Samstag, 1. August 2026

Sikorsky Helicopters in WWII


Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (25 May 1889 to 26 October 1972) was a Russian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Sikorsky designed and developed the Sikorsky R-4, the world’s first mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the US Army Air Forces, US Navy, US Coast Guard, and the British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

Artist:
Alexander Leydenfrost, Esquire magazine, mid 1940s. The text “PM XR” printed in the lower right corner is a magazine tracking code.

Igor Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Russian Empire (today Kyiv, Ukraine) and was the youngest of five children. His father, Ivan Alexeevich Sikorsky, was a professor of psychology at Saint Vladimir University (today Taras Shevchenko National University), a psychiatrist with an international reputation, and a Russian nationalist.

His mother, Mariya Stefanovna Sikorskaya (née Temryuk-Cherkasova), was a physician who did not work professionally. She was sometimes called Zinaida Sikorsky. While home schooling young Igor, she gave him a great love for art, especially in the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci, and the stories of Jules Verne. In 1900, at age 11, he accompanied his father to Germany and through conversations with his father became interested in the natural sciences. After returning home, Sikorsky began to experiment with model flying machines, and by age 12, he had made a small rubber band powered helicopter.

Sikorsky began studying at the Saint Petersburg Maritime Cadet Corps in 1903 at the age of 14. In 1906, he determined that his future was in engineering, so he resigned from the Naval Cadet Corps, despite his satisfactory standing, and left the Russian Empire to study at a French technical school in Paris. During his months in Paris, he interacted with European flight enthusiasts. However, he became dissatisfied with the standard of training at the technical school. In 1907, he returned to the Russian Empire and enrolled at the Mechanical College of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute.

After the academic year ended, Sikorsky again accompanied his father to Germany in the summer of 1908, where he learned of the accomplishments of the Wright brothers’ Flyer and Ferdinand von Zeppelin’s rigid airships. Sikorsky then decided to change his career path to study aviation instead. With financial backing from his sister Olga, Sikorsky returned to Paris in 1909, the center of the aviation world at the time. Sikorsky met with aviation pioneers, asking them questions about aircraft and flying.

In May 1909, he returned to Kiev, Russia and began designing his first helicopter, which he began testing in July 1909. Powered by a 25-horsepower (19-kilowatt) Anzani engine, the helicopter used an upper and lower two-bladed lifting propeller that rotated in opposite directions at 160 rpm. The machine could only generate about 357 pounds-force (1590 newtons) of lift, not enough to lift its approximate 457 pounds (207 kg) weight. Despite his progress in solving technical problems of control, Sikorsky realized that the aircraft would never fly. He finally disassembled Helicopter N°1 in October 1909, after he determined that he could learn nothing more from the design.

In February 1910, he undertook to build a second helicopter, and his first airplane, the Sikorsky S-1 (similar to the Wright Flyer). By the spring, Helicopter N°2 flew. It could lift its weight of 400 pounds (180 kg), but not with the additional weight of an operator.

His first success was the Sikorsky S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5, won him national recognition in Russia and secured his Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) pilot’s license, number 64, issued by the Imperial Aero Club of Russia in 1911.

Prior to WWI, Sikorsky’s success in aviation competitions caught the attention of the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works (Russo-Balt) in Petrograd. He was hired as the head of their new aviation division. At Russo-Balt, Sikorsky designed the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets (S-22 to S-27), which was originally built in 1913 as a luxury, four-engine commercial passenger airliner that can carry 16 passengers. It was the first aircraft to have an insulated passenger saloon, containing wicker chairs, a bedroom, a lounge, as well as the first airborne toilet. The aircraft also had heating and electrical lighting. The crewmen were able to walk out onto the lower wings during flight to service and repair the engines.

Passenger cabin of the Ilya Muromets that included wicker chairs, table, electric lights and heating.

