Development of the H-19 was initiated privately by Sikorsky without government sponsorship. The helicopter was initially designed as a testbed for several novel design concepts intended to provide greater load-carrying ability in combination with easy maintenance. Under the leadership of designer Edward F. Katzenberger, a mockup was designed and fabricated in less than one year.[1]
The first customer was the United States Air Force, which ordered five YH-19 aircraft for evaluation; the YH-19's first flight was on 10 November 1949, less than a year after the program start date. This was followed by delivery of the first YH-19 to the U.S. Air Force on 16 April 1950 and delivery of the first HO4S-1 helicopter to the U. S. Navy on 31 August 1950. A U.S. Air Force YH-19 was sent to Korea for service trials in March 1951, where it was joined by a second YH-19 in September 1951. On 27 April 1951, the first HRS-1 was delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps, and on 2 May 1951, the first S-55 was delivered to Westland Aircraft.[1]
1,281 of the helicopters were manufactured by Sikorsky in the United States. An additional 447 were manufactured by licensees of the helicopter including Westland Aircraft, SNCASE in France and Mitsubishi in Japan.[1]
The helicopter was widely exported, used by many other nations, including Portugal, Greece, Israel, Chile, South Africa, Denmark and Turkey.
In 1954 the Marines tested an idea to enhance lift in hot-and-high and/or heavily loaded conditions by installing a rocket nozzle at the tip of each rotor blade with the fuel tank located in the center above the rotor blade hub. Enough fuel was provided for seven minutes of operation.[2] Although tests of the system were considered successful, it was never adopted operationally.[1]
Major innovations implemented on the H-19 were the forward placement of the engine below the crew compartment and in front of the main cabin, the use of offset flapping hinges located nine inches (230mm) from the center of the rotor, and the use of hydraulic servos for the main rotor controls. These features yielded an aircraft that was far more capable in a transport role than previous Sikorsky designs.
The forward engine location placed the main cabin essentially in line with the main rotor's rotational axis and close to the aircraft center of gravity, making it easier to maintain proper weight and balance under differing loading conditions.[1] The impetus for this design choice was the recent rejection of the Sikorsky XHJS by the U.S. Navy in favor of the tandem rotorPiasecki HUP Retriever; the Navy had strongly objected to the necessity to use ballast in the cabin-forward XHJS to maintain proper weight and balance, prompting Sikorsky to seek single-rotor design alternatives that did not require this.[3]
Another benefit of this engine location was ease of maintenance, as the engine could be readily accessed at ground level through dual clamshell-style doors; the entire engine could be changed in only two hours, and the radial engine was oriented backwards relative to a typical airplane installation, allowing more convenient access to engine accessories.[1][note 1]
UH-19B rotor head
The offset flapping hinges and hydraulic servos gave more positive flight control under differing loading conditions, isolated the flight controls from vibration, and lessened control forces; the H-19 could be flown with only two fingers on the cyclic control.[1]
The YH-19 prototypes featured a blunt aft fuselage and a single starboard-mounted horizontal tailplane with a small vertical fin at its outboard end. Initial production models added a large fillet-like fin behind the fuselage and under the tailboom, and the tailplane configuration was changed to an inverted "V" shape.[3]
Early H-19 and HO4S variants were powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340-57 radial rated at 600hp (450kW) and used a centrifugal clutch that automatically engaged the main rotor when a preset engine speed was reached. However, the HO4S was deemed underpowered in U.S. Navy service with this powerplant, so the aircraft was re-engined with a 700hp (520kW)Wright R-1300-3 radial which the U.S. Navy found to be adequate in an air–sea rescue role; the H-19B, HO4S-3, HRS-3, and subsequent models would use this powerplant. The R-1300 models also used a single horizontal tailplane in place of the early inverted "V" style, and a new hydro-mechanical clutch gave smoother and more rapid rotor acceleration during clutch engagement and allowed the engine to be started and operated at any speed while disengaged from the transmission and rotors.[1]
Early civilian and military S-55 models offered a folding 400-pound (180kg) capacity hoist above the starboard main cabin door, while later models could be equipped with a more capable and reliable 600-pound (270kg) capacity unit. Starting with the introduction of the S-55C in October 1956, the tailboom was inclined three degrees downward to provide more main rotor clearance during hard landings; models equipped with the inclined tail also used an 8-foot-9-inch (2.67m)tail rotor in place of the earlier 8-foot-8-inch (2.64m) unit.[1]
Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw in Istanbul Aviation Museum (İstanbul Havacılık Müzesi), Istanbul, Turkey, with downward-inclined tailboom typical of later models
The H-19 Chickasaw holds the distinction of being the U.S. Army's first true transport helicopter and, as such, played an important role in the initial formulation of Army doctrine regarding air mobility and the battlefield employment of troop-carrying helicopters. The H-19 underwent live service tests in the hands of the 6th Transportation Company, during the Korean War beginning in 1951 as an unarmed transport helicopter. Undergoing tests such as medical evacuation, tactical control and frontline cargo support, the helicopter succeeded admirably in surpassing the capabilities of the H-5 Dragonfly which had been used throughout the war by the Army.
