Kaman HH-43 Huskie
HH-43 Huskie | |
---|---|
HH-43B Huskie of the United States Air Force | |
Role | Firefighting/rescue |
Manufacturer | Kaman Aircraft
|
First flight | 21 April 1953 |
Retired | Early 1970s |
Status | Retired |
Primary users | United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Navy |
Number built | 193 |
The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a
First flown on 21 April 1953, the HH-43 went into production and was operated by several military air services, including the United States Air Force, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was primarily intended for use in aircraft firefighting and rescue in the close vicinity of air bases, but was extensively deployed during the Vietnam War. It was used as a search and rescue platform, having often been enhanced with makeshift modification and new apparatus to better suit the tropical conditions. Under the aircraft designation system used by the U.S. Navy pre-1962, Navy and U.S. Marine Corps versions were originally designated as the HTK, HOK or HUK, for their use as training, observation or utility aircraft, respectively. In American service, it was retired during the 1970s, having been rendered obsolete by the arrival of larger, more capable rotorcraft.
Development
In 1947, the German aeronautical engineer
On 21 April 1953, the first prototype, referred to by the manufacturer as the K-225, made its
Subsequently, a much more powerful
Design
Flight control on the HH-43 was primarily effected by a series of servo-flaps, or large tabs, that was located on the trailing edge of each rotor blade; the actuation of these flaps[how?] would cause the rotors to warp and thus cause the helicopter to either rise or descend as desired.[6] The rotor blades were composed of laminated wood; these restricted the aircraft's use in heavy rains as it could cause blade delamination.[7] There was no conventional tail rotor; its absence gave the rotorcraft a somewhat unusual look.[8] The contra-rotating twin rotors posed a particular hazard on the ground; crews were instructed to avoid approaching or departing the vehicle from the sides, but to instead advance or leave the vehicle from the front, as the blades would be at their highest at this position.[9] Warnings that reinforced this instruction were usually painted on the sides of the pylons which supported the rotor heads.
The interior of the T53 turbine powered HH-43 was divided in two somewhat cramped compartments, the cockpit at the front and an aft crew compartment, which were connected by a small opening that was too narrow for most personnel to pass through (the original radial piston powered versions lacked the aft compartment).
On the exterior of the rotorcraft, a motorised hoist that was typically used for rescue missions was commonly fitted; control of the hoist was normally exercised from within the aft compartment, but the pilot could also directly control the hoist via the cyclic stick. For rescues at sea, a padded sling, nicknamed the 'horse collar', was fitted to the end of the hoist to aid in retrieval operations.[10] Due to unsatisfactory performance in the field, other devices were usually fitted, including the wire basket "Stokes litter" and a heavy "forest penetrator".[12]
Operational history
The HH-43 Huskie was procured by the U.S. Air Force; the first H-43As were delivered to the service in November 1958 while the first H-43Bs were accepted in June 1959.
The Huskie was deployed overseas during the
Variants
- K-240
- company designation from HTK-1/TH-43E
- K-600
- proposed civilian counterpart of HOK-1[17]
- K-600-3
- civilian counterpart of H-43B[17]
- K-600-4
- company designation of HOK-3 development[17]
- K-600-5
- HH-43F[18]
- XHTK-1
- two two-seat aircraft for evaluation
- HTK-1
- three-seat production version powered by a 240 hp (180 kW) Lycoming O-435-4 flat-six piston engine for the United States Navy,[19][20] later became TH-43E, 29 built
- XHTK-1G
- one example for evaluation by the United States Coast Guard
- HTK-1K
- one example for static tests as a drone
- XHOK-1
- prototype of United States Marine Corps version, two built
- HOK-1
- United States Marine Corps version powered by a 600 hp (450 kW) R-1340-48 Wasp radial piston engine; later became OH-43D, 81 built
- HOK-3
- proposed development powered by a Blackburn-Turbomeca Twin Turmo 600 turboshaft powerplant.[17]
- HUK-1
- United States Navy version of the HOK-1 with R-1340-52 radial piston engine; later became UH-43C, 24 built
- H-43A
- USAF version of the HOK-1; later became the HH-43A, 18 built
- HH-43A
- post-1962 designation of the H-43A
- H-43B
- H-43A powered by an 860 shp (640 kW) Lycoming T53-L-1B turboshaft engine, three-seats and full rescue equipment; later became HH-43B, 200-built
- HH-43B
- post-1962 designation of the H-43B
- UH-43C
- post-1962 designation of the HUK-1
- OH-43D
- post-1962 designation of the HOK-1
- TH-43E
- post-1962 designation of the HTK-1
- HH-43F
- HH-43B powered by an 825 shp (615 kW) Lycoming T53-L-11A turboshaft engine with reduced diameter rotors, 42 built and conversions from HH-43B
- QH-43G
- One OH-43D converted to drone configuration
Operators
- Colombian Air Force[22]
Surviving aircraft
In addition to those on static display and the airworthy example at the Olympic Flight Museum, many H-43s are still in use with private owners.[citation needed]
- Burma
- UB6166 – HH-43B is on display at the Defence Services Museum in Naypyidaw, Mandalay.[31]
- Germany