WWI

After the beginning of WWI in 1914, the Imperial Russian Army realized the massive potential of his designs. Sikorsky quickly redesigned the Ilya Muromets into a military version. It became the “Military Ilia Mouromets, Type V” (S-23 Series V), the world’s first purpose-designed heavier than air bomber. It was designed for long-range flying in both bombing and reconnaissance roles. Its internal racks carried up to 800 kg (1763.7 lbs) of bombs, and positions for up to nine machine guns were added for self defense at various locations. The Ilya Muromets (the S-25 Geh-2 variant in March 1916) was the first aircraft in history to incorporate a tail gunner position. The engines were protected with 5mm thick armor.

The Russian military formed a dedicated, specialized strategic bombing unit known as the Eskadra Vozdushnykh Korabley (Squadron of Flying Ships). Sikorsky worked closely with the Russian military, training pilots and overseeing the production of more than 70 bombers that were used successfully on the Eastern Front.

German fighter pilots often were reluctant to attack the Ilya Muromets in the air due to its defensive firepower (including the tail gun position), and the difficulty in bringing down such a large aircraft. It was able to continue flying after losing two engines. Once engaged, the enemy fighters also found that they were buffeted by the propeller wash of the four large engines making it difficult to aim their machine guns.

Sikorsky did not fly any combat missions or fought in the ground war. His critical engineering contributions to the war effort earned him widespread fame in the Russian Empire, and Tsar Nicholas II personally awarded him the Order of St. Vladimir, Fourth Class.

Igor Sikorsky in 1914 wearing his Order of St. Vladimir.

Fled Russia

During the Bolshevik Revolution, Sikorsky was forced to flee Russia because of his high professional profile and close ties to Tsar Nicholas II. In late 1917, the Bolsheviks began the Red Terror, a campaign of political repression and executions without trial. Officers from Sikorsky’s bomber squadron were arrested and shot. In early 1918, a former employee who had joined the Bolsheviks came to Sikorsky’s home in the middle of the night. He warned Sikorsky that his name was on an official execution list. The Bolsheviks labeled him as a double danger. He was “the Tsar’s friend” and an incredibly popular public figure. In March 1918, he used a small sum of saved pre-war royalties to buy passage out of Russia leaving behind his first wife and young daughter. He sailed from Murmansk to London, England, and then to France.

Sikorsky spent a brief period designing a bomber for the French military. He completed the plans for the bomber in August 1918, and preparations to build five prototypes were underway for that fall. However, the war ended on 11 November 1918 and the French government immediately canceled all military contracts, and the bomber was never built. On 24 March 1919, Sikorsky departed from Le Havre, France, on the French ocean liner La Lorraine, and arrived in New York City, USA, on 30 March 1919.

Sikorsky arrived in the US with high dreams, but found a collapsed postwar aviation market saturated with military surplus aircraft. He survived in New York City by working as a schoolteacher and lecturer for fellow Russian immigrants. To earn extra money for food and a room, he gave passionate lectures on aviation history, engineering, and astronomy. His students and audience members included highly educated refugees, such as former Imperial Russian military officers.

His immigrant friends and students pooled together their meager savings to help him form the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation near Roosevelt Field, New York, on 5 March 1923. In 1925, the company name was changed to Sikorsky Manufacturing Company and relocated to Long Island, New York. In 1928, Sikorsky became a naturalized citizen of the United States. After the success of the S-38 (a twin-engine ten-seat sesquiplane amphibious aircraft), the company was reorganized as the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation and purchased the land and building of a modern aircraft factory in Stratford, Connecticut. The company moved its headquarters there in early 1929. In July of 1929, Sikorsky Aviation Corporation became a subsidiary and later an operating division of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (later United Technologies Corporation or UTC).

Sikorsky initially concentrated on the development of multi-engine land planes and then switched to amphibious aircraft. The company updated its name to the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in December 1934. In the late 1930s, Sikorsky’s sales declined and United Aircraft merged Sikorsky’s division with Vought Aircraft becoming Vought-Sikorsky (VS).