The U.S. Marine Corps made extensive use of the H-19 in the Korean War. It was designated as the HRS in USMC service. Marine Squadron HMR-161 arrived in Korea on 2 September 1951 with 15 HRS-1 helicopters. The new helicopter squadron started operations upon arrival. On 13 September 1951, during Operation Windmill I, HMR-161 transported 18,848 pounds (8.5t) of gear and 74 Marines onto a ridge in the Punchbowl area. A week later HMR-161 shuttled 224 recon company marines and 17,772 pounds (8.1t) of supplies to a remote hilltop in the same area. Their performance continued to improve and in Operation Haylift II on 23–27 February 1953, HMR-161 lifted 1.6million pounds (730t) of cargo to resupply two regiments. Although HMR-161 helicopters were operating in "hot" landing zones near enemy troops, they did not lose any helicopters to enemy fire. HRS-1 helicopters were also used to relocate rocket launcher batteries; the rockets created a dust cloud when fired, making the launcher a target for counter-battery fire, so launchers and crews were moved twice a day. Each HRS-1 helicopter carried four rocket launchers and extra rockets as external cargo, with the crew in the cabin. The HRS-1 helicopter proved to be durable and reliable in Korean service. One reportedly flew home after losing 18in (46cm) of main rotor blade to a tree. HMR-161 reported 90% aircraft availability.[4]
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) ordered 50 H-19A's for rescue duties in 1951. These aircraft were the primary rescue and medical evacuation helicopters for the USAF during the Korean War. The Air Force continued to use the H-19 through the 1960s, ultimately acquiring 270 of the H-19B model.[5]
USAF HH-19 in a publicity photo purported to show the rescue of U.S. F-86 ace Joseph C. McConnell; the actual rescue was conducted using a different H-19.
