,36 m'
-':,-: ::. R-550-1 in place of its 123-kW 150 Hoverfly Mk II hehcopters mainly 121 km/h (75 mph); climb to 2438 m (1 134 I sq ft)
R-500-3 and its 10,97-m (36-ft) for the RAF and supplied one of these (8,000 ft) in 45 minutesi service ceilinQT Armament:none
-::---cl
 usA
ffiffi
ffi Vought-sikorsky R-5
Known to its manufacturer as the
Vought-Sikorsky VS-327 the R-5 de-
rived from earlter demonstrations of
hehcopter viability by the R-4 and a
USAF reguirement issued in i943 lor
an observation helicopter. Five XR-S
prototypes were acquired and flew
from lB Auenrst 1943 onwards, two of
them later being fitted with Britrsh
equipment and redesignated XR-SA,
A pre-production series of 26 YR-SA
helicopters, two of them transferred to
the US Narry (and later to the US Coast
Guard) as the HO2S- I, was foliowed by
only 34 of a planned 100 R-54 SAR
models which saw operational use
with the Air Rescue Service as its first
helicopter. The type had provision for
a stretcher mounted externaliy on
each side of the fuselagre, and 20 (plus
a single YR-SA) were converted to R-
5D standard with a nosewheel landtng
gear, a rescue hoist and provision for a
second internal passenger, The YR-5E
was a dual-control rrarner conversion
of five YR-5As. The nosewheel, an ex-
tra 30.5 cm (12 rn) of rotor span, four
seats and a maximum weiqht of
2BI2kg (6,200 lb) characterized the
civrl Sikorsky S-51 of 1946, I I ofwhich
entered USAAF service in 1947, desig-
nated R-SF, followed by 19 hoist-
equipped H-5G helicopters in l
(the earlier aircraft also adopting'H in
place of 'R). Finally 16 H-SH models
were ordered in 1949 with inter-
changeable wheel or pontoon landing
qtear and a 2948-kg (6 500-lb) gross
werght. The US Navy cancelled
more HO2S-L hencopters, but bought
EB H-SF variants known as the HO3S-I,
for duties includinq arrcraft carrier
plane-guard, while the US Coast
Guard obtained nine similar HO3S-IG
helicopters, The designatron XHO3S-3
was used by a rotor test-bed modifica-
tion, and HO3S-2 was the unadopted
naval H-SH. In the UK Westland beqan
Iicensed manufacture of the Westland
WS-51 Dragonfly during 1948 and pro-
ffi iilu rvroder 42
On B December 1945 Bell flew the pro-
totype of a classic helicopter design,
the Bell Model4T On B March 1946 this
was awarded the hrst approved type
certrflcate issued for a civil helicopter
an]'where in the world. The Model 47
remained in continuous production by
Beli into 1973, and was also built under
hcence by Agusta in Italy from 1954 to
-976. The Model 47 has been used on a
.arge scale by armed forces all over
.re world, its srmplicity and low cost
:rore than outwerghing its limited
:apabilities.
In 1947 the USAF (then USAAF) pro-
:::ed 28 of the improved Model 47A,
::wered by 1 17. l-kW ( 1 57-hp) Frank-
-.:.
O J35 I piston engrnes, lor servjce
='.'aluatron: l5 were designated YR-13,
.-::e YR-13As were wrnterized for
::id-reather trials rn Alaska, and the
::-ance of l0 went to the US Navy for
-',ailatron as HTL-1 trainers Llttle
-.i:: ',rras lost by either service in de-
- t_-j that the Model 47 was an excel-
,=: :.achine and the orders beqan to
__-,r -:-
- ,: US Army's first order was issued
: -:=3 53 berng accepted under the
r::-r:-:::on H-138; all US Army ver-
:. :i -.',-:re later named Sioux
-i L --. ,- crocurement began with
i- --2 --::ine HTL-3 hehcopters, but
duced 137, mostly for the RAF and
Royal Nar,ry, followed by 12 mainly civil
Widgeon helicopters featudng a rede-
slgned flve-seat cabin, Dragonflies
undertook experimental helicopter
passenger and mail services, and
proneered SAR and casualty evacua-
tion with the armed forces. Military
models comprised the Royal Navy
Dragonfly HR.Mk I and Dragonfly
HR.Mk 3; and the Dragonfly HC.Mk 2
and VIP Dragonfly HC.Mk 4 of the
RAF Dragonfly export customers in-
cluded Ceylon, Esypt, France lraq,
Italy, Thailand and Yugoslavia plus
Brazrl and Jordan wrth Wrdgeons.
Specification
VoughtSikorsky R-58
Type: SAR/general-purpose
heiicopter
Powerplant: one 335,6-kW (450-hp)
Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-5 radial
piston engTine maxrmum take-off 2 189 kq (4, 825 lb) Designed concurrentlywilh the XR-5
Performance: maxrmum speed Dimensions: main rotor drameter the R-5 was a tandem two-seater
171 km/h (106 mph); climb to 3048 m 14.63 m (48 ft 0 in); fuselage lenqth helicopter powered by a 335.6-kW
(10,000 ft) in 15 minutest sewice ceilingr 12.45 m (40 tr l0 in); height 3.96 m ( I3 I- (450-hp) Pratt&Whitney engine and
4389 m (14,400 ft); ranse 579 km (360 0 inJ: marn rotor disc area 168 I i mr was used by the US Navy, US Coxt
miles) (1,809,56 sq ft) Guard and theAfu Rescue Service.
Weights: empty 1715 kg(3,780 1b); Armament: none
34
The US N avy version of th e S - 5 I
desigmated HO3S-J and a total of^''":
6E
was ordered for the fleet and nine c:
the similarHO3S-lG for theUS Caas:
Guard. Westland built the S - 5 I u r d e:
licence in the UK as theWestlanci
D ragonfly with Leonides engtne.
the flrst major version was the HTL-4, Specification
The Model 47 has been built under BellModel4TG-SA
licence by Agusta in Italy Kawasaki in Type: general utility helicopter
Japan, and Westland in the UK (the Powerplant: one 197 6-kW (265-hp)
Model 47G-2 for the British army, with Avco Lycoming VO-435-B 1A flat-sx
the name SioLx), and rn vanous roles piston engine
Model 47s have seffed with more than Performance: maximum speed at sea
30 armed services level I69 km h(105 mph) cru.srng
Experimental versions have been speed 137 km/h (85 mph) at 5 000 ft Simpie, cheap and reliable. the Ee:.
numerous Perhaps the lwo most Lm- (1525 m); service ceiling3200 m Model4T firstflew in 1945 and
portant were the Model 201 (servrce ( 10,500 ft); range with maximum fuei remained in production until I 7 5.
-c
designation XH-I3F) and the Model 412 km (256 mrles) Seen here before its debut n Kcrea
207 Sioux Scout The Model 201 was Weights: empty equipped 786 kg US Army H-13 passes over a mrr s:
=
powered by a Continental XT51-T-3 (1,732 ib); maxrmumtake-off1293 kq column of M4 (Sherman-derivec,
(licence-built Turbom6ca Artouste) (2,850 rb) battle tanks including an M4A3EE
turboshaft, The Model 207 was the frrst Dimensions: marn rotor drameter 'EasyEight'.
true armed helicopter poweled by
the 193 9-kW (260-hp) turbocharsted
Avco Lycoming TVO-435-A1A piston
engine, the Sioux Scout featured a re-
vised cabin seating two in tandem
small stub wings containlng additional
fuel and helping to offload the main
rotor in forward flight, and a remotely
conrrolled chrn barbetre. containrng
two 7 62-mm (0.3-rn) M60 machine-
quns, and movable 200" in azimuth,
with elevation from -45'to +15'
Bell s production ol Model 47s even-
tually came to an end ln late 1973, ver-
srons of the Model 47G-5 bernq the last
L2 to be built.
The Helicopter Goes lo War
A machine capableof vertical take-off has obvious military qualities, afact
recognized by G ermany and the USA in W orld W ar I I. I t needed a few more years of
development before the helicopterwas reliable enough to go towar.
Though Leonardo da Vincl rs often credited
with the rnvention of the hehcopter concept in
the last quarter of the 15th century, he was in
fact insprred by children's toys working on the
helicopter pnncrple, and such toys had been
oopular rn ancient China where they were
known as 'bamboo dragonflres', Desprte thts
early start, however, rt took the period up to
World War 1l and the genius of Srkorsky to
produce the first practical mllrtary helicopter,
:he R-4, generally used for rescue work, Since
:he idea had been around for some 500 years, tt
:culd have been expected that the milltary
'..;ould immediately see the incredrble poten-
-al that the helicopter offered. Perhaps inevit-
,l-y the milit"ry did not,
Medevac
Helicopters were originally seen as berng
-leal for medical evacuation (medevac), but
.:re suited for other roles, They were not
:: ,';erful enough to transport the large quantr-
:s of men and equrpment then needed to
-,','ale war (remember that a well-equipped
:-=,:on of the 1980s could probably outgun
:':roany of the 1940s). When the Korean War
::'-<e out, Bell 47s were extensively used for
:-:i=-,-ac, but they couid carry only two (poss-
,:--; .rree) stretcher cases at a time. No one
:-=r rcught of using them lor special forces
'.-;: operations, largely because specral
--:::s as such did not exist (except for Brltish
r-:--;1eld security detachmenls, which swan-
:-=i :l:'and the battlefleld doing who knows
l---1,';e',.er. the new Slkorsky S-55 (operated
:',' :-e -S ,A,rmy as the H-19) was an altogether
,::l:r trJrcpper', Ii could carry up to I0 sol-
The first helicopter in Koreawas
use of the
humanitarian: the evacuation of wounded troops
to the real The Sikorsky R-S proved many of the
concepfs used later, such as slinging litters to take
slrefcfter cases not able to fit into the small cabins
oftheday.
a
The former escort-carrier turned helicopter-
carn'er USS Sicily cruises off Inchon harbour in
I 952. Her complement of USMC HRS helicopters
diers, or ergh: s:reichers and one medic, I:
would seem iha: :hts aircraft would enable the
milrtary to develop some rnteresting taciics
and indeed the first use made of the H-19
seemed to do jLrsi that, Even while rt was on its
origlnal provrng trial in Florrda, the test pilot
one Captain Joseph D, Cooper, was told to
report, with chopper, to Seoul. A field security
detachment had lsolated a crashed Mikoyan-
Gurevich MrG-15 f,ghter on a sand bar behind
enemy lines, and some unsung genius in G-2
(US Army intelligence) had realized that a heli-
copter would be the ideal way of flying in tech-
nicians to strip the MiG of its more interesting
parts, and then to fly out the parts; the techni-
cians had to make their own way back through
enemy lines, Thrs is exactly what happened,
the H-19 perlorming brilliantly in the hands of
Cooper, But that was it, and the H-l9s were
then used only for medevac, except by the US
Marines, who used their HRS versions ior
medevac and utrlrty flrghts, later expanded to
supply and troop drops This use did not catch
on with the rest of the UN forces ltghtrng in
Korea; but interestingly enough, it was to be
the British Navy/Royal Marines who would
show how helicopters could be used in a more
aggressive role.
Indochina
Meanwhile, while Korea was going on, the
French were having their own problems in
Indo-China, In 1950, French forces had two
Hrller 360s (made in the USA) By the time of
Dien Bien Phu tn 1954 they had 42 choppers, a
mrx of Hillers, and Sikorsky H-Ss and H-19s.
Once again they were used exclusively for
medevac until Dien Bien Phu itsell when there
occurred an incident that totally soured the
French on using helicopters even for medevac,
and in so doing alfected the conduct of the
Algerian war, Very simply, the French used
helicopters wrth Red Cross markings to rescue
some downed pilots: such evacuation of non-
wounded personnel is contrary to the rules of
war, and while the Viet Mrnh stood for it the first
makes a change from her usualASW aircraft load
butforeshadows the helicopter assault ship of
today.
 Post-War Helicopters