Vought-Sikorsky VS-300

Sikorsky’s quest for a practical helicopter began in 1938, when as the Engineering Manager of the Vought-Sikorsky Division of United Aircraft Corporation, he was able to convince the directors of United Aircraft that his years of study and research into rotary-wing flight problems would lead to a breakthrough.

The VS-300 was Sikorsky’s first single-seat single-engine helicopter with a single three-blade rotor. It originally had a 75 horsepower (56 kW) engine which powered both the main and tail rotor systems. On 14 September 1939, Sikorsky test flown the VS-300 tethered by cables at Stratford, Connecticut. For later flights, Sikorsky also added a vertical airfoil surface to the end of the tail to assist anti-torque but this was later removed when it proved to be ineffective.

Sikorsky is piloting the VS-300 while wearing his signature fedora on 14 September 1939. Note the thin tether cables extending from the landing gear struts to the ground.

Film: Igor Sikorsky beat the world endurance record with a VS-300 prototype

Sikorsky fitted utility floats (also called pontoons) to the VS-300 and performed a water landing and takeoff on 17 April 1941, making it the first practical amphibious helicopter.

Film: Igor Sikorsky first water landing with the VS-300 prototype (17 April 1941)

On 6 May 1941, the VS-300 beat the world endurance record held by the German Focke-Wulf Fw 61, by staying aloft for 1 hour 32 minutes and 26.1 seconds. The final variant of the VS-300 was powered by a 150 horsepower (111.85 KW) Franklin engine and was one of the first helicopters capable of carrying cargo. The VS-300 was modified over a two-year period, including the removal of the two vertical tail rotors, in 1941, when a new cyclic control system gave it much-improved flight behavior.

The third configuration of the VS-300 in November 1941. A doped cotton fabric skin was added to enclose the cockpit.

Sikorsky in the improved VS-300A. A small passenger seat was added directly in front of the transmission. The nose was reshaped and a pitot tube was added.

On 8 December 1941, the final configuration of the VS-300A had flown. Longer, full-length pneumatic floats were added. These longer pontoons completely eliminated the need for the separate nose bumper and tail floats.

Film: Sikorsky VS-300A with utility floats (1942)

Film: Sikorsky VS-300 demo, 1943

Vought-Sikorsky VS-316

The VS-316 was developed from the VS-300 helicopter and was publicly demonstrated in 1940. The helicopter had room for two in the cabin and was equipped with two sets of control panels and a 165 hp R-500-3 engine. It was the first helicopter to have a single main rotor with an anti-torque tail rotor.

The VS-316A first flew on 14 January 1942. Test pilot Charles Lester “Les” Morris is at the controls during this historic flight in Stratford, Connecticut.

The US Army accepted the VS-316A on 30 May 1942 and designated it the XR-4, under the USAAF series “R” for “Rotorcraft”. It received the serial number 41-18874.

The XR-4 exceeded all the previous helicopter endurance altitude and airspeed records that had been set before it. The XR-4 completed a 761 mile (1225 km) cross country flight from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Wright Field, Ohio, setting a helicopter peak altitude record of 12000 feet (3700 meters), while achieving 100 flight hours without a major incident and a top airspeed approaching 90 mph (78 kn; 145 km/h).

Film: FIRST PUBLIC FILM OF ARMY HELICOPTER – SIKORSKY XR-4 (1942)

Film: Sikorsky Helicopter Introduced

XR-4 41-18874 flown by Sikorsky and chief test pilot Les Morris, landed at Wright Field, Ohio, to complete delivery of the first USAAF helicopter. It took more than 16 hours of flight time and 17 refueling stops to fly this fabric-covered, two-seat helicopter 761 miles (1224.71 km) from Stratford, Connecticut to Wright Field.

To determine the feasibility of operating helicopters from the decks of merchant ships for antisubmarine patrols, USAAF Colonel Hollingsworth Franklin Gregory flying XR-4 41-18874 with floats made 23 landings and takeoffs from the tanker SS Bunker Hill in Long Island Sound on 6–7 May 1943.

