Kaman HH-43 Huskie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaman_HH-43_Huskie

The Kaman HH-43 Huskie was a helicopter with intermeshing rotors used by the
United States Air Force, the United States Navy and the United States Marine
Corps from the 1950s until the 1970s. It was primarily used for aircraft
firefighting and rescue in the close vicinity of air bases, but was later used
as a short range overland search and rescue aircraft during the Vietnam War.

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 1947 Anton Flettner, a German aviation engineer, was brought to New York in
the United States as part of Operation Paperclip. He was the developer of
Germany's Flettner Fl 282 "Kolibri" (Hummingbird), a helicopter employing the
"synchropter" principle of intermeshing rotors, a unique design principle that
dispenses with the need for a tail rotor. Flettner settled in the United States
and became the chief designer of the Kaman company, where he started to design
new helicopters, using the synchropter principle.

The Huskie had an unusual intermeshing contra-rotating twin-rotor arrangement
with control effected by servo-flaps. The first prototype flew in 1947 and was
adopted by the U.S. Navy with a piston engine. In 1954, in an experiment by
Kaman and the U.S. Navy, one HTK-1 was modified and flew with its piston engine
replaced by two turbine engines, becoming the world's first twin-turbine
helicopter. The Air Force later adopted a version with one turboshaft engine:
HH-43B and F versions.


Role
Firefighting/rescue

Manufacturer
Kaman Aircraft

First flight
21 Apr 1953

Status
Retired

Primary users
United States Air Force
United States Marine Corps
United States Navy

Number built
193

This aircraft saw use in the Vietnam War with several detachments of the Pacific
Air Rescue Center, the 33d, 36th, 37th, and 38th Air Rescue Squadrons, and the
40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, where the aircraft was known by its
call sign moniker "Pedro". During the war, the two-pilot HH-43 Huskie flew more
rescue missions than all other aircraft combined, because of its unique hovering
capability. The HH-43 was eventually replaced by newer aircraft in the early
1970s.

Specifications (HH-43F)

General characteristics
Crew: Four: two pilots, two rescue crew
Length: 25 ft 0 in (7.6 m)
Main rotor diameter: 2× 47 ft in (14.3 m)
Height: 17 ft 2 in (5.18 m)
Gross weight: 9,150 lb (4,150 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming T53 turboshaft, 860 hp (640 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h)
Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)
Range: 185 miles (298 km)
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)




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