.::e they later blew two heltcopters out of the

s-q,' Ai this polnt the French stopped chopper
:--ghts, and the use of helicopters in warfare
,-.ent on the back shelf,
in 1956 at the US Army Avration School at
: crt Rucker, Alabama, a certain Colonel Jay
-,:anderpool
had obtarned permission to form a
Sky Cavalry Platoon', Even though he was able
:o demonstrate the hehcopter's manoeuvrabil-
-:y and potential flrepower, the brass were noi
-mpressed (they were probabiy still reeling
,rom the fact that the tank had replaced the
rorse) and the platoon became known as'Van-
derpool's Fools', It was perhaps smail recom-
pense that Vanderpool's platoon would later in
Vretnam become the US Army's Air Cavalry,
which was one of the most effective units under
American command,
Meanwhile (there were an awful 1ot of wars ;*-*- -
gcing on rn the 1950s), the British had become
er,rbroiled in Malaya, This'Emergency' cannot "**;;q$!!:,#*;l*:l#
be compared strictly with Vietnam or Algeria;
there were far fewer terrorist troops on the
ground; they did not have even the passive
support of the malorrty of the local population;
there was not a corrupt and ahenated 'local'
government in power; and the British were
reasonably popuiar, The British also were
lucky enough to have two men (Generals
Briggs and Templer) who were to prove them-
selves geniuses in the art of counter- Above: On 23July 1953,'somewhereinKorea', a The French armywidely employed the Piaseck
insurgency warfare. The basic princrple was to wounded soldier is evacuated from a front-line H-21 in Algeria during the closing stages of the
isolate the terrorists from therr food suppltes dressing station. The Bell H- l3 helicopterwill have conflict. Using tactics forged in the jungles of
(unwrlling villagers) and to force them to con- the casualty at an airstrip in minutes, and he will be Malaya, the H-2 I s achieved great success jn i:e
centrate ln certain areas, where they could be in a hospital inJapan in a few hours. desert and did much to dispel the French worr.'
destroyed, ovet the use of helicopters after Dien Bten Phu.

' .i:.
'*itilt
-. "

ilil,l€
'=r:r:ir3€i=+_;:+.:.$ili

=,$1i,1ff:{::i5g;
The Helicopter Goes to War

Thrs strategy dld depend on British troops

spendrng long perrods in the jungle, where
supply obvrously became a problem, The RAF
had not shown much interest in helicopters,
and oniy possessed lightweight craft that were
not large enough lor the job But the Royal
Navy, whrch is responsible for resupplyrng the
Royal Marines, seized the opportunities
offered by the hehcopter with both hands,
Royal Marine Commandos hidden away in the
ulu (jungle) could be supphed by hehcopter
easily and efficrently. Small raiding parties
could be easlly airlifted into postion, and heh-
copters bbgan to be used in a far more aggres-
Sive role.
Helicopters inAlgeria
It was a lesson that the French in Algeria
were slow to discover for themselves, Soured
by their experience at Dien Bien Phu, the
French hardly used hehcopers at all untrl the
closlng stages of the Algerian war, The French
initially rehed heavrly on paradrops to pursue
the rebels, a tactic dictated as much by the fact
that the L6gion Etrangdre were amongst the
finest parachute troops in the world as by the The US Marine Corps welcomed the troop- to win its aggressive spurs, was very much a
demands of iocal conditions, It was not until carrying helicopter, seeing in it a means of post-World War II phenomenon. But even dur-
General Challe of the French air force became avoiding the worst aspects of making an rng Brliish operations in the Radfan (up-country
commander-in-chief dunng December 1958 ampftrbjous assault. The use of large numbers of from Aden) during the mid-1960s, paradrops
that heircopters began to come into their own, troop-carrying helicopters such as these of VMR-
26 1 and VMR-262 aboard USS Siboneyenab/ed
were still the method of chorce of getting infan-
Using the pnnciples established by Briggs and coastal defences to be bypassed by'vertical try rn place quickly, aithough the SAS on one
Templer in Malaya, Challe developed a hlqrhly envelopment'. occasion sent in a pathfinder team (to prepare
mobrle helicopter force that could act as rein- the drop zone) by chopper, only to rediscover
forcement for para operations or could be used that a few determined enemy troops (in this
in areas where paradrops were impossible. ter speed and mobrlrty could make up lor few- case Yemeni tribesmen) could make a para-
Culminating in Operation 'Jumelle' in the er troops, particularly since those (fewer) drop very uncomfortable, not to mention
Kabyle mountains in July 1959, these tactics troops would be equtpped with vastly rm- dangerous. On thls particular occasion it was
proved extremely effective, bui by then rt was proved weaponry. The French had successiul- the Royal Marines who got into position first,
too late, The politrcrans had decided, and once ly experimented with the firing of rockets from having walked there, which did not do very
again men, women and children on both sides hehcopters during the Algerian war, and much for the traditional rivalry between para
proved to have died in vain. obviously machine-guns could also be used. lt and marinel
The debate about how helicopters should be is easy to see why such a controversy should
used had been going on since the end of World take piace rn the first rnstance: to develop the A W e s tland W hir lwind ( lice nc e - bui It S ikor s ky
War IL Thrs debate was between those who helicopter in the latter role would and did re- S-55) is seen aboard HMS Albion during the S ue z
saw heiicopters as flying ambulances or supply quire an enormous financial commitment in operations of 1956. Helicopters had become part
trucks, and those who saw helicopters as terms of equrpment and training, And counter- of a carrier's regular complement, performing airl
heralding a new type of warfare, where qrea- insurgency warfare, where the helicopter was sea rescue lasks as well as general utility duties.
 Post-War Helicopters
A Bristol Sycamore deploys British troops in the
battle against EOKA terrorists in Cyprus. The
helicopter gave the British a great advantage in
counter-insurgency operations, enabling small
unifs lo be rnserted withoutwarning in formerly
inaccessible country.