YR-4A 42-107234 at Floyd Bennett Field (Naval Air Station New York) in Brooklyn, New York, on 10 July 1943. It was used to train personnel from multiple branches and nations, US Coast Guard (USCG), USN, USAAF, and British RAF/RN.

The helicopter was difficult to fly. The rotor blades were made of wood ribs around a steel spar and covered with doped fabric. The blades were difficult to keep rotating in the same plane and vibrated excessively. The cyclic made continuous small orbits, vibrating continuously. There was no governor to control rotor speed, and the pilot had to correlate the throttle continuously with collective pitch inputs. It was reported that the “control stick shakes like a jackhammer, and the pilot must hold it tightly at all times. Should he relax for even a minute, the helicopter falls out of control. Pilots of standard airplanes said it’s easy to identify a helicopter pilot – he has a permanent case of the shakes.”

Film: Sikorsky R-4 shipboard tests, 1943

In November 1943 during shipboard landing trials, USCG Lieutenant Commander Frank Arthur Erickson flying HNS-1 Bureau Number 46445 (ex-USAAF 42-107239) is landing onboard the British Merchant Vessel MV Daghestan in the Long Island Sound. Note the US star and bars insignia has a surrounding red border.

First Helicopter Life-saving

After a year of convoy escort duty and anti-submarine duty crossing the Atlantic, destroyer USS Turner (DD-648) was anchored off Ambrose Light in the Lower New York Bay on 3 January 1944. Early in the morning, the destroyer suffered a series of shattering internal explosions. By 0650 hours, she took on a 16° starboard list and explosions, mostly in the ammunition stowage areas, continued to stagger the stricken destroyer. At about 0750 hours, a single violent explosion caused her to capsize and sink. The tip of her bow remained above water until about 0827 hours when she disappeared completely taking with her 137 out of the crew of 256.

After nearby ships picked up the survivors of the sunken destroyer, about 50 of the injured were taken to the Fort Hancock post hospital on Sandy Hook, New Jersey (a narrow sand peninsula). US Coast Guard Sikorsky HNS-1 BuNo 46445 piloted by Lieutenant Commander Erickson flew two cases of blood plasma lashed to the helicopter’s floats from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan to Sandy Hook in a winter storm that had grounded all other available aircraft. Erickson delivered the plasma in 14 minutes, landing directly on the hospital grounds. Delivery by car would have taken many hours driving around the bay through heavy blinding snow, sleet, ice pellets, and freezing rain. The plasma saved the lives of many of the Turner’s injured crewmen. This was the first helicopter rescue/mercy mission.

An unknown pilot is flying HNS-1 BuNo 46445 number 9, the date is unknown. Note the national insignia on the underside of the fuselage. Dispensary 87 (signs above the door) was part of the main barracks area at Floyd Bennett Field.

USCG Commander Erickson (standing) and Ensign Walter Bolton posing with HNS-1 BuNo 46445 on 7 April 1944 (date the photo was cleared for publication). The building in the background appears to be the same building in the above photo.

First Combat Rescue

Operation Thursday 1944

The Chindits were British and Indian special operations units during WWII, named after the Burmese word for “lion”. Commanded by Major General Orde Wingate during Operation Thursday (3 March to 27 August 1944), the Chindits made airborne assaults and create jungle landing strips behind enemy lines. The Chindits were also called Wingate’s Raiders.

The USAAF 1st Air Commando Group provided fighter cover, bomb striking power, and air transport services for the Chindits. Operations included supply airdrops and landing of troops and equipment; evacuation of casualties; and air attacks against enemy airfields and lines of communication.