A notable rescue involving a USAF H-19 occurred on 12 April 1953 when a North American F-86 Sabre flown by leading American flying aceJoseph C. McConnell was riddled with cannon fire from an enemy MiG-15 during a patrol over MiG Alley. McConnell was able to turn and shoot down the attacking MiG, but his F-86 was badly damaged and began losing engine power. Realizing he could not make it back to base, McConnell headed for the USAF rescue base at Cho-do, spotting an H-19 below him. H-19 pilots Joe Sullivan and Don Crabb, alerted that two damaged Sabres were headed towards them, saw McConnell's F-86 and changed course to parallel it. McConnell ejected over the Yellow Sea near the helicopter and was pulled from the water within two minutes by H-19 medic Arthur Gillespie; McConnell later told his sister "I barely got wet." Seeking favorable publicity for its ace pilots in Korea, the USAF circulated a rescue photo which was widely published in U.S. newspapers; however, Sullivan, Crabb, and Gillespie were flying a different H-19 without rescue markings that day. Historian Kenneth P. Werrell writes that the misleading, staged photo was likely a ruse to conceal the fact that the H-19 was not originally on an air rescue mission but was instead supporting special operations in the Cho-do area.[6]
On 1 September 1953, Sabena used the S-55 to inaugurate the first commercial helicopter service in Europe, with routes between Rotterdam and Maastricht in the Netherlands and Cologne and Bonn in West Germany.[3]
France made aggressive use of helicopters in Algeria, both as troop transports and gunships, Piasecki/Vertol H-21 and Sud-built Sikorski H-34 helicopters rapidly displaced fixed-wing aircraft for the transport of paras and quick-reaction commando teams. In Indochina, a small number of Hiller H-23s and Sikorsky H-19s were available for casualty evacuation. In 1956, the French Air Force experimented with arming the H-19, then being superseded in service by the more capable Piasecki H-21 and Sikorsky H-34 helicopters. The H-19 was originally fitted with a 20 mm cannon, two rocket launchers, two 12.7 mm machine guns, and a 7.5 mm light machine gun firing from the cabin windows, but this load proved far too heavy, and even lightly armed H-19 gunships fitted with flexible machine guns for self-defense proved underpowered.[citation needed]
The H-19 was also used by the French forces in the First Indochina War. A small number of war-worn H-19s were given to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in 1958, when the French military departed. These saw very limited service in the early days of the Vietnam War, before being supplanted by the more capable Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw.[7]
The H-19 left U.S. military service when the CH-19E was retired by U.S. Navy squadron HC-5 on 26 February 1969. Surplus H-19s were sold on the open market, and civil interest was sufficient that Sikorsky (and later Orlando Helicopter Airways) offered conversion kits allowing a military surplus H-19 to be commercially operated under a standard Federal Aviation Administrationtype certificate as an S-55B.[note 2]Turboshaft conversions were also offered by aftermarket modification companies.[1]
Sikorsky UH-19 at the Canadian Museum of Flight in 1988, painted as it would have looked while working on the construction of the Mid-Canada Line. This aircraft has the early-style straight tailboom.
A novel civil conversion of the H-19 by Orlando Helicopter was the Heli-Camper, a campervan-like conversion—featuring a built-in mini-kitchen and sleeping accommodations for four.[1] In the late 1970s, Orlando participated in a joint effort with popular American recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer Winnebago Industries to market the aircraft, now renamed the Winnebago Heli-Home. A larger version based on the Sikorsky S-58 was also developed, and optional floats were offered for amphibious operations. The aircraft were featured in several American popular magazines and reportedly drew large crowds at RV shows and dealerships, but their high purchase price together with rising 1970s fuel prices resulted in very limited sales; production is not well documented, but is estimated at only six or seven of the S-55 and S-58 versions combined.[8]
Variants
UH-19B, USAF MuseumA U.S. Navy HO4S stationed at NAF El Centro. Inverted "V" tailplane is typical of early models with R-1340 engine.A USMC HRS-2 of HMR-161 in Korea, 1953An HO4S of the Royal Canadian NavyA 3-view line drawing of a Sikorsky H-19A Chickasaw on floats
YH-19
Five early production S-55s for evaluation
H-19A
USAF version of the YH-19 powered by a 600hp (450kW) R-1340-57 engine, redesignated UH-19A in 1962, 50 built.
SH-19A
H-19As modified for air-sea rescue, redesignated HH-19A in 1962.
H-19B
H-19A with a more powerful 700hp (520kW)R-1300-3 engine, redesignated UH-19B in 1962, 264 built.
SH-19B
H-19Bs modified for air-sea rescue, redesignated HH-19B in 1962.
H-19C
U.S. Army version of the H-19A, redesignated UH-19C in 1962, 72 built.
H-19D
U.S. Army version of the H-19B, redesignated UH-19D in 1962, 301 built.
HO4S-1
U.S. Navy version of the H-19A, ten built.