However, the SAS and Royal Marines were

to use choppers to good effect during opera-
tions in the Trucial Oman States; by this time
the helicopter's value had been established,
even though it was berng mainly used by spe-
cial forces. For the Brrtrsh at least it took Borneo
to establish how vital the helicopter could be .*
with regular troops, i-€d
The Malaysian Conflict
The 'confrontation' between Indonesia and
the fledgling far-flung country of Malaysta was
a war in all but name, It happened because the
establishment of Malaysia ran counter to In-
donesia's own territorial ambitions, and the In-
donesian president, Sukarno, was under great
pressure (notably from his forelgn minister) to
export Indonesia's own brand of socialism,
And, of course, there is nothrng like a good,
patriotrc war to divert one's citizens from the
fact that there are grave problems at home.
Accordingly, Indonesia openly supported dis-
sident, minority groups in Borneo, large tracts
of which Indonesia claimed for itself. Sukarno
declared a 'Confrontairon' and it was left to the
British to sort the mess out, because at that time policeman and one Border Scout. The Britrsh wasted on the Americans. Almost too cr=:. -
the Malaysian armed forces were no match for retaliated swiftly. A main force was sent to reliance was placed upon helicopters in i-.:.-
the Indonesians, (The Indonesian marines, for recapture Irong Jawi and, secure in the know- nam, and no amount of military hardw-are :=:-
example, were an extremely well trained ledge that the lndonesians wouid not stick make up for political inierference, misma:a;:-
force, which probably accounts for the lndone- around, other smaller forces were helicop- ment and stupidrty, But many Britrsh obse r,'=:s
stan reluctance to use them againsi Brrtish tered into position to cut their line of retreat, felt that the Air Cavalry was one of, ri r:. .:-=
troops except rn the very beginning: rt is al- The operation worked, and thereafter the tech- most efficient arm in Vietnam, It was ihe:, ::--.
ways embarrassing to have one's best troops nique ol ambushing retreating Indonesians the hehcopter gmnship was developed ar:d :-=.
defeated,) The problems were formldable, In- played an ever important part rn winning the helicopters won the respect and alfec:tc: :- -:-=
tttally, there were only flve Brrtish battalions to war. average soldier, Indeed, one of the fa-.-:-:,,=
cover 1600km (1000 miles) of jungle frontier, By the end of 1965 there were 14,000 Britrsh sayings rn Vietnam was 'give me a hLrss t:l j:
and the Indonesian troops could and did cross troops in Borneo, and because the hehcopter me a favour', huss being HUS (Hehcop:er -:"-
at any point they chose. Extreme mobility was allowedsuch mobility, most of themwere com- ity, Slkorsky)
demanded, and the chopper really came into bat troops. The Indonesians tended to send And now the rocket-armed heliccc::: --=
its own, Border lntelligence was gathered by parties of between 100 and 250 men across the seen as berng an ellective defence r;:.---'
SAS mobile patrols and by statrc forward in- border rn an attempt to expand Indonesian tanks, particularly in Europe.
telligence offlcers (FIOs) based in friendly territory on the basis of occupation, British It seems only apt that the two mcs- r.l::-.
kampongs, and usually guarded by a small de- bases close to the border had to be big (up to mrlitary weapons (tank and chopper' s-t-'. :
tachment of Ghurkas, (The majority of these company strength) to contain these tncursions, be pitted against each other: do nc: ;:: s'-:
FIOs were rn fact NCOs from the Intelligence but at the same time smali enough to be de- prrsed rf the chopper wirrs,
Corps, and when this was pointed out to the fended by a platoon because of manpower
War Office, it rnsisted that they be cailed for- hmrtations. Again, the chopper provided the
By the 1960s the helicopter had become an
,vard intelligence non:commissioned officers, key because a platoon could now be rein- essenfJalcomponent of the military scene. I ts use
or FINCOs, and the I Corps suddenly became forced to company levei in a very short space in combatvaried from themassed Air Cavaln,
hiown as the 'finks'. Stll], it made someone in of time. operations inVietnam to re-supply missjons ior
fie War Offlce happy,) British lessons learnt in Borneo were not single posts in the Radfan, as by this Belvedere.
'Hearts andminds'
FIOs and I'lNCOs allke did a superb job of
border watching, but could not have done so
without the use of the chopper, They were used
icr resupply, for evacuating sick villagers, for
iropping SAS patrols in otherwise inaccessi-
i:1e areas (or at least, accessible but too tate)
=d, on at least one occasion, flying a pig into a
<anpong as a qift from the British on the occa-
s-:n of the marriage of the village chiels
:=:ghter. 'Hearts and minds' played a vrtal role
:- Bcrneo, and those teams ofRoyai Engineers
',',
-:: spent months on the border clearrng hell-
::c:er landing sites in likely areas also found
--r::e to build dams and fix the village water
:'-^11p.
-:,: the end of September 1963 150 Indone-
:---: crossed the border and attacked Lhe vil-
-=;: cf Long Jawi, kiliing one Gurkha, one
 USA
Piasecki H-zI
=
Developed from the US Navy's HRP-2,
the Piasecki PD-22 tandem-rotor heli-
copter prototype (US Air Force de-
srgination XH-2I) was first flown on I l
April 1952, Eighteen YH-2 I helicopters
had been ordered in 1949 for USAF
evaluation, these being followed by an
initial production batch of 32 H-2IA
helicopters, named Workhorse in
USAF service, For use by the Military
Au Transport Service Arr Rescue Ser-
nce, the H-2lAs were each powered
by a derated 932,1-kW (1,250-hp)
Wright R-1820-103 engine; the first
flew in October 1953, Sx more were
burlt to USAF contract but suppled to
Canada under the Military Assistance
Prognam.
The second production variant was
the H-21B, which used the fu1I power of
the 1062.6-kW (1,425-hp) R-1820-103 to
cover an increase in maximum take-off
weisht from 52 16 ks ( I 1,500 ]b) to
6804kq (15,000 lb). Some 163 were
built, mainly for Troop Carrier Com-
mand, and these had autopilots, could
carry external auxiliary fuel tanks, and
were provided wrth some protective
armour. They could catry 20 troops in
the assault role.
The US Army's equivalent was the
H-2IC Shawnee, of which 334 were
built, This total included 98 for the
French army, i0 for the French nalry
and sx for Canada; 32 Shawnees were
%= fi"re"ki HUp Retriever
The 'flyinq banana' shape ofthe HRP-I
n'as discarded in the Piasecki Model
PV-14, of which two XIUP-I prototypes
were ordered for evaluation rn the res-
cue and aircraft-carrier planeguard
roles. This model was developed rnto
:he PV-I8, US Navy designation IIUP-I
ReEiever, which featured angled end-
plate fins on the horzontal tail surfaces
mounted to the rear rotor pylon. Some
32 HUP-1s, each powered by a single
3:1 S-kW (525-hp) Continental R-975-
3i engnne, were built for the US NavY
ceinreen February 1949 and i952; the
1si squadron, HU-2, took delivery of
-= rnitial aircraft in February 1951.
Successful Sperry autopilot trials in
XHJP-I led to development of the
-
HIIP-2, whose improved directional
allowed the endplate fins to
=brllty
te deieted, and the more Powerful
li-1. l-kw (550-hp) R-975-46 engine
r,-as fltted. A total of 339 was built, in-
:.:cirnq 193 for the US Nalry, A number
:- these were designated HUP-2S
;':.ee f,tted wrth dunkrng sonar equip-
:-::t ior anlL-submarine operatlons,
S:ne 15 IIUP-2s were also supplted to
t-:
The Air Rescue Sewice took the
initial production batch of 34 H-21s
and christened the type 'Workhorce'.
TheH-2lAswere powered by a932-
kW (1,250-hp) engine, giving a
max imum take - of[ w eight of over
s000 kg(t1,s00 tb).
supplied to West Germany, serving
with the army's Heeresflregerbataillon
300, The H-21C, redesiqnated CH-2IC
in July 1962, had an underfuselage
sling hook for loads of up to 1814 kg
(4,000 lb), Productton deliveries were
made between September 1954 and
March 1959, later helicopters acquir-
ing the company designation Model43
when the Piaseckr Helicopter Cor-
poration became the Vertol Aircraft
Corporation in 1956. The H-2iA and
H-21B retrospectively became the
Model 42.
Two turboshaft conversions of H-
ZiC airframes were the Model 7l (H-
2lD), with two Ceneral Electric T5B
engines flrst flown in September 1957,
and the Model 105 which had two Avco
Lycoming T53s. From the latter was Powerplant: one 1062, 6-kW ( 1, 425-hp) Weights: empty 3629 kg (8,000 lb);
designed the Vertol 107 (Boeing Ver- Wright R- 1820- 103 Cyclone radial maximum take-off 6668 kq ( 14, 700 lb)
tol H-46 series) piston engine Dimensions: rotor diameter each
Performance: maximum speed 13.41 m t44 ft0 in); lenqlh, rotors
Specification 21 I km/h (131 mph.1 atsea level turning26 3i m(BOTt4 in); herght
PiaseckiH-2lCShawnee service ceiling 2362 m (7,750 ft); range 4.70 m (J5 il 5 in) rotor disc area, tolal
Type: troop/cargo transpofi 644 km (400 miles) 282.52m2 (3,041.07 sq ft)
Left:After the Sperry autopilot
trials fulfilled every
expectation, the HUP-2 was
developed and 193 supplied to
the U S N avy. T he s ignifi cantly
im proved dir ection al stability
of the HUP-2 enabled the
desr'grners fo dr'sp ense with the
endplate fins.
Below:APiaseckiHUP-2
Retriever lands on the fantail oI
the US Navy crujser USS Helena
(CA-75). Although most HUPs
were assigned to search and
rescue mr'ssion s, a number
were fitted with dunking sonar
e quipme nt f or anti- s u bm arine
warfare.
the French navy. The US ArmY
ordered an initial batch of an improved
version in 1951, this beinqr knorm as
the H-25A Army Mule. Powered bY the
R-975-46A ensine, the H-25A intro-
duced power-boosted controls,
strengthened floors and enlarqed car-
go doors. Fitty similar machtnes were
transferred to the US Navy under the
designation IIUP-3, three servinq with
the Royal Canadian Narry's Squadron
VH-21, Under the unr-fred desiqnatlon
system introduced in September 1962,
the HUP-2 and HUP-3 were redesig-
nated IJH-258 and UH-25C.
Specification
Piasecki IIUP-3
Type: utility/cargo hehcopter
Powerplant: one 410,1-kW (550-hP)
Continental R-975-46A radial piston
engine 547 km (340 miles) 10.67 m (35 ft 0 in); lenqrth, rotors
Performance: maxtmum speed Weights: empty 1782 kq (3,928 lb); turnlng 17,35 m (56 ft 1 I in); height
169 km/h (105 mph); service ceilinQt maximumtake-off2767 kg (6, 100 lb) 3.Bl m(12 tt 6 in): rotordrscarea, lolal
3048 m(10,000 ft); maximumrangte Dimensions: rotor diameter, each 178.76 mz (1.924.23 sq ft)
 ffi ititt", Model 360, UH-12 and OH-23 Raven Post-War Helicopters
Hiller Helicopters Inc, was formed in
i942 for the development and produc
tion of rotary-wing aircraft, Early work
on the Hiller Model XH-44, uH-4 Com-
muter, and the IIH-S which rntroduced
a newly-developed 'Rotor Matic' rotor
control system, led to the Hiller Model
360 prototype. The company's flrst pro-
duction helicopter followed and this,
known as the Hiller UH-I2 since Hrller
had become part of United Hehcop-
ters, was of simple construction, incor-
poratinq a two-blade main rotor and a
two-blade tail rotor on an upswept
boom. The design was highly success-
fu1, beinq built extensively in two- and
three-seat conigurations {br both civrl
and military use, and an early Model 12
was the first commercral helicopter to
record a transcontinental flioht across
the United States, More tian 2,OOO
were built before production ended in
1965, some 300 of this total being ex-
ported, and throughout this period the
power and capability of the helicopter
was steadrly improved,
The commercial UH-I2A to uH-t2D
became the OH-23A to OH-23D Raven
respectively for service with the US 23Gs which it operated with the de- rently from thrs companv rnclude the Overshadowed to someextentby the
fumy, and the US Navy acquired UH- signation CH-l12 Nomad, and the UH-lzE a four-seat UH-i2E4 and rur Bell and Sikorsky desrgng the Hiller
l2As as HTE-I and HTE-2. The UH-I2E Royal Navy used a number of ex-US bine-powered equivalents desrgnated H-23 made a significant contribution
was basically a three.seat dual control Navy HTE-2s under the desrgnation lrH-I2ET and UH-t2E4T respeCrively. to helicopter operations in the
versron of the OH-23D and was burlt Hiller HT.Mk2. These have as powerplant a 313.2 kW Korean war. This example has j ust
also as the military OH-23G, A lengr- At the height of UH-12lOH-23 pro- (420-shp) Allison 250-C20B turboshalt collected casualties fromYoju for
thened-fuselage four-seat civil UH- duction Hiller was acquired by the which is deratedto 224.5 kW (301 shp) evacuation to a casualty station.
l2E4 was produced as the military OH- Fairchild Stratos Corporation to form in this application.
23F, and later civil versrons with up- Farrchild Corporation, but in 1973 a i32 km/h (82 mph); service ceiling
rated powerplant included the UH- 12E new Hiller Aviatron company was Specification 4025 m (13,200 ft); ranqe 330 kn (205
variants suffixed L3, L4, SL3 and SL4. lormed. acquffrng fiom Fairchrld de- HillerOH-23D Raven miles)
OH-23s were exported to Argentma, sign rights and production toolinq for Type: three seal mrl tary helicopte r
i Weights:emptyB24 kq(1 816 lb):
Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Domr- the UH-12E, and initially continued to Powerplant: one 24O 9-kW (lll-'6p.1 maximum take off 1225 kg (2,700 lb)
- nica, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexrco, provide support for the worldwide Avco Lycomrns VO-540-A iB flat-iix Dimensions: main rotor drameter
Morocco, the Netherlands, ParaEuay, fleet of UH- 12 helicopters, In the mid- prston engine
Switzerland, Thailand and Urugmay. 1970s production of the UH-12E was Performalce: naxrmum speed
10,82 m (35 ft 6 in); lenqth 8.53 m (28 i
0 in;: height 2.97 m (9 il 9 rn,; mdn ror::
The Canadian army acquired OH- restarted, and versions available cur- 153 km h (95 mph ): cruising speed disc area 92.4 7 m'z (995.38 sq fr)

