H-3 Sea King
| SH-3 Sea King | |
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| US Navy SH-3H Sea King helicopters | |
| Role | ASW/SAR/utility helicopter |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Sikorsky Aircraft |
| First flight | 11 March 1959 |
| Introduction | 1961 |
| Retired | Retired by United States Navy in 2006 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users |
United States Navy (historical) Italian Navy Brazilian Navy Argentine Naval Aviation |
| Produced | 1959–1970s |
| Unit cost |
$6.4 million
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| Variants |
Sikorsky S-61L/N Sikorsky S-61R Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King Westland Sea King |
 SH-3 at NAS Oceana Airshow, 2004
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External and cockpit footage of Sea King start up and take off
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The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was the world's first amphibious helicopter and one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engines.
Introduced in 1961, it served in the United States Navy as a key ASW and utility asset for several decades before being replaced by the non-amphibious Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk in the 1990s. The type also proved popular in civil service and with foreign military customers. As of 2015, many remain in service in nations around the world. The Sea King has been built under license by Agusta in Italy, Mitsubishi in Japan, and by Westland in the United Kingdom as the Westland Sea King. The major civil versions are the S-61L and S-61N.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Navy built up a large and varied fleet of submarines which at one point was in excess of 200 operational submarines. The US Navy decided to counter this threat perusing the improvement and development of various anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, which would result in the development of the Sea King. During the late 1950s, the US Navy was keen to take advantage of newly made progress upon turboshaft engines by commissioning a sizable navalised helicopter for their purposes. Sikorsky received a request from the US Navy to design a new turbine-powered helicopter capable of performing the ASW mission; the specification provided included a dunking sonar, a mission endurance of four hours, and the ability to support a weapons load of 840 lb.
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