For troop transport, they had 13 C-47s, 100 CG-4A Waco gliders, and 25 TG-5 training gliders. For casualty evacuation, they had a combined total of 100 Stinson L-1 Vigilant and Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison planes. For fighter cover, there were 30 North American P-51B Mustangs (later replaced by Republic P-47 Thunderbolts). In India, the Air Commandos were augmented with 12 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. After some extraordinary wrangling that included intervention by Harry Hopkins, US President Roosevelt’s special assistant, the Air Commandos also received six Sikorsky YR-4B helicopters. Two YR-4Bs were lost during training in India but the remaining four were available for the operation.

All glider and helicopter operations were launched from Lalaghat Airstrip located in the Cachar region of Assam, India, situated near the town of Lalabazar.

The first YR-4B helicopter at Lalaghat Airstrip in March 1944 being worked on by 1st Air Commando mechanics and a Sikorsky factory representative.

Second Lieutenant Carter Harman of the 1st Air Commando Group testing YR-4B 43-28247 hovering above the ground at Lalaghat Airstrip in March 1944.

On 21 April 1944, a Stinson L-1 Vigilant liaison plane piloted by Technical Sergeant Ed “Murphy” Hladovcak was carrying three wounded British Chindits soldiers. The plane was only able to carry two men (including the pilot). Flying the overloaded and tail heavy plane, Hladovcak struggled to keep aloft. While the plane was losing altitude, the landing gear stuck an embankment, shearing it off forcing the plane to crash land in the jungle. Hladovcak managed to get the wounded out of the wreck, moved them away from the plane and hid in the jungle. All four men were stranded in hostile territory behind enemy lines.

The closest Allied base was the Aberdeen glider airstrip, northwest of Mawlu (today Maw Luu). With dense jungle and Japanese troops around the crash site, a ground rescue attempt or the use of fixed-wing rescue aircraft was considered impractical. It was then decided to use one of the untried YR-4B helicopters.

Second Lieutenant Harman was ordered to fly YR-4B 43-28247 from Lalaghat Airstrip about 500 miles (804.67 km) northeast to Taro in northern Burma (today Myanmar). Taro was a Tanai River (today Tanaing River) ferry station located at the southwestern edge of the Hukawaung Valley (today Hukawng Valley). Today, the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve overlaps and encompasses the historical location of the Taro ferry station in 1944.

The YR-4B helicopter came with a canvas-covered stretcher so that a litter patient could be loaded inside the helicopter. To prepare the helicopter for the journey, Harman threw four Jerry cans of extra fuel in the unused co-pilot’s seat and placed the litter stretcher behind the seats.

The first leg of the flight northeast to Taro meant climbing above mountain peaks that loomed to 5000 feet (1524 meters) in theory, the ceiling of the YR-4B and visually navigating to Dimapur. Harman landed safely at Dimapur and filled the fuel tank from the Jerry cans before beginning the second leg of the flight, heading northeast to Jorhat (a bomber base for B-24 Liberators) and then southeast to Taro. It took Harman about 24 hours to reach Taro.

At Taro, mechanics installed an extra fuel tank borrowed from an L-5 inside the fuselage of Harman’s YR-4B so he did not need to carry Jerry cans and land to refuel. Meanwhile Aberdeen-based L-5 Sentinels were pinpointing Hladovcak’s location on the ground. Harman received a radio message from Aberdeen consisted of four words: “SEND THE EGGBEATER IMMEDIATELY.” That meant to proceed from Taro 125 miles (201.17 km) south to Aberdeen, beyond the maximum range of the YR-4B.

Harman landed at Aberdeen on the morning of 25 April 1944. Hladovcak’s group were holding out and had not been found by the Japanese. L-5 Sentinels were dropping supplies and messages to Hladovcak, aiming at a white parachute he draped across a rice paddy. A message was dropped to Hladovcak telling him a location for an extraction. The location was a sandbar on a nearby river which British commandos had secured a small sector of the bank, enough space for an L-1 or L-5 to land. At Aberdeen, they knew that none of the four men could reach the riverbank on foot. They believed that Harman could pick them up and carry them to the sandbar. The liaison planes would then fly the wounded to Aberdeen where they will be transferred to a larger aircraft for evacuation to India.