asffi: usA
ffi-r A.t r
: DIKOTSKY

Known to the US Army as the H-19

Expanding its horizons with ever lar-
ger and more operationally useful heli-
copters, Slkorsky flew the prototype
YH- 19 (company designation Sikorsky
$55) on 10 November 1949 with the
ltO.I kW (550 hp) of a Wriqht R-1340-
-i piston engine. This was located in
--:-e nose for ground-level access and
-: provide maximum cabin space for
:p to 10 passenqers. The USAF fol-
,:'r;ed flve trials YH-l9s by a contract
::: 50 H-I9A
-r:-ch
helicopters, some of
were converted for SAR as the
S'H-19A (later re-desiqnated HH- l9A),
--: US Army bought 72 of the H-I9C
-=:er UH-I9C) type and named it
Ctrickasaw, These had 447.4-kW (600-
:: ?-1340 engdnes, Naval equivalents
were the HRS-l and HRS-2, 60 and 101
of wluch, respectively, were used for
US Marines transport. Ten of the latter
were diverted to the Royal Navy and
named Whirlwind HAR.Mk 21. Ten
observatron model HO4S- I hehcooters
also joined the US Navy, althougir the
US Coast Guard failed to adopt the
planned HO4S-2. There followed a
series of models powered by a 522,0-
kW (700 hp) Wrlqht R-1300-3, com-
prising 105 US Marine HRS-3 (later CH-
l9E) hehcopters; 79 ASW HO4S-3 (UH-
l9F) aircraft, including 15 supplied to
the Royal Navy as Whirlwind HAS.Mk
22; 30 US Coast Guard HO4S-3G (HH-
l9G); 264 USAF H-I9B (UH-I9B), of
which some became SAR SH-I9B (HH-
Chickasaw, the Sikorsky S-55 was
generally similar in layout to the
Iater models of the H-5 series but
had a novel engine arrangement,
mounting the powerplant in the
nose. This provided maximum ca.bin
space, the long extension shaft
being carried diagonally up to the
main rotor gear drive,
I9B) models; and 30i US Army H-ISD
(UH-I9D) transpofis, There was only
civil productron of the S-5SA, with its
596 6-kW (800-hp) R-1300 engine, and
the S-55C, which combined R-1340
power with the downward-canted tail-
boom (or broken back) introduced
mlh the H-19B. fhe proposed HRS-4
wrth a 764 3-kW (1,025-hp) Wrrghr R-
lB20 did not materral.ze, Sikorsky built
almost 1,300 S-55 series he[conters for
crvil and mrlttary use at home and
ebroad, but this total was swelled by
Iicensed manutacrure in Japan of 44 by
Mitsubishr in France by Sud-Est; and
in the UK by Westland, The last-
mentioned beqan wrth Wriqht R-1340
engines with the Westland Whirlwind
Sikorsky S-55 (continued)

Sikorskg S-55
Searchand Rescue
Helico fer

TheUSAF used the majority of itsH-19s to equip

the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) Search
and Rescue helicopter squadrons, desigmating
aircraft assigned to this role SH-J9s. ?fiese
helicopters were fitted with a hydraulic-electric
hoist on the starboard side of the fuselagejust
above the door. Using this, aslingcould be
lowered to a maximum distance of 30.4 8 m ( I 00 ft).

'ffi.
'i-" -'' '! -

H$
Sikorsky S-55 (continued)

turbine power, typically the Sikorsky Dimensions: main rotor diameter

S-55T with a 626 4'kW (840-hP)
ArResearch TSE-331.
Specification
SikorskyH-I98
Type: t0-passenqerutiltty helicopter
Powerplant: one 596,6-kW (B0O-hp)
Wright R- 1300-3 radial pston engire
Performance: maximum speed
180 km/h (1 12 mph); cruisrnq speed
146 krn/h (91 mph); initial climb rate
31I m(1,020 ft)perminute; ranete
579 km (360 miles)
Weights: empty 23Bl kq (5,250 lb);
maximum take-off3583 kq (7,900 lb)
16. 15 m (53 ft 0 rn); fuselaqe length
12 BB m (42 ft3 in); herqht4.06 m(13 ft
4 rn) main rotor disc area 204 95 m'
(2,206. 19 sq ft)
Armament: none
Settling down on to the surlace of
Long Island Sound near BridgePort,
Connecticut, thisUSAF H-19 shows
off its amphibious landinggear
during a testflight.ln the medical
evacuation role theH-19 could carry
eight litter patients and one
attendant.

usA
ffi
: Sikorsky 5-56
The ungrainly Sikorsky 5-56 was pro-
duced in response to a 1950 require-
ment of the US Marine Corps for a
transport helicopter capable of airlift-
inq 20 troops or the equivalent in car-
jeeps, Four prototypes,
gto, such as two
designated XHRZS- I, made their initial
flights from lB December 1953 on-
wards, provinq the manufacturer's flrst
trrvin-enqine helicopter to be one of the
fastest (and largest) rn the West at that
time, Further claims to distrnction by
the arrcraft were its rare employment
of a retractable landinq qear, and
equipment with night flyinq aids. In-
stallatron of engines in outboard pods
provided stowage for the mainwheels,
kept drive shafls short qnd reduced
obstruc ions in the 53.8-mr (1,900-cu lt)
cargto hold to a minimum, Entered via
hydraulically-powered clamsheli
doors or a smaller side door, the hold
included a winch hoist with monorail.
Deliveries of55 HR2S-I helicopters (36
more were cancelled) to the US
Marines began in 1956 for equipment
of three helicopter transport (medium)
squadrons, and these aircraft were re-
Cesignated CH-37C in 1962. TVro more
-rere produced as the HR2S-IW air-
borne early warning model with a bel-
iyr-mounted AN/APS-2OE radar scan-
rer and additional operatrngr crew, but
-arled to stimulate a production order,
lu,lore successful was the aircraft
loaned to the US Army in 1954 for trials
under the desiqnation YH-37, as this
was followed between 1956 and MaY
1960 by 94 production H-37A Mojave
helicopters All except four were mod-
ified from June 1961 onwards to H-378
standard, with Lear automatic stabi-
lization equipment (to permit ioading
and unloadingt at the hover), a rede-
signed cargo door and crashproof fuel
tanks. These were known as CH-378
from 1962, and the programme natural-
1y included those based in GermanY
from 1959 onwards, Commercial suc-
cess eluded the 5-56, even thougth its
dynamic and control systems were
adopted by the later 5-60, 5-64, 5-65
and the abortive Westland Westmlns-
ter,
Specification
Sikorsky CH-378 Mojave
Type: rransport helicopter
Powerplant: two Pratt & WhitneY R-
2800 Double Wasp piston engines
each rated at 14 16,8 kW ( 1,900 hp) for
normal, or 1566.0 kW (2,100 hP) for
emerQtency runnlng
Performance: maximum sPeed normaltake-off 14061 kq (31,000 ]b) The Sikorsky 5-56 was the largest
209 krri/h (130 mph) at sea level; initial Dimensions: main rotor diameter helicopter to become operational
climb rate 277 m (910 ft) per minute; 2L95 m(72 ft 0 in); fuselage lenqrth with IJS forces up to the end of 1961.
hovering ceiling 335 m (1, 100 ft) out of 19 76 m(64 ft l0 rn) height6.TI n(Q2ft Unusually the HRZS- l, as itwas
ground effect; service cerling 2652 m 0 rn) mainrotordjsc area3TB 24 m' known to the USMC, featured
(8,700 ft); ranqe 233 km (145 miles) (4,071.5 sq ft) retractable landing gear and night-
flying aids.
Weights: empty 9385 kq (20,690 lb); Armament: none

IleS-55 wasprimarily designed
x ansport helicopter to US MC
specif ca fi ons, bu t S ikor s kY also
produced two HR2S- I W earlY
warning models fitted with APIAPS-
as a
20E radar in a massjYe bulbousnose
Although auseful concePt, the AEW
modelfailed toattract any orders.
Above: Equipping three USMC
transport squadrons from 1956, the
5-56 uzas subse quently evaluated by
theUS Army,which then ordered94
machines, designated H - 37 M oj ave'
From 1 96 1 the army modified their
H-37s by fitting Lear automatic
s tab iliz a tion equipment.

:
Korecrn Rescue Post-War Helicopters

Popularly known as a'Whirlybird' and at the time regarded with considerable in iO5-km,/h (65-mph) wrnds, pulled both sea-
scepticism in some quarters, the helicopter soon won acceptance in the Korean men to safety. The R-4 (later H-4) and R-5 (H-5).
War. Ditched pilots could not survive long in the icy water off Korea, and rescue the latter being Sikorskys S-51 and the US
helicopters proved invaluable. Before long the helicopter's potentialfor clandesfine Navy's HO2S/HO3S, were the real pioneers of
air rescue in the days before the arrival of the
missions was also noted, and the C IA acquire d an all- black H - I 9. H- 19, The first rescue from a carrier at sea took
place on 2 November 1948, when a Grumman
ist Lieutenant Joseph M, McConnell Jr F-86 The very idea of accomplishlng air rescue F8F Bearcat pilot from the USS Leyte (CY-32)
Sabre piiot ofthe 39th Fighter Squadron, even- with a whirlybird (a popular term in the 1950s) went into the drink and was plucked up by
:ually shot down 16 MiGs to become the rank- was new and far from ful1y accepted, The US Ensign Robert Lynch in an HO3S-l ofsquadron
ing ace of the Korean War, but on 12 April 1953 Air Force's rescue misslon had been central- HU-2,
(moments after he had despatched kill number ized in the late I940s under the Air Rescue The H-S/HO3S- I (built in the UK as the West-
eiqht) it seemed that McConnell's war, and his Service (ARS) headquartered at Scott Field, land Dragonfly) was the principal helicopter
life, were finished. The Sikorsky H-l9A orbit- Illlnois, and a sloqan boldly proclaimed the avarlable to the US Army, US Alr Force and US
ing over the Yellow Sea island of Cho-do, a ARS hope 'that others may live', But ARS was Navy rn the early part of the Korean conflict.
silvery, bulbous helicopter of the 3rd Air Res- equipped with the Grumman SA-16 Albatross, Powered by a 600-hp (447.4-kW) Pratt & Whit-
cue Squadron, was an unproven and not very Boeing,SB-17 Flylng Fortress, Boeing $B-29 Su- ney R- 1340 reciprocating engine driving three-
reassurinq machine: few men really trusted perfortress and other fixed-wrng types, all de- blade main and tall rotors, the 48-ft (14 6-m)
helicopters yet, and fewer still were prepared srgned to airdrop supplies, food, medical gear Srkorky H-5 barely had room for an extra crew-
to entrust their lives to it. McConnell had no and rafts, and expected to loiter overhead until man to operate its horst, Its slim, narrow firsel-
choice: his F-86E Sabre (51-2753), Beauleous vessels or ground parties could reach the vic- age had no space for the person being res-
Bulch, had been riddled with 37-mm cannon tim, Fixed-wing aircraft provided the range cued, so external litters were fitted. It was ex-
fire from a MiG; smoke was seeping up into his and endurance to fly long rescue missions, and tremely vulnerable to North Korean small-arms
cockpit; and his wingman was shoutrng at him the 5A'-16 could land on water to take aboard flre. The H-5/HO3S-1 is best remembered by
about a long tongnre of fire shooting from his the sick, the stranded and the shot-dowri. Heli- mrihons who watched Mickey Rooney die rn a
exhaust and telling him to punch out, He might copters vlbrated furiously, guzzled fuel, often hail of gunfire trying to rescue William Holden
reach the helicopter, a few miles south of the su-ffered radro faiiure, and lacked the 'staying in the Korean War film based on James
bitterly-contested Yalu river battle zone power' to carry out a 1ong, difflcult search and Michener's The Bridges at Toko-n.
krown as MiG Alley: he might reach the chop- rescue (SAR) operation. As recently as a few
per, but he would never get home, days before the 25 june 1950 outbreak of Ko- US Navy helicopter rescue
rean fighting, Congress was scrutinizing prop- A real-life Rooney, Lleutenant (JG) Charles
Successfullift osed USAF helicopter purchases wrth a crrtical Jones of squadron HU-1, was hit by small-arms
Tbrenty minutes later, after a harrowrng ejec- eye. One legislator is quoted as saying 'lt fire in an HO3S-l near Sariwon, North Korea, on
tion, McConnell was being dragged through doesn't have wingsl'. 23 August 1950 His aircraft leaking fuel and
freezing-cold water, then lifted aloft, rn a yoke Igor Sikorsky piloted the first American heli- hydrauhcs, Jones miraculously nursed the
dropped by the H-19. He lived to fight again. copter, the VS-300 in 1939. A few Sikorsky chopper 160 km (100 miies) south before drtch-
He was extraordinarily lucky. Arr rescue with R-4s, fragile craft wrth barely room for a pas
any chopper, under any conditions, was a new sengter, and nicknamed Hoverfly, arrived in TheSikorsky R-5 made the firstrescue using a
and outlandish notion in those days, Few re- Burma before VJ-Day, The first actual rescue hoist off the US coast in I 945 , and the Navy's
HO 35 - 1 s, like thrs mode,l seen h er e, w er e involvd
member, now, the terrible clatter or violent using a hoist was achieved on 29 November
in the first rescue operations in Korea. Although
shaking of those early rotary-wing craft. Few 1945 when an oil barge with two seamen broke the US Navy's carrier-based HO3S- I s were
remember that communrcation was difficult, loose in heavy seas near the Sikorsky plant at withdrawn in J anuary I 95 1 and replaced by
that the mere act of finding a man to be rescued Bridgeport, Connecticut. Company test pilot Piasecki HUPs, some continued to work from other
took brash, 'seat of the pants' flying. Dimitry Jimmy'Vrner, flylng an R-SD (43-46642) Navyvessels.

