On 14 October 1964, the YCH-53A, a prototype heavy-lift cargo helicopter which would later become known as the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, made its maiden flight.
The new rotorcraft owed its origins to the United States Marine Corps and to the concept of a heavy, shipborne cargo helicopter that had been consistently developed by that branch of the US armed forces since the early 1950s.
At the beginning, there was the Sikorsky HR2S – also known as the CH-37 Mojave in the US Army, or by its company designation S-56 – an assault transport helicopter capable of carrying up to 26 troops. Although the HR2S entered operational service in July 1956, its piston engines proved inefficient for a rotorcraft of that size.
In consequence, already in the early 1960s, the US Marine Corps had begun to seek a more capable replacement. In July 1962, a helicopter proposed by Sikorsky – essentially a scaled-up variant of the S-61 – was selected as the future heavy-lift aircraft for the Marine Corps.
The CH-53A Sea Stallion, as the helicopter was officially designated, proved to be a reliable and versatile rotorcraft that demonstrated its worth in several conflicts and military operations. The first deliveries to US Marine Corps units began in September 1966, and by January of the following year, CH-53s had been deployed to Vietnam.
More information about the CH-53 rotorcraft, its development and operational service, can be found in our previous articles: 14 October 1964 – first flight of Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, Sikorsky CH-53GS and Sea trials of CH-53K King Stallion.
