CH-53A/D and RH-53D Sea Stallion
Service: Navy and Marine Corps
Description: The CH-53A/D transports personnel, supplies and equipment in support of amphibious and shore operations. The RH-53D is used primarily for Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM), with a secondary mission of shipboard delivery.
Background: The CH-53A was ordered in the early 1960s to satisfy a Marine Corps requirement for a heavy lift helicopter. Other variants of the H-53 are the RH-53P and the MH-53E, which are used for mine countermeasures. The H-53s can operate from carriers and other warships.
General Characteristics, A-D models
Contractor: Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Technologies Corp.
Propulsion: Two General Electric T64-GE-413 turboshaft engines (3,925 shaft horsepower each)
Length:
Fuselage: 67.5 feet (20.3 meters)
Rotors turning: 88 feet 3 inches (26.5 meters)
Height: 24 feet 11 inches (7.2 meters)
Weight: 21 tons (max gross) (18.9 metric tons)
Main Rotor Diameter: 72 feet 3 inches (21.7 meters)
Range: 578 nautical miles (665 statute miles, 1064 km); 886 nautical miles ferry range
Ceiling: 12,450 feet
Speed: 160 knots (184 miles, 294 km per hour)
Load: 37 troops or 24 litter patients plus four attendants or 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) cargo
Crew: Two pilots, one aircrewman (7 crewmen in RH-53D)
Armament: None
Date deployed: First flight: Oct 14, 1964
Operational: Nov 1966