.--j rn ihe Han river the frrst loss of a rescue
:--:--::pter in the confllct A shipmate, I:ieute-
:-..,-. l:hn Thornton, shot down rn another
.. - j S - nonths later became a prisoner of war
.-: ',-,, :ird a hallyears Though the US Navys
.-r: :r i:ased HO3S-t were replaced in Janu
.:" ,::- cy the Piasecki HUP-I some con-
-:.-=: .: rperate from other US Navy surface
.. :
vessels.
Not wrshrng to share actor Rooney s fllm fate,
helicopter crews were happtest when the
stricken pilot of a Grumman Panther, McDon-
nell Banshee or Douglas Skyraider could get
clear of the heavily-defended enemy land
mass and drtch at sea. Even then the rescuer
took a terrible risk If the man in the water was
rncapacitated, and that took only moments in
the Yellow Sea, the helicopter crewman had to
leap into the water to put the pilot in the sling.
Airman John Crawford did just that for Lieute-
nant (JG) John Abbot on 22lanuary 1952, know-
jng 'har he would have Lo warl ln rcy wa'er
wrthin range of small-arms fire and hope hts
pilot could deposlt Abbot on a nearby ship,

- ::ld f,nd hrm before he froze to death
. -:-< 30 minutes and earned Crawford the
.'.:: nEhest Amerrcan award for valour, the
- .:SS.
= -.,S lrlavys achievements notwlthstand
-s the US Air Force which racked up
. :-:lccpter combat rescue. The 3rd Arr
= j=tuadron had moved from Hrckam
. US Army and US Marrnes. It may have been the
: =. -.'--L to lohnson AB, Japan, when the
: r1: tc shoot, Soon the squadron's H-Ss,
The helicopter has proved well suited to
clandestine operations. These began in Korea,
when this Sikorsky H- 19 salvaged much of the
wreckage of a downed Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
ftom an isolated area behind enemy lines. The
salvage ofthe Soviet aircraft gave British and
American intelligence personnel an insight into
the machine that had plagued the UN forces since
its dramatic arrival over the Korean front.
Wreckage of at least two further MiG-l5s was
subsequently recovered by Royal Navy and US
helicapters, and two intact examples were later
obtained for study by defecting Polish and Korean
pilots.
and later its H-19s, were fly1ng from Korean
bases, The first helicopter rescue ofa pilot from
behrnd enemy llnes in Korea was accom-
plished by Lreutenant Paul W van Boven ofthe
3rd ARS, who successfully retrieved Captain
- Their helicopters were serviced ur:-.:: . l
Fooert f. Wayne on 4 September 1950.
Enterthe H-I9
It was a quantum jump from the H-5 which
rescued Wayne to the H- 19 which dragged Joe
McConnell up out of the Yellow Sea, The H-19
had made its first flrght l0 November 1949 and
was powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp
R-1340 It was large enough to carry people
and,/or payload, Its range of 483 km (300 mrles)
was scarcely dramatic but represented an im-
provement over that of rts predecessor
After the inrtial months of seesaw irghttng,
followed by China's November 1950 entry into
the Korean War, the confllct stabrlized by mid,
1951, the battle ltne berng lrttle changed lrom
rhen :nrrl rhe 27 July 1953 armisrrce The hrghly
specia--zed job of escorting helicop'ers -n'o
Communist terrain at flrst fell upon the North
American F-82 Twin Mustang and later the
Lockheed F-80, Fighters drd not always protect
the choppersfromharm however andone H-5
was shot down by a MrG-15. The H-19 ofiered
improved range and endurance but litt1e im-
provement in terms of vulnerability to small
arms AA and MiG attack But as many as four
rescued airmen could be hoisted aboard an
H-19 and a little-known fact is that some of them
couid shoot back Commander Howard
Wheeler, an expert on armed helicopters
notes that the H-19 was the lirst chopper to
carry a door-mounted 12.7-mm (0,5 rn) qun.
Sikorsky's rather ungainly H-19 (the civrlian
S-55 US Navy HO4S-i and US Marine Corps
HRS- I and later manufactured in the UK as the
Westiand Whirlwind) saved 13 downed air-
men in the 1950-3 Korean struggle and per-
formed various roles other than rescue for the
irrst genuinely practical military helicopter. It
was certainly the frrst with any signiflcant load-
Post-War Helicopters
carrying or loitering capability It rr,.as r,.:.=
into actron in Korea reachrngt stateslcie _: _
al Air Command untts (the frrst being a. _....
ley AFB, V-rgtn-a r only in rare lg5l
H-19 he[copter crews of the 3rd ARS _, '- .
fleld tents or, at times, metal-slab Burle: : -,.
ings at bases like K- 14 (Krmpo AB near S - .
=
most primitive of conditrons, fuelled frc:--,-.. : .
held pumps and maintained out-of ::-:.
under tarpauhn. Whrle a hgh et prlo' _. _
home after 100 mrssions, rne he ccr '
served a l3-monrh Lour. Iong enouql- .. ... .
hrs prospects for survival problema:r:=
The H-l9snere ilown in searrnq r _ .. -
in the s.lmmer aro rn sleet ano :t. '- .
winter Korea is prone to gale-force ',-'-:'. .. _.
both seasons, and at times the weath:t . .. .
poor that the choppers could not erei a.. - -
peninsula's high mountain ranges \,lrl . ,-.
fighler aces wore whrsked oack -'
hrch vrsroili y excursions duobeo r ' .
(rest and recuperation), whrle hehcc.: _-:
cue prlots remarned Ln rhe field s ru r'-..
mud or rce or n rndstorms or al. -h r e . - :
ARS H-19s were lost in incidents ai.r-.- =_
the simple dtffrculty of maintainrng :::
ClAoperations
By the time a stalemate led to se..-:::'= ' .
the Korean confl1ct, the H-19 and -:: r: ...
variants were in widespread use .4.. ,:.-. , .-
YH-19, orrgrna-ly a servrce-'esl cr-..; . ..
moved to the battle zone, painted ai_-.,. ,-, - '
devoidof rnsignia wasusedinCIAi:::- : ,- -.-
lines operations, The US Nar,ry HC-S- - . ,:
Marine HRS-I were rn rmdespreai ,.:= -
'ime ol the 1953 armrsrice and ,. .
= =-
to transport negotiators to ihe tr..c: s_.= . . ,
munlom,
.
The earher H-5 inspired So,le. -:.., .' .
producedacopy, theYakovleu I.... , -
turned out to be unsuccessful E=r=, :,:
shoolrng stopped in Korea ..
'-+--
Force H- l9s were turned or,'er :: : ::: --
inlndo-China Onedecadeane:---: ; .:- :
=
handful of H-19s was str1l bei::r -.=-'
South Vietnamese atr iorce a: '.:.= := ;
'he American i-voh -m -. - '
I tfir nni-t 'Hare'
:': :-l it had become clear to the
' A semi-derelict example of the Mil
S:;-:t leadership that helicoPters
;r::-i be necessary for many military
tasks, and a speciflcation for a
--j:r''d
-seat general-purpose helicopter
-:-:=:
-r;:s rssued. One of three design
.'..l:aux asked to produce helicopter
i:sr;ms was that of Mikhail L, Mil,
-r:-:se last prenous desiqm had been
--:-e A-15 autogtyro of 1938, The first pro-
::1,pe. desigrnated GM-I, flew in au-
::r:r: 1948 and was the first Soviet pro-
::cron he[copter of the classic sing-
r=-rctor layout, It was selected for pro-
i:ctron over the twin-rotor Bratukhln
rompetitor and single-rotor Yakovlev
Yak-100. The Soviet air force demons-
rated the type for the first trme rn 1951
- fte Mil Mi-lT, gven the NATO re-
pcrirng name 'Hare',
Fioat-equipped (MIIP) and trainer
{Mi-lU) versions of the basic Mi-17
-r;ere produced in quantity, in addition
io Sovlet air force and navy co-
:peration and ltaison aircraft, The
:i-erhaul hfe of critical components
such as the transmtssion and rotor
lead was substantially improved dur-
ifir vri-e'Hoplite'
-
-he Mil I\{i-2'Hoplite' was developed
l:l ihe early 1960s by the Mtl bweau as
a straiqhtforward turbine-powered
;ersion of the Mi-1, the availability of
:re shaft-turbine engjne having re-
-;olutronized the design of the helicop-
rer. The twin turbines develop 50 per
33nt more power than the Mr- 1's piston
engine for barely half the dry weight,
nole than doubling the payload. The
:lselaqe of the Mi-Z is comPletelY
irfrerent from thal of lls pl'ogenltor'
.arrying the engines above the cabin,
-rJthough some of the pornts of com-
:llcnality between the Mr- I and the Mi-
2 were elimtnated during develoP-
nent, the overall dimensions of the two
l,pes remain closely similar.
The Mi-2 was flown in 1962, but nev-
itilr nni-+'Hound'
--:-,-eloped to flight-test status in only
s:;en months following a Personal
:l:t nom Stalin, the Mil Mi-4'Hound'
.'iis at first considered to be a Soviet
::py of the SrkorskY S-55 until it was
::elized that rt was considerably lar-
:=r -&an the later S-58, It was thus the
1s: of a tong line of larqe Mil helicop-
::IS
The first prototype Mi-4 was com-
l-e:ed inApril 1952, It shared the basic
--_;:ut oi the S-55, with the powerful
::::al enqine in the nose and quad-
Mi - I'Hare' is shown in Finnish
markings. T he'H are' was a very
good fir st-generation helicopter but
cried out for {urther develoPment
and a turbine powerplant. The
designwas updated to become the
MirMi-z.
ing the production run, from 100 hours
in 1951, to 500-600 hours in 1956, and to
1,000 hours in 1960.
The Mi-] also started the record-
breaking tradition which has typtfied
Soviet hehcoptet development setting
up variety of ciass records tn the late
a
1950s, Long-distance records of up to
I224krn (761 miles) were set, as well
as aspeedof i41.2 km/h (87,7 mph) in a
1000-km (62l-mile) closed circurt,
Production of the Mi-] in the Sonet
Union tailed off rn 1956-8, being qra-
dually transferred to the Polish state
aircraft factory WSK-Swidnik, Both the
airframe and engfne were ]icence-
built in Poland, WSK-manufactured
aircraft being designated SM-1, About
150 SM-]s were deliverd to the Sovlet
er put into production in the Soviet Un-
ion. Instead responsibility for the type
was assigned to PZL-WSK-Swidnlk
now in Poland as part ol a Comecon
rationalization progrramme, becoming
the only Soviet-desigmed helicopter to
be buitt solely outside the Soviet Un-
ion. Production in Poland started in
1965, and continues in the mld-l9B0s
The Mr-2 is now the standard train-
ing helicopter of the Soviet Union, and
hai also been seen armed wlth anti-
tank gnuded weapons, Its role, howev-
er, may be as a weapons tralner rather
than an attack helicopter, as its slow
speed and relatively old{echnology
rotor system (which limits its manoeuv-
rability for low-level'nap-oflhe-earth'
flying) would render it v.rlnerable to
ricycle landing gear, but added a pair
of clamshell loadrng doors capable of
admitting a small mtlitary vehicle or
most light infantry weapons such as
anti-tank Quns, It was thus a far more
capable military transport than its
Western contemporaries, and several
thousand of the type were built.
The Mr-4 entered sewice in 1953
Early production aircraft had wooden-
skinned rotor blades ofvery short life,
but later aircraft had all-metal blades
Special verstons include an amphi-
Union, and manufacture of the tYPe
paved the way for Polish production of
the later Mi-2.
Specification
MilMi-t
Tlpe: utilrty and tratningT helicopter
Powerplant: one 428,8-kW (575-hP)
Ivchenko AI-26V radial piston engine
Performance: maximum speed
205 lrn/h (127 mph); crursing speed
NATO defences, It is therefore more
Iikely that pilots and weapon operators
learn ther skills on the Mr2 before
proceedrng to the Mi-24 'Hind'
PZL has developed a slightlY en-
larged versron of the Mt-2, destqnated
Mi-2M, but this l0-seat aircraft appears
to be aimed mainly at the civil market,
A reported version with a lighter skid
landing grear (the only use of such a
feature on a recent Warsaw Pact heli-
copter) has not been proceeded with,
but efforts have been made to sell a
US-engined version of the Mi-2 tn the
United States.
Specification
MilMi-2
Type: eight-passenqer transport
bious development, tested in 1959, and
the Mi-4V for high-altitude operalions
with a two-stage supercharQter fitted to
the ASh-B2FN engme. The Mi-4 was
also put into production at the Shen-
yanq plant in China, as the H-5.
The Mr4 has been one of the most
important helicopters in service with
the Soviet armed iorces. At the 1956
Tushino air display, a formation of 36
Mi-4s demonstrated their ability to
land a sizeable and well-equipped ln-
fantry force; later, the type became the
140 kr/h (BZ mph); hoverinq ceilinQt
2000 m (6,562 ft); ranse 590 km (367
miles)
Weights:empty 1760 kq (3,880 lb);
normal loaded 2400 kg (5,29 I 1b);
maximumtake-off2550 kq (5,622 lb)
Dimensions: main rotor diameter
14,346 m (47 ft 0.8 in); tuselage length
12.00 m (39 ft4.4 in) height3.30 m (10 ft
9,9 in;, mainrotordiscarea l6l 64 m'
(1,739.9 sq ft)
attack and traimnq helicopter
Powerplant: hvo 32 1. 4-kW (43 I -shp)
Isotov GTD-350 turboshafts
Performance:maximum speed at sea
level2l0 kn/h (130 mph): crursing
speed I90 km/h (1]B mph): service
cerling 4000 m ( I 3. 123 ft): maxlmum
range 590 km (367 mlles); range with
erghtpassenqers 240 km (149 miles)
Weights: empty 2402 kg (5,296 lb);
maximumtake-off3700 kg(8, 157 lb)
Dimensions: main rotor diameter
14,56 m (47 ft 9,2 in); fuselage length
I 194 m t39 11 2. I in); heisht 3.75 m (12 ft
3 6 in): marnro-ordiscarea 166.5 m'
(1,792.25 sq ft)
Armament: up to four AT-3 'Sagqer'
(possibly AT-5) anti-tank guided
weapons or a combination of rocket
pods and qn-in pods
Soviet Union's flrst armed hellcopter,
with a machine-gmn rn the nose of the
navigator's gondola and rocket pods
on outrigQiers from the fuselage, This
version was introduced as an interim
armed helicopter wLIh the expansion
of the Soviet tactical air forces in the
late 1960s, More recently, Mi-4s have
been equipped with prominent aerials
for communicatlons jamming equrp-
ment.
With the nse of the Soviet navY, the
Mi-4 found another new role: a number
 Mil Mi-4'Hound' (continued) Post-War Helicopters
The Mil M i-4, dubbed'Hound' by
NATO, was one of the world's largest
helicopters when it entered service.
It was built in enormous numbers
and formed the backbone of the
Warsaw Pact's helicopter forces for
manyyears.ltstill serves in a
number of roles with a variety of
operators.

