CH-3E
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CH-3E |
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Nation: USA Manufacturer: Sikorsky Aircraft Type: Cargo Helicopter Year: 1966 Engine: 2 General Electric T58-GE-5 turboshaft, 1,500 shp each Rotor Diameter: 62 ft Fuselage Length: 73 ft Height: 18 ft 1 in Loaded Weight: 22,050 lb Max Speed: 177 mph Ceiling: 21,000 ft Range: 779 miles Crew: 3 Load/Armament: 2 M2 .50 machine guns, cargo The CH/HH-3 was a long-range, amphibious transport helicopter that performed a number of duties for the Air Force for more than 30 years. However, the H-3's most prominent role was combat rescue in Southeast Asia. Developed as a US Navy antisubmarine warfare platform, the H-3 was first used to fill an Air Force requirement for a support aircraft for its Texas Tower radar sites located in the Atlantic and to recover drones in the Gulf of Mexico. These six CH-3Bs were virtually identical to the Navy's Sea Kings. The first USAF-specific version was the CH-3C, which featured a redesigned fuselage, a rear cargo ramp, and tricycle landing gear and was first flown on June 17, 1963. The first CH-3Cs were sent to Vietnam in 1965, primarily for clandestine missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The definitive Air Force version was the CH/HH-3E, which featured an uprated engine, more than 1,000 pounds of titanium armor, additional tankage, and an in-flight refueling boom. Eventually, all CH/HH-3Cs were brought up to this standard. The HH-3Es, universally known as Jolly Green Giants because of their green-and-tan camouflage schemes, were used on 496 of the 980 aircrew rescues made between 1966 and 1970 in Southeast Asia. On May 31-June 1, 1967, two Air Force crews flying HH-3Es made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic by helicopter. The 4,271-mile flight took 30 hours, 46 minutes and required nine in-flight refuelings. Lt. Col. Herbert E. Zehnder, the pilot on one of the HH-3Es on the transatlantic flight, flew that same aircraft in the raid on the Son Tay prisoner of war camp near Hanoi on November 20-21, 1970. The Jolly Greens had some limitations and were mostly replaced by the HH-53. The CH/HH-3s continued to serve in ANG and AFRES and with Air Force Special Operations Forces into the 1990s. One Reserve HH-3 unit served in Operation Desert Storm. All the HH-3s were retired by 1995. See Also: HH-3E Jolly Green Giant |
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