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Aviation / Aerospace

Hughes TH-55 Osage (Model 269A)


Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) [ 1964 ]



The Hughes TH-55 Osage was the U.S. Army military form of the Model 269A - Japanese industry also contributed to production totals.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 03/11/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
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Sensing a long-standing need in the helicopter market, Hughes Helicopter turned its attention to a very-lightweight two-seat, single-engine type to interest domestic and foreign military and civilian market buyers. The result of this work became the Hughes Model 269, a Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) that, despite its seemingly toy-like appearance, was a rugged, highly versatile rotary-wing platform for many services and industries of the world. This same form established the basis for the U.S. Army's TH-55 "Osage" series - the focus of this article.

The United States Army originally became interested in the helicopter as a combat-level Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) and evaluated no fewer than five examples under the "YHO-2" designation. This was intended to succeed an aging stock of Bell OH-13 and Hiller OH-23 types then in service. Evaluations were held during 1957-1958 and used the slightly modified version of the Model 269, the "Model 269A", which did away with the exposed, skeletal truss-style tail stem and introduced a shrouded boom structure instead. However, the Army passed on the design, citing a lack of funding and the type's inability to convince Army authorities of its over-battlefield value.

The Model 269A was revisited for the role of dedicated two-seat training platform and, in this guise, was adopted for Army service under the designation of TH-55 "Osage". Deliveries ultimately totaled 792 units and its contributions were such that no replacement for this compact helicopter was found until the arrival of Bell UH-1 "Huey" training forms in 1988 - resulting in decades of American helicopter airmen being trained on the Hughes product.

The Army took delivery of the TH-55A from 1964 until 1967 and these were the standard helicopter trainers of the service for their time aloft. Several were outfitted with various engines for testing. Kawasaki of Japan also produced the TH-55/Model 269A under local license as the TH-55J, these to serve directly with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). Kawasaki produced 38 such helicopters for the service.

The basic design of the TH-55/Model 269 carried the crew of two ( in side-by-side seating) at the bulbous cockpit/fuselage section at front. The crew shared a single console which sat ahead of them and against the bubble-style front glass panel. Views out-of-the-cockpit were excellent and controls were duplicated at each crewman's position and Army models were outfitted with standardized U.S. Army instrumentation and radio equipment. Overhead was the main rotor mast mounting a three-bladed articulated main rotor unit. The engine system was installed under and aft of the fuselage and also drove a simple two-bladed tail rotor unit facing port side. An upward-cranked tailplane was fitted to starboard. For ground support, the helicopter sat on a simple, braced four-point landing skid assembly.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
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Specifications



Service Year
1964

Origin
United States national flag graphic
United States

Status
RETIRED
Not in Service.
Crew
1

Production
830
UNITS


Hughes Helicopters - USA / Kawasaki - Japan
(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)
National flag of modern Japan National flag of the United States Japan; United States
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Special-Mission: MEDical EVACuation (MEDEVAC)
Extraction of wounded combat or civilian elements by way of specialized onboard equipment and available internal volume or external carrying capability.
Special-Mission: Search & Rescue (SAR)
Ability to locate and extract personnel from areas of potential harm or peril (i.e. downed airmen in the sea).
Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
Training (General)
Developed ability to be used as a dedicated trainer for student pilots (typically under the supervision of an instructor).


Length
28.9 ft
(8.80 m)
Width/Span
24.9 ft
(7.60 m)
Height
7.9 ft
(2.40 m)
Empty Wgt
893 lb
(405 kg)
MTOW
1,554 lb
(705 kg)
Wgt Diff
+661 lb
(+300 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Hughes Model 269A production variant)
Installed: 1 x Lycoming HIO-360-B1A engine developing 180 horsepower while driving a three-bladed main rotor and two-bladed tail rotor.
Max Speed
90 mph
(145 kph | 78 kts)
Ceiling
14,633 ft
(4,460 m | 3 mi)
Range
234 mi
(376 km | 696 nm)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Hughes Model 269A production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
None.


Supported Types




(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
TH-55 "Osage" - Base Series Designation.
Model 269 - Base design model developed by Hughes Helicopters for lightweight helicopter market; two prototypes developed utilizing truss-style tail structures; first-flight in 1956 with power from Lycoming O-360-A engine.
Model 269A - Revised tail structure (solid boom type); engine and control options available.
YHO-2 - Model 269A helicopters trialed by the U.S. Army as combat-level observation helicopters; five examples evaluated during 1957 into 1958.
TH-55A - U.S. Army service models, based in the MOdel 269A, featuring U.S. Army-specific equipment and instrumentation; 792 examples delivered from 1964 into 1967.
TH-55J - Model 269A license-produced by Kawasaki for Japanese military service; 38 examples produced.


General Assessment
Firepower  
Performance  
Survivability  
Versatility  
Impact  
Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.
Overall Rating
The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.
38
Rating is out of a possible 100 points.
Relative Maximum Speed
Hi: 100mph
Lo: 50mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (90mph).

Graph average of 75 miles-per-hour.
City-to-City Ranges
NYC
 
  LON
LON
 
  PAR
PAR
 
  BER
BER
 
  MOS
MOS
 
  TOK
TOK
 
  SYD
SYD
 
  LAX
LAX
 
  NYC
Hughes Model 269A operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).
Max Altitude Visualization
Small airplane graphic
Design Balance
The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.
Aviation Era Span
Pie graph section
Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.
Unit Production (830)
830
36183
44000
Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).
>>

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Images Gallery



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Image of the Hughes TH-55 Osage (Model 269A)
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2 / 5
Image of the Hughes TH-55 Osage (Model 269A)
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Image of the Hughes TH-55 Osage (Model 269A)
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Image of the Hughes TH-55 Osage (Model 269A)
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Image of the Hughes TH-55 Osage (Model 269A)
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