HO4S-2
Air-sea rescue version with R-1340[9]derated to 550hp (410kW), three built for Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), two surviving aircraft subsequently converted to HO4S-3 standard.[10]
HO4S-2G
United States Coast Guard version of HO4S-2, seven built.[9]
HO4S-3
Re-engined U.S. Navy & Canadian version with 700hp (520kW) Wright R-1300-3 engine, U.S. Navy aircraft redesignated UH-19F in 1962 (RCN/CAF aircraft retained HO4S-3 designation[10]), 79 built.
HO4S-3G
United States Coast Guard version of the HO4S-3, redesignated HH-19G in 1962, 30 built.
HRS-1
United States Marine Corps version of the HO4S for eight troops, 600hp (450kW) R-1340-57 engine,[1] 60 built.[11]
HRS-2
HRS-1 with equipment changes, 101 built.
HRS-3
HRS-2 with 700hp (520kW) R-1300-3 engine, became CH-19E in 1962, 105 built and conversions from HRS-2.
HRS-4
Project for HRS-3 with a 1,025hp (764kW)R-1820 radial engine, not built.
UH-19A
H-19A redesignated in 1962.
HH-19A
SH-19A redesignated in 1962.
UH-19B
H-19B redesignated in 1962.
HH-19B
SH-19B redesignated in 1962.
CH-19E
HRS-3 redesignated in 1962.
UH-19F
HO4S-3 redesignated in 1962.
HH-19G
HO4S-3G redesignated in 1962
S-55
Commercial version with 600hp (450kW) R-1340 engine.
S-55A
Commercial version with 800hp (600kW) R-1300-3 engine.
S-55B
New designation given to civilian kit conversions of military surplus H-19s with R-1300-3 engine.[1]
17 January 1975 – In what remains the deadliest helicopter accident in Icelandic history, an S-55B crashed in Hvalfjörður, Iceland due to severe winds, killing all five passengers and both crewmembers on board.[12][13]
S-55 on display in the traffic circle at the main gate of Air Force Headquarters, Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora, Guatemala City.[citation needed]
Canada
55822 – S-55 on static display at The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta. It was operated by Associated Airways in Canada's north and is fitted with a 550 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp R-1340-S1H2 engine.[15]
The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter originally developed and produced by American manufacturer Kaman Aircraft Corporation. It has been typically used as a compact and fast-moving rotorcraft for utility and anti-submarine warfare missions.
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engines.
The Westland Whirlwind helicopter was a British licence-built version of the U.S. Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw. It primarily served with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in anti-submarine and search and rescue roles. It was also exported to other countries, and the Whirlwind was succeeded by the turbine powered Westland Wessex which was developed from the H-19/Whirlwind. The helicopter was made in many variants using a variety of radial (piston) and turbine engines.
The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter. Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicopter, capable of being fitted with wheels, skis or floats.
The Hiller YH-32 Hornet was an American ultralight helicopter built by Hiller Aircraft in the early 1950s. It was a small and unique design because it was powered by two Hiller 8RJ2B ramjet engines mounted on the rotor blade tips which weigh 13 lb (5.9 kg) each and deliver an equivalent of 45 hp (34 kW) for a total of 90 hp (67 kW). Versions of the HJ-1 Hornet were built for the United States Army and the United States Navy in the early 1950s.
The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946. The first civilian delivery was made on 31 December 1946 to Helicopter Air Transport. More than 5,600 Bell 47s were produced, including those under license by Agusta in Italy, Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan, and Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom. The Bell 47J Ranger is a modified version with a fully enclosed cabin and tail boom.
The Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and Sikorsky as the later S-58T.
The Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard was an early amphibious helicopter designed and produced by American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was the first of the company's amphibious rotorcraft to fly.
The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter developed and produced by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Kaman Aircraft. It is perhaps most distinctive for its use of twin intermeshing rotors, having been largely designed by the German aeronautical engineer Anton Flettner.
The Sikorsky R-4 is a two-seat helicopter that was designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. In U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard service, the helicopter was known as the Sikorsky HNS-1. In British service it was known as the Hoverfly.
