Here's the link to the Wikipedia article on this type of helicopter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-61R
In real life these all went out of service in the early 1990s.
Here's the link to the Wikipedia article on this type of helicopter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-61R
In real life these all went out of service in the early 1990s.
Im a big military buff, im not in the military but i know a lot about it. The Jolly Green Giant (Sikorsky S-61 R) is primarily a Search and rescue helicopter not an active combat (although it can be outfitted with some weapons). The large hold in the back can hold many people, (rescue divers, techies and the rescued) While having extra room for supplies. At least thats how i see it. But what would have been better is if they got a Pave Low Helicopter (Sikorsky MH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giant"). This is due to it having mounted weapons in the side doors. It has A little more room that the S-61R in the hold for people. But once again thats my opinion
My father flew Jolly Green Giants during the Vietnam War (HH-53s, not HH-3s). Search and Rescue, as practiced by the US Air Force, was definitely an active combat mission. The objective was to pick up pilots who had been shot down behind enemy lines, and this was accomplished by fighting your way in, then fighting your way back out again.
The original Air Force Jolly Green Giant, the HH-3 series, was purpose designed as a combat aircraft. It had armor plating over the crew compartments and vital systems, self-sealing fuel tanks and redundency in key systems to allow it to fly with battle damage. It also had three weapons stations, one out a door on the right, one out a window on the left and one mounted on the tail ramp, which was usually kept open while it was in flight. In Vietnam it usually carried either M-60 machineguns or 7.62mm miniguns. The later HH-53 and MH-53 helicopters had the same three weapon stations. These originally carried three miniguns, but later went to three 50 caliber machineguns. The Coast Guard HH-3s Pelicans didn't have the armor or the weapons mounts.
The Jolly Green Giant crews would travel deep into enemy territory with an escort of fighters, electronic warfare assets and tankers. Once the downed pilot was located the helicopter would descend to a spot over him and lower pararescue crewmen to the ground. They would find the pilot, administer first aid and protect him while the helicopter hoisted them all back up. All of this was often done while under fire, with friendly aircraft dropping bombs and strafing enemy firing positions around them. Then the force would turn around and fly back to friendly territory. Here's a link to a really good video about these missions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ATcN-Wgz1U
Never saw any. I think it's about the same size as a CH-47.
It's actually smaller than the Chinook by 25ft in length.
Adding new photos.
hh3_flying_SD.jpg
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