of the type were fitted with search

radar beneath the nose and used as
anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the
Black Sea and Baltic areas. Other ASW
equipmeni includes a magnettc
aaomaly detector (MAD) installed in a
'bird' towed behind the helicopter,
and the type presumably also carries
dunking sonar, The Mr-4 ASW variant
paved the way for the later introduc-
lon of the Mr-]4'Haze'.
Specification
MilMi-4
Type: 12-seat transpofi and anti-
submarine rryarfare helicopter
Powerplant: one 1267,7-kW (1,700-hp)
Shvetsov ASh-B2V two-row radtal
plston engine
Performance: maximum speed
210 h/h (130 mph); cruisrngrspeed
160 krn/h (99 mph); sewice ceiling
6000 m (19,685 ft); hovering ceiling
2000 m (6,562 ft); normal range 590 km
(367 miles)
Weights: empty 5390 kg (1 1,883 tb);
maxrmumtake-otr7800 kq(17, 196 lb)
Dimensions: main rotor diameter
21,00 m(68 ft 10.8 in); fuselagelength
16.79 m(55 fl I in): herght 5. lB m(17 il
0 in): main roror disc area 346.36 mz
(3,728,3 sq ft)
Armament: 7. 62-mm (0. 3-in) machrne-
gun in ventral gondola, and rocket or
gun pods; (ASW) depth charges or
torpedoes

The MilMi-4 has been produced as

theWhirlwindH-25 or H-5.One has
been fitted with a Pratt & Whitney
Canada PT6 engine, but this version
has not entered sewice. Chinese Mil
Mi-4s are believed to have beenused
in action recently against Vietnam.

>K tristol Type 171 Sycamore

-ate rn 1944 the Bristol Aeroplane
3ompany formed a Helicopter Depart-
:rent at Filton and recruited Raoul Haf-
:,er from the Airborne Forces Ex
;erimental Establishment, where he
:ad been leadrng a British rotorcraft
::velopment team. Drawing on pre-
',';at experience with his A.R.lll Gyro-
;1ane, Hafner started work on a single-
=:gine four-seat helicopter for both
:-;il and military applications. The
,::k of a sufficiently developed British
::-grne of the required power ied to
::lection of the widely-used 335,6-kW
-50-hp) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior
-,:1he flrst two Bristol Type 171 Mk I
:rriotypes, developed to Minrstry of
: -oply Specificat on E.20 45.
lhe design featured a hqht alloy
:-rr section and a stressed-skrn tail-
: -:m attached to a central engine and
;=-lbox mounting, the rotor head
,-.i:g fitted with three wooden mono-
- -;;e blades, After extensive compo-
-=:- testrng, ground running of the
---::-cleted airframe began on 9 May
:= and the flrst flight was made by
:- -r- Marsh on 27 July, The second arr-
craft jorned the test programme in
February l94B and on 25 Aprit 1949, to
facilitate its flight to the Paris Salon, it
became the flrst Britrsh hehcopter to
be granted a civil certificate of airwor-
thiness, An Alvrs Leonides radial was
rnstalled in the third arrframe which
appeared in the static park at the l94B
SBAC exhibition at Farnborough. De-
signated Type 171 Mk 2, this helicop-
ter made a successful first flight on 3
September 1949, although a second
take-off attempt ended abruptly when
the rotor disinteqrated. With a streng-
thened rotor, development flying was
resumed while work contrnued on the
assembly of 15 production Type l7l
Mk 3 helicopters
Continuedonpage 1920
The Bristol Sycamore was
under p owered, bu t its su per b ly-
de s igne d and we ll- b alance d rotor
system made it efticient and a joy to
fly, despite its lack of
autostabilization.

