CH-53 Sea Stallion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| CH-53 Sea Stallion | |
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| Type | Heavy-lift cargo helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Sikorsky Aircraft |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users | United States Marine Corps United States Navy German Army |
| Variants | MH-53 Pave Low CH-53E Super Stallion |
The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is also in service with Iran, Israel and Germany, and as the MH-53 Pave Low with the United States Air Force.
The dimensionally-similar CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavier-lifting, improved version designated S-80E by Sikorsky. Its third engine makes it more powerful than the Sea Stallion, which it has replaced in the heavy-lift mission.
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[edit] History
The CH-53A was ordered in 1962 to satisfy the Marine Corps' requirement for a heavy-lift helicopter. The first aircraft flew October 12, 1964. It would be replaced by the CH-53D. The US Air Force ordered HH-53B and HH-53C variants for Search and Rescue units, and developed the MH-53J Pave Low version for Special Operations missions. Pave Lows often work in conjunction with MC-130 Combat Talon for navigation, communications and combat support, and with HC-130 for inflight refueling.
Although officially known as the Sea Stallion, the large green airframe of the HH-53B earned it the nickname "Super Jolly Green Giant." This name is a reference to the smaller HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant", a stretched variant of the H-3 Sea King, used in the Vietnam War for search-and-rescue operations. Current squadrons know the CH-53D and -E affectionately as the "Shitter," due to the visible brown cloud of spent fuel seen behind a flying aircraft, and the inability to keep it clean.
CH-53 helicopters joined the Israeli Air Force in August 1968 and were given the Hebrew name Yas'ur (Petrel). They are the main cargo helicopters of the IAF, carrying troops and heavy equipment. During the 1980s, Israel Aircraft Industries, along with military high-tech firm Elbit Systems, upgraded and improved the IAF Yas'ur fleet. The project - which ended only in 1997 - improved the CH-53 avionics, robustness and extended its life span by at least two decades.
Due to its large size and troop capacity, aerial accidents that involve CH-53 helicopters were some of the deadliest helicopter accidents ever. In the "Helicopter Catastrophe" [1], that happened on of 4 February 1997 in Israel, the death toll was 73 people from two CH-53 helicopters. On 10 May 1977, 54 people were killed in a similar accident, also in Israel. On January 26, 2005, a CH-53 went down in bad weather in western Iraq, killing 31 U.S. servicemembers. This was followed a year later by a crash of two CH-53 Sea Stallions on February 17, 2006, wherein eight Marines and two airmen were killed while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in the Gulf of Aden near Ras Siyyan, northern Djibouti.
In late February 2006, the Marine Corps announced that the V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft, will be sent into combat within a year with VMM-263 [2]. The V-22 Osprey will replace the Marine Corps CH-46E and CH-53D. However, it will not replace the Air Force's MH-53 Pave Low helicopters.
[edit] Combat experience
The CH-53/HH-53 has much combat experience during its lengthy service, with the U.S. military during the Vietnam War and as a Special Operations helicopter, and the Israeli Air Force.
U.S. Air Force HH-53 Super Jollies were the primary search-and-rescue helicopter in Southeast Asia between 1967 and 1975, inserted the Operation Ivory Coast rescue team into the North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay in 1970, and carried the Marines who attempted to rescue the crew of the SS Mayaguez. Marine-flown Navy Sea Stallions were the rotary-wing element of Operation Eagle Claw, the attempted rescue of American hostages in Iran in 1980 that ended in disaster and embarrassment at "Desert One."
In 1970, during the War of Attrition, IAF Yas'ur CH-53s landed in Egypt and conveyed a captured Soviet advanced radar system back to Israel for examination by Israeli scientists and engineers (see Operation Rooster 53). In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Yas'urs moved artillery batteries around the fronts, evacuated wounded soldiers and rescued pilots from behind enemy lines. In one engagement, a Yas'ur was damaged by cannon fire from a MiG-21 but returned safely to base. Since 1973, Yas'urs have also been used by the IDF to land and extract Sayeret commandos on deep raids into Lebanon and Syria.
