Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King - Design

Design

When introduced, the Sea King was a considerable advancement over previous helicopters; its twin-turboshaft powerplant layout gave the SH-3 a payload capacity and level of reliability far in excess of previous anti-submarine helicopters. In the event of an engine failure, the Sea King can maintain flight on a single engine alone. Sea Kings operating in an anti-submarine capacity typically had a four man crew; a pilot and copilot in the cockpit and two aircrew in the cabin area to operate and monitor the aircraft's detection equipment and to interpret the sensor data; the two rear aircrew were retained in other mission roles such as cargo transfer and rescue operations. The cabin can accommodate up to 22 survivors or nine stretchers in addition to two medical officers in a SAR capacity; up to 28 soldiers can be accommodated when operated as a troop transport.

The Sea King features many design elements to support naval-orientated operations; the main rotor blades and the tail section could be folded for storage when deployed onboard ships. An amphibious hull allows most Sea Kings to land on and remain on the ocean's surface as a matter of operational routine; for stability and increased flotation, the aircraft's sponsons contain deployable airbags for use when the Sea King planned to come into direct contact with the sea.

Depending upon their intended mission, the armament fitted upon a Sea King could vary considerably. A typical armament configuration in an anti-submarine capacity could include up to four torpedoes or four depth charges. For anti-ship duties, some models were outfitted for the carriage of up to two missiles, typically Sea Eagle or Exocet missiles. The Sea King had also the option of being outfitted to deploy the B57 nuclear bomb.

ASW equipment used onboard Sea Kings has included the AQS-13B/E dipping sonar, specialised computers for processing sonar and sonobuoy data, various models of sonobuoys, ARR-75 Sonobuoy Receivers, and Magnetic Anomaly Detectors. The commonly-fitted AKT-22 data link enabled the rapid dissemination of gathered sonar information to other friendly elements in range. Some later Sea King models featured digital navigation systems and overhauled cockpit instrumentation for night vision compatibility.