1,
The sycamore played a crucial role in Britain's operations agains.t the EQKA the Cyprus-based Sycamores in the internal
mountain flying and helicopter assault techniq.ues and secunty role occurred on I November 1955,
i"rroiitti, pioieeii"g when a Commando unlt engaged in arms sear-
"ew and. search oierations (sometimes using cabin-.
;;;ai;i;i;sin swift\ordon ches was transported rnto the Black Forest area
froiitea iachine-guns for defence suppression). The most spectacular ml'ssjon of the Kyrenia mountains, The helicopters
iii ti" or" that reiulted in the death ot ine tOxe chief of staff ' proved so successful that by the end oJ 1.95-6 the
Cyprus Search and Rescue Flight had 14 Syca-
UK's powered controls or autostabrlization requtred mbres on strength, l0 of them asslgned to inter-
During the period after World War II the
*ifii-w invilvement ou"tr"". especially in by contemporary Ame,rican deslgns. The Syc- nal security duties.
In Cyprus there was littie knowledge of the
i1'J has prouiO"O much us'eful amore wasusedin the communrcattons, search
f* tf,"-gtfikr'utn1ed forces and has and rescue, assault
"ri-"ofonies,
ii""iri"b and transport roles at home helicopier operations which were being con-
opeiutionif' evaluation of equipment and overseas and the-final example was not ducted rn Malaya, and many techniques had to
"1ffi;a
-lii i"&"riD"iinq ttr" rgSOs tfre Ur prcjnanty retired until August 1972. The capabilities.of be re-invented, Hellcopter pllots in Cyprus
GO tiie *titO in th"e development of h'elicopter the Sycamore are best seen by-examtnrng
the faced different problems from those encoun-
;;il;;;; in Maiaya aircraft's role in Cyprus, where the typ-e played tered in Malaya since troop deployments were
JJ-th" MiJale"'t"r"rt "i ""b"ri"n""
East aitiroriqh it rehed largeiy a major part in the war aqainst EOKA, and in usually to precipitous sites on mountains,
where landtngwas impossrble, The Sycamores
;;li;;;;; bultt (and soriretimes stislitty- develoqins lelicopter tactics,
*pit*Ol n*ericin helicopters such Js_the The1955 flrst Sycamores in Cyprus arrtved tn were flown without doors to save weight and to
permit rapid deployment of troops, Trials using
SiF*rtv=S-Sl iotf,er*rs" thi WestlanO Dra- May and were,tntended for search and
(Westland Whirlwrnd) rescue dutres. Inrtially the aircraft were not a Whirlwind Mk 2 proved the superlority of the
;;;$),'Sitot.flv S-SS Sycamore at high altitudes, as were encoun-
*'fn"Sik";.ky S-Sg (Weittand Wessex)- used with much tmagtnation srncestafftheofficers
ild pilots
tered in the Cypriot mountain ranges, and ln
id,,iri,"liyBrrtish designed hehcopter assigned were inexper.tenced and
:o iuitfr tfre noyal eir Force was woeluily ignorant of the helicopter's iactical October 1956 the Internal Security and Search
o"lshtfrLgrislol sycamoie, aprodtct of the potential, Thqarrivat of Str John Harding as the
-1""ni"ii"tu1q" and Rescue Fliqhts became No. 284 Squadron,
retaining the Sycamore as its equipment
h;il;ii;;-pion"einuoui uufnei The Syca- sovernoro^f Cy^prys.wa;proba-blTtheturnins The anti-EOKA campaign peaked in early
;;itil" a relatively'only r.uff fr"fi"opter wirich ioint As. Chielof ihe Impertal General Staff,
ihree passengers in Harding had_seen the advantages of helicop- 1957, the Sycamores being intensively and im-
u"io**oOate aginatively used. Initially the standard proce-
;;ni;i*rth the l0 paJsenqeri of thdearly, ters
"oufO and in Cyprus he encouraged their use^
iniorand-hrshcon- and gave-his support to the developmgl!-o-f dure was for troops to be dropped at remote
#il;dil;wr,iii*'ino observation posts wrth supplies for 48 hours A
hiion. h6*eu"r, tfre eaify Wit,ii*tttOi *"te mountainflyingtechniques Bythe.endof 1955 larger force was prepared to be liited in if
;;E t" ""--p"t", feinei uniUt" to take-off theinternaisecurttysrtuationhaddeteriorated
necessary. Later the 'cordon and search' tech-
,rih t *"f"f load The Sti"u-ot" was, by all and pressure had grown to use the hehcopters^
nlque became more common, whereby firing
nV rn support of army operatrons, The first use of
uriidiO not need'the
""""*g-"-l"v-m
 Soldiers leap from a hovering Bristol Sycamore
near Makheris Monastery, a terrorist hideout n:i:
in the T roodos M ou ntains. This oper ation r e s.:. :'= :
inthe death of a number of EOKAmen, including
GregoriousAfxenthiou, chief of staff to the EaKi-
IeaderGrivas.

I
l '/.t,\
r'ilt'. i:.1,, :r :
i, I, rrii.'1i.,.*. :j;
. ,

r''..i,ii l"'+li'i""l

:rarties dropped from individual helicopters

.:aled off villages while a pre-posrtioned main
.: rce arrived by road. A variatron on thrs iype of
: oeration can be illustrated by the seairng off of
:.e village of Kharch in the Kyrenian mountain
-:]]Qte. Four Sycamores put a cordon ol 12
-:cps around the village while three soldrers
::n another hehcopter were put rnto Kharch
, lnnounce a curfew and undertake a search
:.: cordon was maintained for 45 minutes
, -:-ng which a bus and civrlians trying to leave
=:3 turned back.
l:uce declared
-:, April 1957 Archbrshop Makarios returned
., ieiention to Athens and EOKA declared a
",.': No. 284 Squadron continued regular cor-
' :nd search operatlons to try and locate
. .s (the EOKA leader) his armed bands
.-. relr weapons Between Aprii 1956 and
.. -?47, the 1O No, 284 Squadron Sycamores
..::,-i:ed to internal security duties flew 2,561
.-: and delivered 3,436 troops 'in anger'
. ..: r..rer 4 000 received trainrng in helicop- Plan for Cyprus on I October 1958 led to an The first helicopters in Cyprus were the
- ':-,:re operations, Early in 1958 No 284 intensiflcation of EOKA vrolence, especially Sycamores of the Searcft andRescue a.n c , -: :s---::.
.. :lon s Sycamores flew perhaps their most against crvilians This caused the Sycamores to S ecurity F lights. T hese were com b i n e c :o :::.: -',' :
284 Squadron which, after the emerger.:, :: ::.-: :
=: =:ular sortie Five Sycamores, equipped fly an unprecedented number of casualty eva
No. 103 Squadron. A winch-equipped S','c::. - : = -.
. ricin-mounted, side-firing Bren guns, fer cuatlon sorties until the squadron was sup- the latter unit is seen here over St Hilaric: C :: :.:
- - - .rcops to Makheris Monastery a terror- plemented by No. 230 flying Prestwrck
..,.:-away 915 m (3 O0O ft) up in the Troodos Pioneers and by the Whirlwinds of the Jornt
= cut only 32 km (20 miles) from Nicosia, Experimental Hehcopter Unit. Even after this
- 1,:ration resulted in the deaths of a num- the Sycamores continued to fly intensively, The campaign agalnst EOKA'.,.': - : r ,: -: : -
, - :eirorists including Gregorios Afxen- eventually settling into peacetime activity after lmpossiblo wrthou- Lhe S7c;r,-. : ' '
.-:n chief ol staff to Grivas, the ]rondon and Zurich conferences and the on to f,ght in the Bruner campa- j':. .-. - -
'= :.roduction of the British Partnership return to Cyprus of Makarios tn March 1958. with No. 110 Squadron
Bristol Type l7I Sycamore (continued)

In these, airframe changes included

a shortened nose and a 0.20-m (B-in)
hcrease in cabin width to accommo-
date three passengers on the rear seat.
In order to marntain essential systems
in the event of enqtne failure, the
accessory drive was transferred from
the engrne to the rotor gearbox, The
imtial production batch included one
Sycamore HC.Mk I0 and four SYca-
more HC.Mk lI ambulance and com-
munications machines for evaluation
by the Army Air Corps, and four Syca-
more HR.Mk 12 helicopters for rescue
duties wrth RAF Coastal Command.
T\ro Sycamore Mk 3A helicopters,
with a frelght hold behind the engtne
bay, were built for British European
Arrways.
The main production was the Type
l?7 Sycamore Mk 4, incorporating
modiflcations evolved from Mk 3 ex-
perience; these included ialler land-
ing gear, four cabin doors and the
pilot's position moved from port to star-
board. Dellveries included three Syc-
amore HR.Mk 50 and seven Sycamore
HC.Mk 5l helicopters for the Royal Au-
stralian Navy, three Sycamore Mk 14
aircraft for Belgian air force use in the
Congto, and 5O Sycamore Mk 52 heh-
copters for the Federal German army
and navy; the Royal Air Force re-
ceived two Sycamore HR.Mk 13 and
A Bristol Sycamore HR. Mk 14 of No. I I I Squadron, a search and rescue and
communications unit based inNorthern lreland. Unusually the aircraft carries
squadron markings - black and white wavy lines inherited from the
squadron's Hunters.
more than B0 Sycamore HR.Mk 14 heli- Powerplant: one 410,1-kW (550-hp)
copters equipped with winches for air- Alvrs Leonides 73 radial pis on engine
sea rescue duties, initially with No, 275 Performance: maximum speed
Squadron, Fighter Command, which 2A4km/h(127 mph) atsea leveli
received its flrst helicopter on 13 April cruising speed 169 km/h ( 105 mph);
1953. Sycamores dm operated in the endurance 3 hours
Itght assault and reconnaissance roles Weights: empty L72B kg (3,810 Ib);
in Malaya, Cyprus and Borneo. maximum take-off 2540 kq (5, 600 lb)
Dimensions: main rotor diameter
Specification 14,8 L m (48 ft 7 in); length, rotors folded
SycamoreHR.Mk 14 14.07 m (46 ft2 in), hershr 3.71 m (12 ft
Type: five-seat communicationVSAR/ 2 .n); main rotor disc area 172 22 m
Iigrht troop-carryrnq helicopter (1,853,8 sq ft)