- 62-4547 – HH-43F on static display at the Hubschraubermuseum Bückeburg in Bückeburg, Lower Saxony.[32][33]
- Pakistan
- 62-4556 – HH-43P on static display at the Karachi, Sindh.[34]
- Thailand
- H5-2/05 – Type 5 on static display at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum in Bangkok.[35][36]
- United Kingdom
- 62-4535 – HH-43B under restoration at the
- United States
- Composite – HH-43F on static display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. This airframe is painted as 60-0289, but was built up from parts of various HH-43s.[33][38]
- 129313 – HTK-1/TH-43E on static display at the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon.[39] This airframe is painted in Navy markings.[40]
- 129801 – HOK-1/OH-43S in storage at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.[33]
- 138101 – HOK-1/OH-43D in storage at the NAS Pensacola, Florida (circa 1986–2001) in a dark blue finish with USMC markings. It was repainted from its original USMC markings to pre-Vietnam U.S. Army colors when it was loaned to the Army by the National Naval Aviation Museum.[33]
- 139974 – OH-43D on static display at the Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. This airframe is painted in USMC markings.[41]
- 139982 – HOK-1/OH-43D in storage at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. This airframe is painted in Marine Corps markings.[33][42]
- 139990 – HOK-1/OH-43D in storage at the NAS Miramar was transferred from control of the Navy to the Marine Corps.[33]
- 58-1837 – HH-43A in storage at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.[33]
- 58-1841 – HH-43F on static display at the Military Firefighter Heritage Display at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. It is incorrectly painted with Air Force Serial Number 58-1481. This Huskie was a ground trainer (circa 1962–1976) at Sheppard Air Force Base, so it retained the square-tail empennage that was removed from almost all other Huskies after repeated rotor strikes in heavy winds. After being sold by the military, but before arriving at its current location, it was on display at the Pate Museum of Transportation in Cresson, Texas.[45]
- 58-1853 – HH-43F on static display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia.[46]
- 59-1578 – HH-43F on static display at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[47] This may be the same airframe listed on other sites[who?] as being located at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, which has since moved off-base, but adjacent to, Kirtland Air Force Base.[citation needed]
- 60-0263 – HH-43B on static display at the Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.[48]
- 62-4513 – HH-43F on static display at the
- 62-4531 – HH-43F on static display at the Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.[51]
- 62-4532 – HH-43B on static display at the Dover AFB in Dover, Delaware.[52]
- 62-4561 – HH-43B on static display at the
- 64-17558 – HH-43F airworthy at the Olympic Flight Museum in Olympia, Washington. This airframe is painted in USAF markings.[54][55][56]
Specifications (HH-43F / K-600-5)
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1965-66,[18] National Museum of the United States Air Force : Kaman HH-43B Huskie[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: Two flight crew and two rescue crew
- Capacity: 3,970 lb (1,801 kg) maximum payload
- Length: 25 ft 2 in (7.67 m) fuselage
- Height: 15 ft 6.5 in (4.737 m) to tip of highest blade
- 12 ft 7 in (4 m) to top of rotor pylons
- Empty weight: 4,620 lb (2,096 kg)
- Gross weight: 6,500 lb (2,948 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 9,150 lb (4,150 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 350 US gal (291 imp gal; 1,325 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming T53-L-11A turboshaftengine, 825 shp (615 kW) (de-rated from 1,150 shp (858 kW))
- Main rotor diameter: 2 × 47 ft 0 in (14.33 m)
- Main rotor area: 3,470.34 sq ft (322.405 m2)
- Blade section: - root: NACA 23012; tip: NACA 23011[57]
Performance
- Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
- Cruise speed: 110 mph (180 km/h, 96 kn)
- Range: 504 mi (811 km, 438 nmi) at 5,000 ft (1,524 m) and 8,270 lb (3,751 kg) TOW
- Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)
- Hover ceiling IGE: 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
- Hover ceiling OGE: 16,000 ft (4,877 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,800 ft/min (9.1 m/s)
See also
- United States Army Aviation and Missile Command
- William H. Pitsenbarger - HH-43F crewman and posthumous Medal of Honor awardee
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of active United States military aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
References
Citations
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- ISBN 978-1-58980-700-6.
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- ^ LaPointe 2001, p. 74.
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- ^ LaPointe 2001, pp. 69, 73.
- ^ LaPointe 2001, p. 69.
- ISBN 978-0557089918.
- ^ a b LaPointe 2001, p. 70.
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- ^ LaPointe 2001, pp. 71-72.
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- ^ LaPointe 2001, p. 77.
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- ^ AN 01-260HAA-1 Pilot's Handbook: Navy Model HTK-1 Helicopters. U.S. Navy. 1 September 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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