Harman flew from Aberdeen to the sandbar riverbank, where he made the rendezvous with an L-5 Sentinel. The L-5 led him to the clearing where Hladovcak and the three British were struggling to stay alive. Harman did not see any Japanese troops, but he was told they were all around the clearing.

Hladovcak “went crazy” when he saw the “eggbeater” arriving since he never seen a helicopter before. Harman was pushing the YR-4B to the limit when he landed in the clearing in a swirl of flying dust and pieces of greenery. Hladovcak loaded the most seriously injured soldier aboard. The YR-4B strained, vibrated and took off. Harman was able to make it to the sand bar where a liaison plane flew the wounded British soldier to safety.

Harman flew back and hauled out a second British soldier, still searching the jungle canopy for Japanese troops. After Harman landed on the sand bar, there was a clunking sound and a lot of vapor coming from the engine and then the engine seized. It had overheated and it would not start up again. So Harman had to spend the night on the sand bar. It was a long night for Harman.

The liaison pilots warned Harman there might be weather problems on top of everything else the next day. In the morning, there was low cover, but nothing to prevent flying if only the engine would start. It did. Harman was able to pick up the third British soldier and get him to safety. Hladovcak was all alone in the clearing in the jungle.

Hladovcak held out. Harman was able to go in again. As the YR-4B approached Hladovcak, soldiers broke out of the tree line about 1000 feet (304.8 meters) from him, some with their rifles held in the air. Hladovcak was shouting out loud about Japanese troops bearing down on him. Harman got to him first and Hladovcak quickly climbed on board. Harman then put the helicopter into a hover. The “enemy” troops swarmed directly beneath the YR-4B and for a moment it threatened to seize up again. The helicopter sank down toward the jungle. Then Harman was able to get the YR-4B to full power and climbed away from the men with rifles.

Harman brought Hladovcak back to Aberdeen. Later, they were told that the troops who swarmed beneath the helicopter were, in fact, friendly Chindit irregulars who were trying to protect the downed pilot. There were Japanese troops nearby, but Harman never saw them. Harmon completed the rescue, becoming the first pilot in history to perform a helicopter combat rescue.

Lieutenant Harman (standing on left) in front of YR-4B 43-28223 on 26 April 1944. Standing next to Harman is Lieutenant Frank Peterson. Harman’s crew chief, Sergeant Jim Phelan, is kneeling on the right.

Harman spent several more weeks with the 1st Air Commando Group and retrieved several soldiers who needed to be rescued. Most of the time, only one YR-4B was kept flying using parts taken from the other three since no spare parts were available. Then, the last YR-4B helicopter was damaged beyond repair.

Film: Sikorsky R-4 Hoverfly

Film: U.S. 10th Air Jungle Rescue Detachment performs Rescue mission behind Japanese lines in Burma

1945

On 17 January 1945, an urgent message was sent to the USAAF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. requesting one of the new helicopters to rescue a group of US fliers who had been forced down in an inaccessible area of Burma. Helicopter YR-4B 42-107237 was chosen for the rescue mission. Under the supervision of First Lieutenant Paul Shoemaker, an experienced helicopter engineering officer, the helicopter was dismantled, loaded with trained helicopter personnel onto a Douglas C-54 transport. First Lieutenant Irwin C. Steiner, a chopper pilot for one year, was in charge of re-assembling the helicopter in Burma.

Total flight time from Wright Field in Ohio to Myitkyina, Burma, including a stop at LaGuardia Field in New York to pick up Captain Frank Peterson, a helicopter pilot with two years of experience, plus stops to refuel and/or exchange C-54 pilots, took 53 hours and 10 minutes.

The C-54 arrived at Myitkyina Airfield on January 22nd and the helicopter was immediately unloaded with all its parts and it was trucked to an assembly area on a parking apron among other aircraft of the Tenth Air Force Jungle Rescue Units.