The Sikorsky H-5 is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
The Westland WS-51 Dragonfly helicopter was built by Westland Aircraft and was an Anglicised licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-51.
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States Air Force as the CH-3C/E Sea King and the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, and with the United States Coast Guard as the HH-3F, nicknamed "Pelican".
The KAI Aerospace Museum is an aerospace museum in Sacheon, South Korea located at 35.071340°N 128.063297°E adjacent to Sacheon Airport.
The United States Army Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located on Fort Novosel near Daleville, Alabama. It has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world. The museum features some 50 aircraft on public display with aviation artifacts ranging from a replica of the Wright brothers' Model B military biplane to an RAH-66 Comanche. The museum has over 160 aircraft in its collection and holds 3,000 historical items.
The Bell 47J Ranger is an American single-engine single-rotor light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was an executive variant of the highly successful Bell 47 and was the first helicopter to carry a United States president.
The Bell H-13 Sioux is an American single-engine light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter and manufactured by Westland Aircraft under license for the British military as the Sioux AH.1 and HT.2.
The Sikorsky R-6 is an American light two-seat helicopter of the 1940s. In Royal Air Force and Royal Navy service, it was named the Hoverfly II.
The Connecticut Air & Space Center is an aviation museum located near Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, Connecticut, that is focused on the history of aviation in Connecticut. Founded by George Gunther in 1998 after the closing of the Stratford Army Engine Plant, it occupied buildings 6 and 53 of the complex from 2001 until 2022. It now currently occupies a portion of the Curtiss Hangar and is open to the public.
References
Notes
↑ The accessories for a radial engine were traditionally located on the side of the engine opposite the crankshaft; in a prop-powered airplane that used the more commonplace tractor configuration, the accessories were typically buried inside a cowling or nacelle, resulting in less convenient access than the reversed orientation used in the H-19.
↑ Military aircraft typically do not receive type certificates and thus cannot lawfully be operated commercially, except in certain special cases, such as a civil transport being adopted for military service without significant modifications.
1 2 Werrell, Kenneth P. (2005). Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority over Korea. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp.115–116. ISBN1-59114-933-9.
↑ Mesko, Jim. Airmobile: The Helicopter War in Vietnam, pages 4-6. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1984. ISBN0-89747-159-8
↑ "Aircraft Listing"(PDF). Flying Leathernecks. Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
↑ "Sikorsky YH-19". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
↑ "FAA REGISTRY [N111VA]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
↑ "Our Collection". United States Army Aviation Museum. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
Duke, R.A., Helicopter Operations in Algeria [Trans. French], Dept. of the Army (1959)
Elliott, Bryn (January–February 1999). "On the Beat: The First 60 Years of Britain's Air Police". Air Enthusiast (79): 68–75. ISSN0143-5450.
France, Operations Research Group, Report of the Operations Research Mission on H-21 Helicopter Dept. of the Army (1957)
Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947, Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing (1990). ISBN1-85310-102-8.
Riley, David, French Helicopter Operations in Algeria, Marine Corps Gazette, February 1958, pp.21–26.
Shrader, Charles R., The First Helicopter War: Logistics and Mobility in Algeria, 1954–1962, Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers (1999)
Sonck, Jean-Pierre (January 2002). "1964: l'ONU au Congo" [The United Nations in the Congo, 1964]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (106): 31–36. ISSN1243-8650.
Sonck, Jean-Pierre (February 2002). "1964: l'ONU au Congo". Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (107): 33–38. ISSN1243-8650.
Spenser, Jay P., Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers, Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press (1998)
Further reading
Núñez Padin, Jorge Felix; Cicalesi, Juan Carlos (2011). Núñez Padin, Jorge Felix (ed.). Sikorsky S-55/H-19 & S-58/T. Serie en Argentina (in Spanish). Vol.6. Bahía Blanca, Argentina: Fuerzas Aeronavales. ISBN978-987-1682-13-3. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
External links
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