>K tristol Types I73 and 192 Belvedere

The first British tandem-rotor helicop-
ter, the Bristol Type I73 combined two
sets of Sycamore rotors and control
systems, each powered by a 428,8-kW
(575-hp) Alvis Leonides engine. Thesd
were each arranged to dnve through a
foeewheel clutch so that, with both
rotor gearboxes interconnected by a
shaft, elther engine could drive both
rotors in the event ofan engine failure,
The first of two prototypes, de-
veloped to Ministry of Supply Spe-
cification E.4/47, made its flrst hoverinqt
ilight on 3 January 1952, flown by
C.T,D. Hosegood, but ground reso-
nance problems delayed further prog-
:ess until July, The first flight from the
arrfleld at Frlton took place on 24 Au-
gust, and thrs Tlpe I73 Mk I helicopter
appeared at the SBAC show in
September. RAF evaluation followed,
and rn 1953 naval trials were under-
raken aboard the aircraflcarrter HMS
Eagle.
The second prototype, desiqnated
Type 173 Mk 2, was first flown on 3l
Auginst 1953 and was transferred to the
Royal Air Force in Augmst i954 for
irlther naval trials.
Three more prototypes, designated
Type i73 Mk 3, were bullt for the
Ministry of Supply, having 633.8-kW
1350-hp) Leomdes Major engines, four-
blade metal rotors and a taller rear
!-rion. Only the first progressed
beyond the ground-running stage, be-
;:rnilg hovering trials on I November
,356 The third had the shortened
:;--laqe and long-stroke landing gear
:: --ne Type I9I naval version,
The Royal Air Force had a require-
::=:ri for a personnel and paratroop
r3:-sport and casevac helicopter, also
of lifting bulky loads on an
-pable sling, An order for 22 of the
=;cemal192 version was placed in April
-9:3. later increased to 26, all to be
"yp€
)..aprer Gazelle-powered The pro-
:::;re first flown at Weston-super-
].".r-e cn 5 July 1958, was joined in the
::',-elopmenr programme by nlne pre-
p::duction aircraft, These originally
:-ad wooden rotor blades, and tail-
TheBristol Belvederewas originally designed as a naval helicopter, with little
need for a capacious fuselage and with a high nose-up sit to allow for easy
loadingof a torpedo.TheNavy requirementwas met by theWessex.
planes wrth anhedral and end-plate
finsi they were later brought up to pro-
duction standard for delivery to the
RAF, Modifications included the sub-
stitution of metal rotor blades and com-
pound anhedral tailplanes, the provi-
sion ofpowered flying controls, sliding
doors, improved air tnlets and en-
larged low-pressure tyres. The
eleventh aircraft was completed by
Westland as the flrstBelvedere HC'Mk
I, delivered to No, 66 Squadron at RAF
Odiham in August 1961, This unit was
also the last to operate Belvederes,
disbanding at RAF Seletar in March
1969,
Specification
Bristol (Westland) Belvedere HC.Mk I
Tlpe: short-range tactical transport
Powerplant: two 1092,S-kW (1,465-shp)
Naprer Gazelle NGa,2 turboshafts
Performance: maximum crursing
speed222 krn/h ( I38 mph) service
ceiling 5275 m (17,300 ft); range with
payloadof2722 kq(6,000 lb) 121 km
(75 miles); ferry ranqe 740 km (460
miles)
Weishts: empty 5277 kq (11,634 Ib);
maximum overload take-off 9072 kg The Belvedere had a superbly shaft failure and the aircraft proved
(20,000 rb) desigmed rotor system, and the ple as an t to fly. I t w as m aintenance-
Dimensions: rotor dlameter, each prototypes could be flown without intensive and performed poorlY in
14,91 m(48 ft 11 in); length rotors autostabilization. The engine and Aden with N o. 2 6 S quadron, although
turning 27.36 m (89 ft 9 in); height gearbox arr angem ent allowe d for a their record in Malayawas good due
5.26 m(17 tr3 rn) rotordiscarea total safe landing to be made in the event to better maintenance.
349. 1B m'z (3,758.7 sq ft) of either engine or synchronizing
Armed Forces of the World
Soviet Na
Durlng the past 20 years or so the S:'. e: iary has,
under the guidance of Admiral o' i^: =:ei oi the
Soviet Union Sergei Gorshkov, er.o',:: .:o a ser-
vice that is now capable of worldu de cce'ai ons in
direct support of the combineo ro : cal and
strategic aims of the Soviet state.
For geographical reasons the na\1 .as cer-orce
been divided into four separate fleets. O'tnese tne
Northern Fleet, as the primary corroo..^i o= ihe
Arctic Command, rs the most impoltan:. -^e':eet's
headquarters and main operationa! case s Sever-
po varny,
omorsk, with other bases at Grerr <^a.
Archangelsk and on the Motovskiy G"l=. -re rajor-
ity of the SSBN fleet is asslgned io ir's area,
together with a significant proportion c' :ne Soviet
naval air force. For land operations and spec'al mis-
sions a naval infantry regiment and a speisnazspe
cial forces brigade are also allocaied. Scn e elght to
'1
0 of the f leet's conventional and nuclear at-tack and
cruise-missile submarines are ass.gned to the
Soviet Mediterranean Squadron at any one time. ln
wartime the fleet's main operating areas would be
the Greenland-lceland-United Kingdorn iGIUK) Gap,
northern Norway and, for the submarine jorce. the
whole of the North Atlantic and its contiguous seas.
There is also an Atlantic Command. but this in fact
comprises the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. The for-
mer has its headquarters at Baltiysk, with other
major bases at Kronshtadt, Paldiski, Liepaja. Klaipe-
da and Riga. There are few if any nuclear sub-
marines assigned to the Baltic Fleet, as its prlmary
role in wartime within the enclosed and relatively
shallow Baltic Sea area is to support the Soviet
army's flank during any advance along the Baltic
coastline and to eliminate or capture strategic NATO
coastal positions, islands and natural 'choke-points'.
The Baltic Fleet's long-range missile-carrying air-
craft will also attack naval targets in the English
Part I
Channel and North Sea, and on occasion lay anti-
shipping ground mines and bomb targets ashore as
farwest as the United Kingdom and the Brest penin-
sula of France. L ike the \orthern Fleet, tne Baltic
Fleet has a naval infantry regiment and a spetsnaz
brigade. The latter has been particularly active in
recent years with its squadron of midget sub-
marines operating in Swedish territorial waters in
'realistic' trainlng missions.
The Black Sea Fleet, which includes the small
flotilla confronting lran on the land-locked Caspian
Sea, has lts headquarters at Sevastopol, with other
major bases at Balaklava, Poti and Odessa This fleet
provides the majority of the surface vesseis, includ-
ing at least one 'Moskva' class helicopter carrier,
assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron. lt has no
assigned nuclear submarines, and in war lts primary
mission will be to attack targets on the Turkish Black
Sea coast and to seize the Dardanelles so as to
provide free access for Soviet naval units into the
Mediterranean. The naval air force units will also
launch air attacks against NATO surface ships and
reinforcement convoys located in the eastern half of
the Mediterranean as part of the overall strike plan
co-ordinated by the Soviet Naval Main Headquarters
near Moscow.
Because of the growing importance of the Pacif ic
Fleet in strategic plans. there has been a significant
transfer of reinforcements to the region from the
other three fleets, as well as a programme of new
vessels built in the shipyards of the Soviet Far East.
The main base and headquarters are at the old tsar-
ist port of Vladivostok, with other major bases at
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy and Sovetskaya Gavan.
Detachments of surface ships and submarines can
also be seen forward-deployed throughout the year
in the lndian Ocean and South China Sea. On such
deployments the vessels regularly use the Soviets'
maintenance, repair and res-::". '3: :--,: r ,':i-
nam (at the ex-US base of Ca- ::-- ::{ :":-::
Yemen (at Socolra and Ader z^= =-.- =. =- -.-=
Dahlak lslands, which replaced a case - S:-:
'
These bases are also visited by Pacific Fieet a ':': ,
and, on occasion, by Black Sea Fleet air un is .^
long-range reconnaissance and training flights. tsa
cause of the close proximity of Japan, South Korea
and the People's Republic of China to the Pac{l:
Fleet's bases and their wealth of decisive targets. a
divisional-sized force of two naval infantry regirr^-
ents with support units is assigned to the fleet's
amphibious warfare ships. There is also the obliga-
lory spetsnazbrigade for the covert operations and"
as in the large Northern Fleet, this is backed by a
number of smaller independent units which have
received highly specialized training in the fields oi
parachuting. underwater demolition and assassina-
tion. lt is interesting to note that the Soviet army
h;erarchy cons.ders this naval inlantry division to be
equivalent in operational capabilities to two moto-
rized rifle divisions.
The main striking force of the Soviet Navy is.
however, its force of strategic missile submarines.
These are a major component of the total Soviet
nuclear-war{are capabilities, and provide an assurec
'second-strike' force under which Soviet politicc-
military actions at lower levels can be conducted. Br,
late 1984 the force comprised two 'Typhoon' class
(each with 20 SS-N-20 SLBMs) plus more boa:s
building, 14'Delta lll'class ieach with 16 SS-N--:
The Soviet navy's I B'Delta I' classSSBNs are
armed with 12 SS-N-9 SLBMs, and are deployed
with both the Northern and Pacific Fleets. They
can, from the safety of 'bastion' areas off f}e Sovr'et
coastlines, hit targets in the continental United
.States.
;*.sFi.:
dii*
Armed Forces of the World
S-3Ms), plus more submarines building, four'Delta
'cass (each with 16 SS-N-B SLBMs), lB',Delta l',
: ass (each with 12 SS-N-B SLBMs), one'Yankee ll'
: ass (wth 12 SS-N-I7 SLBMs) and 23 'Yankee l'
: ass (each with 16 SS-N-6 SLBMs), all second- and
:" rd-generations SSBNs, with only two 'Hotel ll'
each with three SS-N-S SLBMs) and a converted
lotel lll'class (with six SS-N-B SLBMs) trials vessel
e:t of the first-generation SSBNs. To assist these
cr rps" forces, 13 'Golf ll' class (each with three
SS-N-5 SLBMs) and a solitary'Golf lll'class (wlth six
SS-N-B SLBMs) conventionally-powered SSBs re-
marn in operation. Of these, six of the 'Golf lls' are
wrth the Baltic Fleet, six are with the Pacific Fleet
and the remaining one is with the Northern Fleet. All
are assigned to the theatre nuclear strike role with
iheir 800-kiloton warhead equipped SS-N-Ss, as are
rhe single obsolete 'Hotel ll' SSBN units serving in
the Northern and Pacific Fleets. The two missile
research and development platforms, the 'Hotel lll'
and the 'Golf lll' units, are in the Northern Fleet and
are believed to have a limited wartime intercon-
irnental role.
Of the modern craft the Northern Fleet has the
lion's share, with the two 'Typhoons', 17 'Delta ls'
and'Delta llls', the four'Delta lls', the single'Yank-
ee ll'and 14'Yankee ls'. The last generally operate
on forward- deployment patrols off the US eastern
seaboard, whilst the'Yankee ll','Deltas' and
'Typhoons' maintain the 'second-strike' option wtth
their longer-range missiles off the coast of the
Soviet homeland in 'sanctuary areas'. The 'Yankees'
are tasked with the destruction of time-sensitive
targets such as Strategic Air Command bomber
bases on alert, and with the disruption of the USA's
strategic command, control and comrnunications
'acilities ln the first hours o{ a nuclear exchange.
The Pacific Fleet has the same missions, and
performs them with nine 'Yankee l'and 15 'Delta l'
and 'Delta lll' units. ln recent months it has been
revealed that several 'Yankee ls' assigned to the
two fleets have been switched to assist the USSR's
SovietNavy ffi
medium bomber unlts and the Strategic Rocket
Forces'SS-20 and SS-4'Sandal' IRBM fields in their
mission of destroying enemy rear-area infrastruc-
tures. The Northern Fleet's'Typhoon' and SS-N-20
combination has also opened up a new field for
Soviet SSBN warfare as the submarines' structure
has been designed for operations beneath the ice-
pack of the Arctic circle, with sufficient strength for
boats to break through the thinner patches in order
to fire missiles. This capability was hitherto unavail-
able to the Soviets, and has complicated the
strategic ASW mission for the USA and her NATO
allies, as the hunting down of these rnammoth craft
requires a number of highly trained crews in nuclear
attack submarines of the latest quietened design
and fitted with the most up-to-date sonar and
weaponry technology to ensure that they \,Vill be
able to get in the first and decisive shot during any
under-ice engagement. Kiev rs one ofa cia ss of four deployed to the Pacitic
At present only one Soviet shlpyard is buildlng Fleet (two), NorthernFleet(one) and BlackSea
SSBNs, that at Severodvinsk on the White Sea. With Fleet (one). They carry Yakolev Yak-36 'Forger'
covered building slips for all-year working, the ship- WOLfighters and ASW helicopters.
yard has production line building programmes for
the 'Delta lll' and 'Typhoon' classes. A derivative of
the former is expected to replace the class on the
slipways in the mid-1 980s, whilst'Typhoon' building
will continue at the rate of one unit every other yeai
until the early 1990s at least. The other shlpyard
which produced SSBNs was in the Far East at Kom-
somolsk, about 450 km (280 miles) inland of the
mouth of the Amur river in Siberia. This yard partici-
pated in the'Yankee l'and'Delta l'programmes, but
then had to switch to nuclear attack submarines as
the later SSBN designs are too large to travel down
the Amur rlver to the sea.
Below : One of only a few' H otel I I' c/ass SSBNs
remaining in service in their original role. Recent
reports indicate that at least one unitftasbeen
converted to a submerged command and control
posl.
Above: Kirov carries the heaviest armament seen
to date on a Soviet surface combatant, and can act
as the command and control centre for a surface
action battle group.