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The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known by company designations S-48, S-51 and VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, p.2173, "R-5, Sikorsky".) is a
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
built by
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by the Russian-American aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923, and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian ...
. It was used by the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
, and its predecessor, the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, as well as the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
(with the designations HO2S and HO3S). It was also used by the
United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet of the Un ...
. The civilian version, under the designation S-51, was the first helicopter to be operated commercially, commencing in 1946. In December 1946, an agreement was signed between the British company
Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. Du ...
and Sikorsky to produce a British version of the H-5, to be manufactured under license in Britain as the Westland-Sikorsky WS-51 Dragonfly. By the time production ceased in 1951, more than 300 examples of all types of the H-5 had been built.


Design and development

The H-5 was originally built by Sikorsky as its model S-48, designated as the R-5 by the United States Army Air Forces. It was designed to provide a helicopter having greater useful load, endurance, speed, and service ceiling than the
Sikorsky R-4 The Sikorsky R-4 is a two-seat light helicopter that was designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass production, mass-produced helicopter and the ...
. The R-5 differed from the R-4 by having an increased rotor diameter and a new, longer fuselage for two persons in tandem, though it retained the R-4's tailwheel-type landing gear. Larger than the R-4 or the later R-6, the R-5 was fitted with a more powerful Wasp Junior 450-hp radial engine, and quickly proved itself the most successful of the three types. The first XR-5 of four ordered made its initial flight on 18 August 1943. In March 1944, the Army Air Forces ordered 26 YR-5As for service testing, and in February 1945, the first YR-5A was delivered. This order was followed by a production contract for 100 R-5s, outfitted with racks for two litters (stretchers), but only 34 were actually delivered. Of these, fourteen were the R-5A, basically identical with the YR-5A. The remaining twenty were built as the three-place R-5D, which had a widened cabin with a two-place rear bench seat and a small nosewheel added to the landing gear, and could be optionally fitted with a rescue hoist and an auxiliary external fuel tank. Five of the service-test YR-5As were later converted into dual-control YR-5Es. The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
evaluated three R-5As as the HO2S-1. Sikorsky soon developed a modified version of the R-5, the S-51, featuring a greater rotor diameter, greater carrying capacity and gross weight, and a redesigned
tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...
configuration; this first flew on 16 February 1946. With room for three passengers plus pilot, the S-51 was initially intended to appeal to civilian as well as military operators, and was the first helicopter to be sold to a commercial user. Eleven S-51s were ordered by the USAF and designated the R-5F, while 92 went to the Navy as the HO3S-1, commonly referred to as the 'Horse'. In Britain, Westland Aircraft began production in 1946 of the Westland-Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly for the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, all of which were powered by a 500 hp
Alvis Leonides The Alvis Leonides is a British air-cooled nine-cylinder radial aero engine first developed by Alvis Car and Engineering Company in 1936. Design and development Development of the nine-cylinder engine was led by Capt. George Thomas Smith-Clar ...
engine. This gave an improved top speed of 103 mph and a service ceiling of 14,000 ft. In total, 133 Westland-Sikorsky Dragonfly helicopters were built. A considerably modified version was also developed by Westland as the Westland Widgeon, but the type was never adopted for service. The U.S. Navy ordered four S-51s "off-the-shelf" from Sikorsky in late 1946 for use in the Antarctic and
Operation Highjump Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America (exploration b ...
, placing them into naval inventory as the HO3S-1. Carried aboard the seaplane tender , on Christmas Day 1946 an HO3S-1 of VX-3 piloted by Lieutenant Commander Walter M. Sessums became the first helicopter to fly in the Antarctic. Having proved its capabilities, the initial naval HO3S-1 order was followed by subsequent purchases of an additional 42 aircraft in 1948. The Navy equipped several warship classes with HO3S-1 utility helos, including
aircraft carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the capital ship of a fl ...
, seaplane tenders,
icebreakers An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
, s, and s. By February 1948, the Marine Corps had equipped HMX-1, its first regular Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron, with six HO3S-1 aircraft. With a passenger load of only three lightly dressed persons, the HO3S-1s were primarily operated in the utility role by the marines; for the transport role, an additional nine tandem-rotor Piasecki-built HRP-1 helicopters were later added to the squadron. Eventually, the U.S. Navy would acquire a total of 88 HO3S-1 (S-51) helicopters. Thirty-nine additional specialized rescue helicopters were built, as the H-5G, in 1948, while 16 were fitted with pontoons as the H-5H
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
in 1949. Several H-5Hs were converted in 1949 to a unique medical-evacuation role, with casualty stretchers loaded sideways through blister-hatches on the side of the fuselage. The back stretcher station was located just forward of the tail boom and the main stretcher station was located behind the crew cabin. The forward stretcher station could accommodate two casualties, who were accessible to the medic in flight, while the back stretcher station handled only one, not accessible to the medic during the flight. Very little information is known about the operational use of this modification by the USAF, this being abandoned shortly after tests in 1950. The R-5 had been designated under the United States Army Air Forces system, a series starting with R-1 and proceeding up to about R-16. In 1947 with the start of the United States Air Force, there was a new system, and many aircraft, but not all, were redesignated. The R-5 became the H-5. The United States Army broke off with its own designation system in the 1950s, resulting in new designations for its helicopter projects. In 1962 under the new tri-service system (see
1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system The Tri-Service aircraft designation system is a unified system introduced in 1962 by the United States Department of Defense for designating all U.S. military aircraft. Previously, the U.S. armed services used United States military aircraft de ...
), many navy and army aircraft were given the low numbers. Under the 1962 system, the low H numbers were given to new aircraft. For example, H-5 was given to the
OH-5 Ohio's 5th congressional district is in northwestern and north central Ohio and borders Indiana. The district is currently represented by Republican Party (United States), Republican Bob Latta. Recent election results from statewide races ...
, a prototype design which never entered Army service.


