![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Sikorsky_S-58_landing_%2528cropped%2529.jpg/640px-Sikorsky_S-58_landing_%2528cropped%2529.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Sikorsky H-34
American helicopter / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sikorsky H-34 (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined military utility helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. A development of the smaller Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (S-55), the H-34 was originally powered by a radial engine, but was later adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and by Sikorsky as the S-58T. The H-34 was also produced under license in France by Sud Aviation.
Sikorsky H-34 / S-58 | |
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A United States Army CH-34 | |
Role | Helicopter |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Sikorsky Aircraft |
First flight | 8 March 1954 |
Introduction | 1954 |
Status | In service |
Primary users | United States Army United States Navy United States Marine Corps |
Produced | 1954–1970[1] (Foreign production of derivatives and sub-types continued under license after the Sikorsky production ended.) |
Number built | 2,340 [2] |
Developed from | Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw |
Developed into | Westland Wessex |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Sikorsky_HUS-1G_USCG_at_Anacostia_1960.jpg/640px-Sikorsky_HUS-1G_USCG_at_Anacostia_1960.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Westland_Wessex_HU5_%28WS-58%29%2C_UK_-_Navy_AN1346285.jpg/640px-Westland_Wessex_HU5_%28WS-58%29%2C_UK_-_Navy_AN1346285.jpg)
The H-34 was one of the first successful military utility helicopters, serving on every continent with the armed forces of 25 countries. It saw combat in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, the Six-Day War, the Vietnam War, and the Algerian War, where the French Air Force used it to pioneer modern air assault tactics. It was the last piston-engined helicopter to be operated by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), having been replaced by turbine-powered types such as the UH-1 Huey and CH-46 Sea Knight; in the USMC, the H-34 was often called the "HUS" after its original designation in that service. A total of 2,340 H-34s were manufactured between 1953 and 1970, including the license productions in the UK and France.[2]
Although most military forces retired the H-34 by the late 20th century, the type remains in limited civil use in transport and external cargo lift roles, and some have been restored and flown as warbirds.