Exhausted but eager to prove their worth, the members of the expedition were disappointed to learn that the airmen they came to rescue had already walked out of the jungle and had been evacuated. They decided to complete the helicopter’s assembly under Lieutenant Shoemaker’s supervision so it would be available if it was needed. By dusk, the tail rotor and nose section had been bolted to the fuselage, and the crew would have the helicopter ready to fly by noon the next day.

YR-4B 42-107237 being re-assembled at Myitkyina Airfield in Burma. Note the B-25 in the background.

Sergeant Don Nigro is working on the helicopter’s main rotor assembly. B-25C 41-12492 is in the background which probably was used as a transport or a squadron hack.

Medical Emergency

USAAF Private Howard Ross of the 10th Weather Squadron and three British soldiers were manning a mountain top weather observation post in the Naga Hills (Nagaland, India). Ross was cleaning one of the .30 Caliber machine guns on the post’s perimeter when a chambered round accidentally discharged and went completely through Ross’s hand. With the only basic first aid supplies available, Ross’s hand was bandaged but due to the hostile jungle environment the wound rapidly became infected and then life threatening. Getting medical aid up the mountain trail would have taken 10 days and parachuting a doctor to or near the weather post was not possible.

During the night of January 23-24, First Lieutenant Leo Kenney, commanding officer of the Air Jungle Rescue Unit, roused Steiner and Shoemaker from a sound sleep to inform them that a weather observer at a weather observation post atop a mountain was in desperate need of medical attention. After examining maps of the area, they decided that a helicopter rescue was possible and developed a mission plan.

The re-assembly of the YR-4B was completed the next day and the YR-4B was fueled and ready. Peterson and Steiner aboard the YR-4B and one escorting L-5 Sentinel tested the YR-4B throughout the rest of the day and they gave the “ready to go” for the next morning, January 25th.

Peterson and Steiner flew the mission, alternating as pilots. Since both were unfamiliar with the countryside plus the YR-4B had no radio, so two fixed-winged L-5 Sentinels escorted the helicopter. The average speed of the YR-4B was around 60 mph (96.56 km/h). The L-5 flew 30 to 40 mph (48.3 to 64.4 km/h) faster, therefore the Sentinels had to continuously circle to keep the helicopter in sight.

During the flight, the YR-4B and its two escorts lost sight of each other four times. Peterson and Steiner signed to their two escorts by “flashing” a mirror, the reflection was visible for about 10 miles (16 km). Then the YR-4B had trouble getting over one 5000 foot (1524 meters) mountain, but it finally topped the peak on the third attempt.

The helicopter was, however, running out of fuel, forcing the pilots to land on a sandbar on the Chindwin River. The L-5s flew to the small airstrip at Sinkaling Hkamti to pick-up two 5 gallon (18.9 liters) Jerry cans full of fuel, took off again then dropped them to the YR-4B on the sandbar. Sinkaling Hkamti was located on both sides of the Chindwin River, in what is today Hkamti District, Sagaing Region.

YR-4B 42-107237 helicopter alongside an L-5 Sentinel on the pebble-covered sandbar on the Chindwin River. The exact location of the sandbar on the river is unknown.

With the fuel in its tank, the helicopter took off and made it to the airstrip at Sinkaling Hkamti. The novelty of the helicopter caught the immediate attention of four British soldiers who were repairing three damaged British aircraft at the airstrip and a gathering of inquisitive Burmese natives had to be kept away from the helicopter with considerable difficulty.

After a quick lunch of coffee and K-rations, Peterson took off alone for the mountaintop while Steiner flew as an observer in an escorting L-5. One hour later Peterson landed at the weather observation post on a primitive 250 foot (76.2 meters) airstrip amid high peak sand sharp 2500 foot (762 meter) drop-offs on both sides. It was impossible for the L-5 to land. Again, short on fuel and faced with increased mountain turbulence, Peterson decided to spend the night at the weather station. Steiner and the L-5 returned to Sinkaling Hkamti.

