Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King
To replace various helicopters in service at the time, namely the SH-34 Seahorse, the US Navy awarded Sikorsky a contract to develop a helicopter that would combine several roles into one airframe: hunter/killer antisubmarine warfare, cargo transport, and search and rescue. It would also have to be capable of amphibious operations and had to be able to operate from smaller ships as well as aircraft carriers. Sikorsky’s HSS-2 Sea King was the response, and it first flew in March 1959. The HSS-2 had a distinctive “boat” hull for water landings, including flotation bags in the sponsons, good visibility from the cockpit, and a folding tail section for stowage. In the antisubmarine role, the HSS-2 was equipped with a dipping sonar unreeled from the forward hull, 21 sonobuoys, and a MAD “bird” capable of being deployed from the port sponson. In 1962, the type’s designation was changed to SH-3A.
The SH-3 would remain in US Navy service for the next 50 years. During Vietnam, it operated in plane guard duties for carriers, the first aircraft to launch and the last to recover; it also served in SAR duties from the carriers and smaller ships, flying over water and often over land to rescue downed pilots. In this role, the SH-3 is probably responsible for the rescue of more people than any other aircraft type. Dedicated SAR helicopters often were equipped with heavy or light machine guns. Other versions were converted to UH-3 utility helicopters (for vertical replenishment and light cargo duties) and VH-3 VIP transports. The latter were the last Sea Kings in US service.
The US Navy began replacing the aging SH-3 following the First Gulf War, with ASW/SAR SH-3s mostly gone from fleet service by 1997. Cargo and utility variants remained in service until 2006. Besides its service in the US armed forces, Sea Kings were heavily exported to 17 air forces, including license-built versions made by Westland (Sea Kings), United Aircraft of Canada (CH-124), Agusta (AS-61), and Mitsubishi (HSS-2); foreign variants are used both in traditional roles for the Sea King, as well as antishipping duties, troop transports, minesweeping, and even airborne early warning. It remains in service worldwide.
When I noticed the side number of this SH-3 and the squadron--66 and HS-4--I got pretty excited: HS-4 (now HSC-4, "Black Knights") was assigned to my dad's carrier, USS Yorktown (CVS-10) from 1960 to 1968, and "Fetch 66," as it was known, was part of the recovery team for Apollo 8. Dad rode briefly in Fetch 66 while being transferred temporarily to a destroyer. If this was the same helicopter, it would be an amazing coincidence to photograph it 50 years after Dad rode in it.
However, this is not the "real" Fetch 66, which handled recovery duties for all the Apollo missions, and HS-4 was assigned to USS Hornet when the Yorktown transferred to the East Coast. The real helicopter, Bureau Number 152711, crashed in the Pacific Ocean in 1975 with the loss of the pilot, though the rest of the crew was rescued. This "SH-3" is actually 149006, a UH-3H utility helicopter repainted to look like a SH-3D.
Whatever its origin, it has been particularly well restored as Fetch 66, and is shown recovering a mockup Apollo capsule. It carries the standard US Navy Vietnam-era color scheme for SH-3s, with white over light gray (a reverse of combat aircraft). The "Abandon Chute" legend on the bottom is an instruction for downed pilots to cut away their parachutes, so they would not fill with water or be dragged by the downwash from the rotors.
Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King
To replace various helicopters in service at the time, namely the SH-34 Seahorse, the US Navy awarded Sikorsky a contract to develop a helicopter that would combine several roles into one airframe: hunter/killer antisubmarine warfare, cargo transport, and search and rescue. It would also have to be capable of amphibious operations and had to be able to operate from smaller ships as well as aircraft carriers. Sikorsky’s HSS-2 Sea King was the response, and it first flew in March 1959. The HSS-2 had a distinctive “boat” hull for water landings, including flotation bags in the sponsons, good visibility from the cockpit, and a folding tail section for stowage. In the antisubmarine role, the HSS-2 was equipped with a dipping sonar unreeled from the forward hull, 21 sonobuoys, and a MAD “bird” capable of being deployed from the port sponson. In 1962, the type’s designation was changed to SH-3A.
The SH-3 would remain in US Navy service for the next 50 years. During Vietnam, it operated in plane guard duties for carriers, the first aircraft to launch and the last to recover; it also served in SAR duties from the carriers and smaller ships, flying over water and often over land to rescue downed pilots. In this role, the SH-3 is probably responsible for the rescue of more people than any other aircraft type. Dedicated SAR helicopters often were equipped with heavy or light machine guns. Other versions were converted to UH-3 utility helicopters (for vertical replenishment and light cargo duties) and VH-3 VIP transports. The latter were the last Sea Kings in US service.
The US Navy began replacing the aging SH-3 following the First Gulf War, with ASW/SAR SH-3s mostly gone from fleet service by 1997. Cargo and utility variants remained in service until 2006. Besides its service in the US armed forces, Sea Kings were heavily exported to 17 air forces, including license-built versions made by Westland (Sea Kings), United Aircraft of Canada (CH-124), Agusta (AS-61), and Mitsubishi (HSS-2); foreign variants are used both in traditional roles for the Sea King, as well as antishipping duties, troop transports, minesweeping, and even airborne early warning. It remains in service worldwide.
When I noticed the side number of this SH-3 and the squadron--66 and HS-4--I got pretty excited: HS-4 (now HSC-4, "Black Knights") was assigned to my dad's carrier, USS Yorktown (CVS-10) from 1960 to 1968, and "Fetch 66," as it was known, was part of the recovery team for Apollo 8. Dad rode briefly in Fetch 66 while being transferred temporarily to a destroyer. If this was the same helicopter, it would be an amazing coincidence to photograph it 50 years after Dad rode in it.
However, this is not the "real" Fetch 66, which handled recovery duties for all the Apollo missions, and HS-4 was assigned to USS Hornet when the Yorktown transferred to the East Coast. The real helicopter, Bureau Number 152711, crashed in the Pacific Ocean in 1975 with the loss of the pilot, though the rest of the crew was rescued. This "SH-3" is actually 149006, a UH-3H utility helicopter repainted to look like a SH-3D.
Whatever its origin, it has been particularly well restored as Fetch 66, and is shown recovering a mockup Apollo capsule. It carries the standard US Navy Vietnam-era color scheme for SH-3s, with white over light gray (a reverse of combat aircraft). The "Abandon Chute" legend on the bottom is an instruction for downed pilots to cut away their parachutes, so they would not fill with water or be dragged by the downwash from the rotors.