Operational history

During its service life, the H-5/HO3S-1 was used for utility, rescue, and mercy missions throughout the world, including flights during
Operation Highjump Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America (exploration b ...
in the Antarctic. While the extra power of the H-5 made it significantly more useful than its R-4 and R-6 cousins, the H-5/HO3S-1 suffered, like most early small tandem-seat single-rotor machines, from center of gravity problems. As a matter of routine, the helicopter was equipped with two iron-bar weights – each in a canvas case – one of & one of . Flying with no passengers, both weights were placed forward alongside the pilot. With three passengers, both weights were normally placed in the baggage compartment. However, in conditions of high ambient temperatures, which reduced lift due to the lowered air density, all weights were jettisoned. If the weights could not be recovered later, pilots on future missions were forced to utilize rocks or other improvised weights next to the pilot after offloading three passengers, or else travel at a very slow . The H-5/HO3S-1 gained its greatest fame during the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
when it was called upon repeatedly to rescue United Nations pilots shot down behind enemy lines and to evacuate wounded personnel from frontline areas. It was eventually replaced in most roles by the H-19 Chickasaw. In 1957, the last H-5 and HO3S-1 helicopters were retired from active U.S. military service. The S-51 was the first helicopter ever to be delivered to a commercial operator; on July 29, 1946, the first of three aircraft was handed over to the president of Helicopter Air Transport (HAT) at Sikorsky's plant in
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...
. HAT paid a discounted price of $48,500 per aircraft and operated them from
Camden Central Airport Camden Central Airport (sometimes called Central Airport, Camden, New Jersey, Camden) was an airport in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, Pennsauken Township, Camden County, New Jersey, United States. It had its peak of activity in the 1930s, se ...
, Camden, in New Jersey, carrying passengers, freight and mail to other local airports. Initially operating on a temporary license, the S-51 gained full
Civil Aeronautics Authority The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated A ...
(CAA) certification for commercial operation on April 17, 1947. In the United Kingdom, the first scheduled daily helicopter service started in June 1950 between
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
using S-51s operated by
British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The ...
(BEA).


Variants

''Data from:''Aerofiles : Sikorsky


Sikorsky model numbers

;S-48 :Company designation of the R-5/H-5. ;S-51 :Civil four-seat transport version; four purchased for inventory for U.S. Navy


USAAF/USAF designations

;XR-5 :Prototype based on the VS-327 with two seats and tailwheel landing gear, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-5 Wasp Junior; five built in 1943 (43-28236 to 43-28239, 43-47954). ;YR-5 / YR-5A :As the XR-5 with minor modifications; 26 built in 1943, (43-46600 to 43-46625), including two to the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
as HO2S-1s. ;R-5A :Production rescue model with provision for two external stretchers; 34 built (43-46626 to 43-46659), later re-designated H-5A. ;R-5B :Modified R-5A, not built ;YR-5C :Modified R-5A, not built ;YR-5D / R-5D :Modified R-5As with nosewheel landing gear, rescue hoist, later re-designated H-5D; twenty-one conversions in 1944 (43-46606, 43-46640 to 43-46659). ;YR-5E :Modified YR-5As with dual controls in 1947, later re-designated YH-5E; five conversions from YR-5A (43-46611 to 43-46615). ;R-5F :Civil model S-51 four-seaters bought in 1947 powered by Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-5, later re-designated H-5F; 11 built 1948 (47-480 to 47-490). ;H-5G :Four-seater as H-5F with rescue equipment; 39 built 1948 (48-524 to 49-562). ;H-5H :As for H-5G, with updated equipment and combination wheel and pontoon gear; 16 built 1949 (49-1996 to 49-2100).


US Navy designations

;HO2S-1 :Two YR-5As to the United States Navy later passed to the United States Coast Guard, order for 34 cancelled ;HO3S-1 :Four-seat version for the USN similar to the H-5F; 92 built in 1945 (Bureau Numbers 57995 to 57998, 122508 to 122529, 122709 to 122728, 123118 to 123143, 124334 to 124353) ;HO3S-1G :HO3S-1 for the United States Coast Guard; 9 HO3S-1 transferred from the USN (1230 to 1238) ;HO3S-2 :Was a naval version of the H-5H, not built ;XHO3S-3 :One HO3S-1 modified in 1950 with a redesigned rotor


Thai designations

;H.1A :()
Royal Thai Armed Forces The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF; ; ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand. The Highest Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are managed by the Minist ...
designation for the YH-5A.