In 1989, Yas'urs were used to fight a huge blaze on Mount Carmel. They performed dozens of low flyovers into the smoke and flames, dumped 700 tons of water on the fire, and doused it.
The CH-53 is operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[edit] Variants
- YCH-53A - two prototypes
- CH-53A - initial production for USMC, 139 built
- RH-53A - Airborne mine countermeasures (minesweeper) versions, 15 built
- TH-53A - stripped CH-53As used for training
- HH-53B - CH-53A type for USAF search and rescue
- CH-53C - heavy-lift version for USAF, 22 built
- HH-53C - "Super Jolly Green Giant", improved HH-53B for USAF
- S-65C-2 (S-65o) - export version for Austria, later to Israel
- S-65-C3 - export version for Israel
- CH-53D - CH-53A with improved transmission, 124 built
- RH-53D - improved minesweeper version for United States Navy and Imperial Iranian Navy Aviation (since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Aviation)
- VH-53D - two CH-53Ds for USMC VIP transport
- VH-53F - six unbuilt VIP helicopters for the US Air Force
- CH-53G - 110 built by VFW under license for the German Army Aviation
- CH-53GS - version for the German Army Aviation with an additional ECM-system and two additional fuel tanks.
- YHH-53H - prototype Pave Low I craft
- HH-53H - Pave Low III night infiltrator
- MH-53H - redesignation of HH-53H
- MH-53J - "Pave Low III" Enhanced, HH-53B, HH-53C, et al. types converted
- CH-53D Yas'ur 2000 - CH-53D upgraded and improved by the Israel Aircraft Industries to extend life span beyond the year 2000.
For other variants, see MH-53 Pave Low and CH-53E Super Stallion.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Former operators
Austria: Ordered two in 1968; took delivery in 1970; sold them to Israel in 1981 because of their high operating costs.
[edit] Specifications (CH-53D)
Data from {deagel.com}[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 Pilots, 1 or more Crew Chiefs
- Capacity: 37 troops (55 in alternate configuration) or 24 stretchers
- Length: 88 ft 6 in (26.97 m)
- Rotor diameter: 72 ft 2.7 in (22.01 m)
- Height: 24 ft 11 in (7.6 m)
- Empty weight: 23,628 lb (10,740 kg)
- Loaded weight: 33,500 lb (15,227 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× General Electric T64-GE-413 turboshaft engines Axial, 3925 hp () each
- Width (overall): 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
- Width (fuselage): 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m)
- Maximum takeoff (Internal Load): 69,750 lb (31,666 kg)
- Maximum takeoff (External Load): 73,500 lb (33,369 kg)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 130 knots (240.76 km/h)
- Range: 540 nm (1000 km)
- Service ceiling: 16,750 ft (5,106 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,460 ft/min (750 m/min)
Armament
Two Door Mounted XM-218 .50 caliber machineguns, Some have RMWS (Ramp Mounted Weapon System) GAU-21 .50 caliber machinegun
[edit] References
- ^ Yas'ur 2000. www.Israeli.Weapons.com. Retrieved on 10 March 2007.
- ^ Lance Cpl. Samuel D. White. VMM-263 ready to write next chapter in Osprey program. Retrieved on 10 March 2007.
- ^ CH-53D Sea Stallion. deagel.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
[edit] External links
[edit] Related content
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Designation sequence
- U.S. Military:
- Sikorsky:
Related lists
- List of active military aircraft of the United States
- List of helicopters
- List of military aircraft of the United States
See also
Airplanes: · S-29-A · S-38 · S-39 · S-40 · S-42 · S-43
Helicopters (Company designations): · VS-300 · VS-337 · S-51 · S-55 · S-56 · S-58 · S-60 · S-61 · S-62 · S-64 · S-65 · S-67 · S-69 · S-70 · S-72 · S-76 · S-80 · S-92 · H-92
Helicopters (Military designations) : · SH-3 · R-4 · H-5 · H-19 · H-34 · CH-37 · HH-52A · CH-53 · CH-53E · CH-54 · HH-60G · HH-60J · MH-60 · SH-60 · UH-60 · VH-60
Experimental aircraft designations: · X2 · Cypher · Cypher II
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft
