Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican

Amphibious Medium-Lift Search and Rescue (SAR) Helicopter

United States | 1965

"The Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican is the USCG version of the USAF CH-3 Sea King and remains in service today."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/07/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

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The Sikorsky S-61R twin-engine platform, evolved from the SH-3 "Sea King" line, was a limited market success for the company. In military service it became the CH-3 "Sea King" and the HH-3 Jolly Green Giant for the United States Air Force (USAF). For the United States Coast Guard, it was represented as the HH-3 "Pelican". The S-61R first-flew in 1959 and was produced from then until the 1970s with service introduction formally beginning in 1961. It remains in very-limited-service with some global operators today (2018).

In USCG service, the HH-3F Pelican was based in the Search and Rescue (SAR) minded HH-3E model and procured in a 1965 initiative. The type would be used in the same all-weather, long-range rescue role and sport a radar fit and a water-landing capability. The Pelican made a career spanning from the late 1960s until the late 1990s, giving decades of faithful service until succeeded by the Sikorsky HH-60J "Jayhawk" line (now MH-60T Jayhawk) modeled from the UH-60 "Black Hawk" family.

In its Coast Guard guise, the HH-3F retained much of the form and function of the earlier aircraft in the series. The piloting crew sat at the nose in a side-by-side arrangement. A radome protruded from the nose section. The cabin was slab-sided and dotted with rectangular windows while sliding doors allowed for entry-exit. At the rear of the fuselage, under the tail stem, was a power-operated loading ramp. Sponsons located to either side of the fuselage not only housed the main landing gear legs but also added a buoyant capability for on-water landings (used in conjunction with the helicopter's boat-like, watertight hull). The entire tricycle arrangement was retractable into the design. The tail unit held the vertical tail fin, horizontal plane and the tail rotor unit (facing portside). Over the top of the fuselage was installed the engine pairing.

United States military services not longer operate the S-61R family of helicopters.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican Amphibious Medium-Lift Search and Rescue (SAR) Helicopter.

2 x General Electric T58-10 turboshaft engines developing 1,500 horsepower each while driving a five-blade main rotor and five-blade tail rotor.
Propulsion

165 mph
265 kph | 143 kts
Max Speed

17,503 ft
5,335 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

780 miles
1,255 km | 678 nm
Operational Range

1,750 ft/min
533 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican Amphibious Medium-Lift Search and Rescue (SAR) Helicopter.

3
(MANNED)
Crew

73.2 ft
22.30 m
O/A Length

62.0 ft
(18.90 m)
O/A Width

18.1 ft
(5.51 m)
O/A Height

13,338 lb
(6,050 kg)
Empty Weight

22,046 lb
(10,000 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican Amphibious Medium-Lift Search and Rescue (SAR) Helicopter .

None. Mission equipment carried though door guns can be installed.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican family line.

HH-3 - Base Series Designation

HH-3E

HH-3F "Sea King"

AS-61R (HH-3F)

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 58 Units
Contractor(s): Sikorsky - USA

[ United States ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 200mph

Lo: 100mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (165mph).

Graph Average of 150 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

58

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

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