Sikorsky SH-34J Seahorse/Seabat - a photo on Flickriver

Sikorsky SH-34J Seahorse/Seabat

            The success of Sikorsky's H-19 Chickasaw saw the company explore a lengthened version with a more powerful engine. It used a more conventional (for the time) configuration with a tailwheel rather than the four main gears of the Chickasaw, and could carry more troops, equipment and fuel. As it offered the same reliability and basic use of the H-19, the H-34 was quick to find orders. The US Navy was the first customer, using it for two roles: antisubmarine (designated HSS-1 Seabat) and cargo (HUS-1 Seahorse); the latter was quickly adopted by the US Marine Corps as an assault transport. The H-34 was also exported to be license-built in France and in the UK, where the piston engine powerplant was exchanged for a turboshaft as the Wessex.

Though it was rapidly superseded by the turbine-powered UH-1 Huey, the H-34 proved to be a reliable and durable helicopter. It was used by the French in Algeria and the Marines in the early years of the Vietnam War, and saw service with the Israelis in the Suez and Six-Day Wars. The Navy replaced the Seabat with the SH-3 Sea King, but the UH-34 Seahorse remained in service until the end of the 1960s.

BuNo 148002 was delivered to to the Navy in the late 1950s, and served with HS-4 ("Black Knights") aboard the USS Yorktown (CVS-10) until 1963, when the squadron reequipped with SH-3As. It was then relegated to a training unit, HT-8 at Whiting Field, Florida until 1969, when it was retired. It was acquired by the Pueblo Weisbrod Museum in the early 1980s, still in overall orange training colors, but a combination of long storage in the Arizona desert and being displayed outside in Colorado winters severely damaged the paint job and airframe. In 2004, it was brought inside and completely restored to its appearance with HS-4.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a HS-4 aircraft with the NU tailcode of the Yorktown--that was my dad's aircraft carrier when he served in the Navy, from 1964-1970. The SH-34s had just left the ship when he came aboard, but this is a former Yorktown bird, so I feel some kinship with it.

Taken on: June 26, 2020

Tags:

Sikorsky

SH-34

Seahorse

Seabat

HS-4

USSYorktown

CVS-10

USNavy

ColdWar

antisubmarine

searchandrescue

helicopter

PuebloWeisbrodMuseum « less

Sets appears in: • US Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft • Aviation Photography

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