Piasecki HRP Rescuer

Last updated
HRP Rescuer
Piasecki HRP-1G US Coast Guard in flight.jpg
A U.S. Coast Guard HRP-1G
RoleTandem-rotor transport/rescue helicopter
Manufacturer Piasecki Helicopter
Designer Frank Piasecki
First flight 1945
Introduction 1947
Primary users United States Navy
United States Coast Guard
United States Marine Corps
Number built28

The Piasecki HRP Rescuer (also called Harp) is a United States tandem-rotor transport or rescue helicopter designed by Frank Piasecki and built by Piasecki Helicopter. The Piasecki PV-3 was adopted as the HRP-1 Rescuer by the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard. An improved PV-17 variant was later produced as the HRP-2. As one of the first transport helicopters in military service, the HRP-1 was capable of carrying two crewmen and 8–10 passengers or 2,000 lb. (907 kg) of cargo.

Contents

Development

Piasecki HRP-1 "Flying Banana" helicopter at Naval Air Station Key West minus exterior doped fabric skin Piasecki HRP-1 "Flying Banana" (3681949278).jpg
Piasecki HRP-1 "Flying Banana" helicopter at Naval Air Station Key West minus exterior doped fabric skin

The prototype helicopter (designated PV-3 by Piasecki, though commonly known to test personnel as "The Dogship") first flew at Morton, Pennsylvania in March 1945 following a development contract from the United States Navy in February 1944. The "Dogship" was a novel tandem-rotor helicopter with a fixed tricycle landing gear, powered by a 600 hp (447 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 engine. To ensure that the rotors did not hit each other, the rear end of the fuselage curved upwards so the rear rotor was higher than the forward rotor. This was based on a Drago Jovanovich patented design. The fuselage was constructed of ordinary mild steel tubing, filled out with wooden ribs, and covered with doped fabric. [1]

Following a series of mechanical incidents with the prototype, including stripped transmission gears, it was determined that use of common automotive parts in the helicopter transmission were inadequate to the severe loads imposed by flight; subsequent prototypes built after the war used stronger components. [1] Two prototypes designated XHRP-1 were constructed; one was used as a static test aircraft and the other was used for development flying.

Operational history

Eight HRP-1s aboard USS Palau (CVE-122), in 1951 USS Palau (CVE-122) with HRPs NAN8-51.jpg
Eight HRP-1s aboard USS Palau (CVE-122), in 1951

As the first U.S. military helicopter in service with a significant transport capability, the HRP-1 was immediately put to use transporting cargo and personnel. Although referred to officially as the HRP-1, or "Harp", the helicopter's distinctive shape, with no protruding nose beyond the forward rotor's axis, soon earned it the nickname "The Flying Banana". The first HRP-1 Rescuer flew on 15 August 1947, and a second batch of 10 was built later, with the final machine delivered in 1949. All were powered by the 600 hp (450 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 engine.

In all, 20 HRP-1s were ordered by the United States Navy, which passed most of their order to the U.S. Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. Three additional helicopters were delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard with the designation HRP-1G. An improved PV-17 version with an all-metal skin was developed with five ordered in June 1948 as the HRP-2; all HRP-2s were delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard for use as rescue craft. Nine HRP-1s formed the backbone of the first Marine helicopter transport squadron, HMX-1, and were used in various exercises designed to test the helicopter's ability to deliver troops in beach assault or forward battlefield operations. [2]

In service, the HRP-1 frequently suffered various teething and maintenance troubles such as broken engine mounts and loose fittings; it was not unusual for the fabric covering to rip loose from the helicopter in flight, often entangling the rotor blades. [3] Despite these issues, the relative success of Piasecki's tandem rotor design would lead to the Piasecki H-21 family of helicopters. [4] Two surviving aircraft are in storage at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania and a third is under restoration at the Classic Rotors Museum in Ramona, California. [5] [6]

Variants

An HRP without skin in 1953 Piasecki HRP towing tests Jun1953.jpg
An HRP without skin in 1953
PV-3
Prototype tandem-rotor helicopter powered by a Wright R-975 piston engine, one built.
XHRP-1
Military designation for two further PV-3s, one for static testing and one for flight trials.
HRP-1
Production variant, 20 built including three HRP-1Gs.
HRP-1G
Three United States Navy HRP-1s for the United States Coast Guard.
HRP-2
Metal skinned variant, five built.

Operators

Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States of America

Specifications (HRP-2)

Piasecki HRP-1 Rescuer 3-view line drawing.png
3-view line drawing of the Piasecki HRP-1 Rescuer
Piasecki HRP-2 Rescuer 3-view line drawing.png
3-view line drawing of the Piasecki HRP-2 Rescuer

Data fromThe Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1985, p. 2716.

