Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King - Operational History

Operational History

The Sea King became operational with the United States Navy in June 1961 as the HSS-2; the aircraft's designation subsequently changed to SH-3A when the unified aircraft designation system was introduced. It was used primarily for anti-submarine warfare, detecting and tracking Soviet submarines and, in time of war, would be used to attack enemy submarines as well. Night-time ASW operations were possible, with considerable difficulty. The Sea King was widely exported, particularly for its anti-submarine capabilities, and was operated in large numbers by several nations, including Brazil, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The Sea King also performed various other roles and missions such as search and rescue, transport, anti-shipping and airborne early warning operations. Aircraft carriers would typically deploy Sea Kings to operate in the close vicinity of the carrier in order to act as a plane guard, ready to respond to another aircraft that crashed during takeoff or landing. Providing a safety margin for other operations, and transferring personnel and mail in between vessels were routine, if less prestigious, duties for the US Navy Sea Kings.

During the Vietnam War, SH-3s were used to rescue the crews of downed aircraft both at sea and over land; the Sea Kings were regularly tasked with retrieval operations in hostile territory were outfitted with self-sealing fuel tanks, machine guns and armor. The Sea King has significantly useful for medical evacuations and disaster relief efforts throughout its service life.

The SH-3 became the primary helicopter for the retrieval of manned space capsules, starting with the recovery of Mercury-Atlas 7 in May 1962. In February 1971, a SH-3A, operating from the amphibious assault ship USS New Orleans, performed the recovery mission of Apollo 14. A specialist search and rescue variant of the SH-3, the HH-3, also performed in this capacity.

Several Sea Kings, operated by the United States Marine Corps's HMX-1 unit, are used as the official helicopters of the President of the United States; in this capacity, the call sign 'Marine One' is used by the helicopter currently occupied by the President. As of 2012, a replacement helicopter fleet for the Sea King is pending under ongoing the VXX program.

In 1992, the US Justice Department sued Sikorsky over allegations of overcharged component pricing and deliberately misleading US Navy negotiators. In 1997, the Justice Department accused Sikorsky of willful overchanging on a contract to upgrade the Navy's Sea Kings.

During the 1990s, the Sea King was replaced in the ASW and SAR roles by the U.S. Navy with the newer Sikorsky SH-60 Sea Hawk. However, the SH-3 continued to operate in reserve units in roles including logistical support, search and rescue, and transport. On 27 January 2006, the SH-3 was ceremonially retired at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, by Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2). They have been replaced by increasingly advanced variants of the SH-60 Sea Hawk.