Operators

; * Argentine Coast Guard *
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...
; *
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
; *
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
** 103 Search and Rescue Squadron ; *
Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force ( Chinese, 中華民國空軍), or the ROCAF; known colloquially as the Taiwanese Air Force ( Chinese, 臺灣空軍) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Air Force ...
; * Naval Air Arm ; * Marineluchtvaartdienst ; *
South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...
; * See: Westland WS-51 ; * Helicopter Air Transport * Los Angeles Airways *
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
*
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
*
United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
*
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
*
United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...


Surviving aircraft

* 43-46607/H1k-1/96 – YR-5A on display at the
Royal Thai Air Force Museum The National Aviation Museum of the Royal Thai Air Force is located in Don Mueang District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located on the Phahonyothin Road just to the south of Wing 6 of the domestic terminal of the Don Mueang International Airport, Don ...
, Don Muang Airport, Bangkok, Thailand"Building 5: Helicopters and last propeller fighter."
''Royal Thai Air Force Museum.'' Retrieved: 11 January 2011.
* 43-46620 – A YH-5A is on display at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is ...
at
Wright-Patterson AFB Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...
near
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. The aircraft is one of 26 ordered in 1944. It was obtained from
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...
, Florida, in March 1955. * 43-46645 – H-5D on display at the United States Army Aviation Museum at
Fort Novosel Fort Rucker is a United States Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was formerly named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, an Army aviator and Medal of Honor recipient. It was previously name ...
,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. * 43-47954 – An XR-5 is in storage with the
National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
. * 47-0484 – Carolinas Aviation Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina. Painted as bureau number 125136. * 48-0548 – H-5G on display at the
Pima Air & Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum is an aerospace museum in Tucson, Arizona, US. It features a display of nearly 400 aircraft spread out over on a campus occupying . It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991. Overv ...
adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
. * 48-0558 – H-5G on display at the United States Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel, Alabama. * 49-2007 –
War Memorial of Korea The War Memorial of Korea () is a museum located in Yongsan-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It opened in 1994 on the former site of the army headquarters to exhibit and memorialize the military history of Korea. It was built for the purp ...
,
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, Republic of Korea. * 122515 – HO3S-1 under restoration aboard the USS Midway Museum,
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California. This airframe was at one point repaired using the tail boom from BuNo 124345. However, this tail boom was removed and replaced with the tail boom of a 3rd S-51. * USCG 1232 – HO3S-1G on display at the
Pima Air & Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum is an aerospace museum in Tucson, Arizona, US. It features a display of nearly 400 aircraft spread out over on a campus occupying . It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991. Overv ...
adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
. On loan from the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
. * USCG 1233 – HO3S-1G at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon. * USCG 1235 – HO3S-1G at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in
Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
* RCAF 9601 – A Dragonfly is on display at the
National Air Force Museum of Canada The National Air Force Museum of Canada is an aviation museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is located on the west side of CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. The museum is a permanent archive which c ...
in
Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues northwest to Pe ...
. * RCAF 9602 – H-5A (S-51) on display at the
New England Air Museum The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is an American aerospace museum located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The museum consists of three display hangars with additional storage and restoration hangars. Its ...
,
Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...
, Windsor Locks, Connecticut * RCAF 9603 – American Helicopter Museum & Education Center,
West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...
* RCAF 9607 – An H-5 is on display at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary in
Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...
. * JRV-11503/WA/H/97 An S-51 Mk-1B is on display at the Air Museum at Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade, Serbia * RAAF A80-374 – A S-51 that served with the
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
from 1951 to 1964, in the collection of the
RAAF Museum RAAF Museum is the official museum of the Royal Australian Air Force located at RAAF Williams Point Cook, Victoria, Australia. The museum displays aircraft of significance to the RAAF from its inception as the Australian Flying Corps to the pre ...
, Point Cook, Victoria, Australia.


Specifications


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1951. * * Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, Vol.20''. London: Phoebus, 1978. . * Polmar, Norman and Floyd D. Kennedy Jr. ''Military Helicopters of the World: Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Since 1917.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1981. . * Rawlins, Eugene W., Lt. Col. ''Marines and Helicopters 1946–1962''. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division, U.S. Marine Corps, 1976. * Swanborough, F.G. and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Military Aircraft since 1909''. London: Putnam, 1963. * ''United States Air Force Museum Guidebook.'' Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975.


External links

*
Sikorsky S-48/R-5
an
S-51/HO3S-1/H-5F, G, H
pages at the Sikorsky Archives
Sikorsky YH-5A page at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

Sikorsky S-51 First Helicopter in Antarctica. – Argentinian Government. Link in Spanish

Google Translation in English
*

* ttp://airandspace.si.edu/webimages/collections/full/Pilot's%20flight%20manual%20for%20R-5A%20Sikorsky.pdf Flight Operating Instructions USAF Series R-5A, D, and E (and) Navy Model HO2S-1 Helicopters {{Authority control H-05, Sikorsky 1940s United States helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1943 H-005 Single-engined piston helicopters United States military helicopters