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight</span> Tandem transport helicopter designed by Vertol

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell UH-1 Iroquois</span> Family of American military utility helicopters

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helicopter in service with the United States military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave</span> 1953 airlift helicopter series by Sikorsky

The Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave is an American large heavy-lift helicopter of the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw</span> Family of utility helicopters

The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw is a multi-purpose helicopter that was used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom. United States Navy and United States Coast Guard models were designated HO4S, while those of the U.S. Marine Corps were designated HRS. In 1962, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps versions were all redesignated as H-19s like their U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force counterparts.

Piasecki Helicopter Corporation designed and manufactured helicopters in Philadelphia and nearby Morton, Pennsylvania, in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Its founder, Frank Piasecki, was ousted in 1956 and started a new company, Piasecki Aircraft. Piasecki Helicopter was renamed Vertol Corporation in early 1956. Vertol was acquired by Boeing in 1960 and renamed Boeing Vertol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piasecki H-21</span> American military transport helicopter family

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, using wheels, skis and floats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tandem-rotor aircraft</span> Helicopter with two horizontal rotor assemblies

A tandem-rotor aircraft is an aircraft with two large helicopter rotor assemblies mounted one in front of the other in the horizontal plane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Dolphin</span> Type of aircraft

The Douglas Dolphin is an American amphibious flying boat. While only 58 were built, they served a wide variety of roles including private air yacht, airliner, military transport, and search and rescue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piasecki HUP Retriever</span> Type of aircraft

The Piasecki HUP Retriever/H-25 Army Mule is a compact single radial engine, twin overlapping tandem rotor utility helicopter developed by the Piasecki Helicopter Corporation of Morton, Pennsylvania. Designed to a United States Navy specification, the helicopter was produced from 1949 to 1954, and was also used by the United States Army and foreign navies. The HUP/H-25 was the first helicopter to be produced with an autopilot and also the first to perform a loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaman HH-43 Huskie</span> Helicopter with intermeshing rotors in use by the US military from the 1950s to the 1970s

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky R-4</span> Two-seat military helicopter of the 1940s

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky H-5</span> 1943 multi-role helicopter by Sikorsky

The Sikorsky H-5 is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Belvedere</span> 1950s British military helicopter

The Bristol Type 192 Belvedere is a British twin-engine, tandem rotor military helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was designed by Raoul Hafner for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and casualty evacuation. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1961 to 1969. The Belvedere was Britain's only tandem rotor helicopter to enter production, and one of the few not built by Piasecki or Boeing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Type 173</span> 1950s British helicopter

The Bristol Type 173 was a British twin-engine, tandem rotor transport helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was designed by Raoul Hafner as a civil transport helicopter but evoked interest from the military. It did not enter production but was developed into the Bristol Belvedere which was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1961 to 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky S-61R</span> Helicopter used in transport or search and rescue

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell HSL</span> Type of aircraft

The Bell HSL was an American 1950s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter built by the Bell Helicopter company, the only tandem rotor type designed by Bell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell UH-1 Iroquois variants</span> Variants of the American military utility helicopter

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopter, first introduced in 1959, is the first production member of the prolific Huey family of helicopters, and was itself developed in over twenty variants, which are listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCulloch MC-4</span> Type of aircraft

The McCulloch Model MC-4 was an American tandem-rotor helicopter and was the first helicopter developed by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation, a division of McCulloch Motors Corporation. It was evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-30 and the United States Navy as the XHUM-1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky S-52</span> Type of aircraft

The Sikorsky S-52 is a utility helicopter developed by Sikorsky Aircraft in the late 1940s. It was used by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The S-52 was the first US helicopter with all-metal rotor blades. Initially a two-seater, it was developed into the four-seat S-52-2 and S-52-3. It was designated HO5S-1 by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, HO5S-1G by the Coast Guard, and YH-18A by the U.S. Army, and was used extensively by civil operators after being retired by the military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piasecki H-16 Transporter</span> Type of aircraft

The Piasecki H-16 Transporter was a tandem-rotor transport or rescue helicopter designed by Frank Piasecki and built by Piasecki Helicopter. The prototypes were evaluated by the United States Air Force and Army, but the crash of the second test aircraft led to cancelling the project.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Day, Dwayne A. (2003). "Piasecki: The Dogship and the Flying Banana". U.S. Centennial of Flight. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  2. Rawlins 1976, p. 20.
  3. Close, Robert A. "Helo Operations, Class of 1945". Helo Operations. U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  4. Apostolo 1984, p. 79.
  5. "Aircraft in Storage". American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  6. "HRP". Classic Rotors Museum. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  7. "USCG History". Helis. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  8. Watkins, Ray. "Piasecki PV-3 HRP-1 Rescuer, U.S. Marine Corps". 1,000 Aircraft Photos. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  9. 1 2 Thomason, Tommy H. (29 December 2010). "And now for something completely different". U.S. Navy Aircraft History. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

Bibliography

  • Apostolo, Giorgio (1984). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters . New York: Bonanza Books. ISBN   0-517-439352.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Orbis Publishing. 1985.
  • Rawlins, Eugene W. (1976). Marines and Helicopters 1946-1962. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division, U.S. Marine Corps.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. ISBN   0-517-69186-8.