The next morning the two L-5s returned. They circled the mountain for about an hour, dropped fuel, and due to no radios, dropped messages to Peterson. Still, Peterson did not take off. Something was wrong. Using lengths of white cloth, Peterson spelled out on the ground “OIL”. The L-5s returned to Sinkaling Hkamti, loaded up with cans of oil, returned to the mountain top, and dropped the much needed lubricant. The native Burmese living on top of the mountain, the Nagas, amazed by the helicopter, presented Peterson with a spear and other gifts. The Nagas were notorious for their head-hunting proficiency.

Fueled and ready, Peterson took off from the rough mountain airstrip with Private Ross aboard. Ross’s wounded hand was noticeably swollen, but the 21 year old soldier was excited to be aboard the “newfangled rotating machine”. With the two L-5s escorting, they flew back to Sinkaling Hkamti.

After landing at Sinkaling Hkamti, Private Ross was transferred to an L-5 and transported to Myitkina for hospitalization. He made a full recovery. Peterson and Steiner remained at Myitkina with the YR-4B to instruct other men of the Tenth Air Force on the helicopter’s use and maintenance.

Lieutenant Steiner flew missions locating downed aircraft. He removed valuable instruments and/or sensitive documents and marked the aircraft with a large “X” painted on the wings so that it could be identified from the air and would not be repeatedly reported as crashed. Before the helicopter, a salvage team had to hike through the jungle to the crash site and carried back all the salvaged parts which took about a week.

Crashed B-25

Sometime prior to February 1945, B-25J 43-3951 “Cornhusker” crash landed in marshy area near Myitkyina after losing an engine. The crew was rescued. The B-25J was named after the state of Nebraska (known as the “Cornhusker State”). It belonged to the 83rd Bombardment Squadron, 12th Bombardment Group, 10th Air Force. The squadron insignia was a Grim Reaper (a winged skeleton in a black robe) flying against a red field, clutching a sword in the right hand and holding a black shield in the left hand.

On 5 February 1945, Steiner flew out to the crash site and salvaged cockpit instruments from the B-25J. In this photo, Steiner in YR-4B 42-107237 is taking off from the crash site. Note the large “X” painted on top of the B-25J’s port (left) wing.

Film: Sikorsky YR-4B Helicopter Arrives in Burma January 1945 Flies Missions

Film: YR-4B helicopter pilot checks a crashed B-25 in Burma

Film: Sikorsky YR-4B WWII Aircraft Equipment Recovery

Film: Captain James Green being airlifted from his crash site by a Sikorsky YR-4 helicopter in Shingbwiyang, Burma

Film: An injured U.S. soldier is airlifted by Sikorsky YR-4B helicopter and tended by medics in Burma

YR-4B 42-107237 crashed in Burma on 26 July 1945. The location, names and the fate of the crew are unknown.

Operation Ivory Soap

Operation Ivory Soap was a classified US military project to provide forward theatre support for aircraft repair and maintenance. Six Liberty ships were converted into floating workshops to repair aircraft. They were designated Aircraft Repair Units (Floating), ARU(F). The Liberty ships were retrofitted to repair B-29 bombers. Eighteen smaller 187 feet (57 m) long auxiliary vessels were designated as Aircraft Maintenance Units (AMU). The smaller vessels were intended to repair smaller aircraft and vehicles like the P-51 Mustang, Lockheed P-38, Sikorsky R-4 helicopters, and amphibious vehicles. The crew of the ships were both US Navy and USAAF personnel.

The Origin of the Operation Name:

A planning meeting was deciding on an official project title and came up with a number of names. During the meeting, a participant left to go to the restroom. While washing his hands in the restroom, he thought of Ivory Soap, an US iconic personal care brand since 1879 famously marketed for its unique ability to float on water. After returning to the meeting, he announced, “I’ve got a name for the operation: Ivory Soap.” Note in 2023, Ivory Soap changed the formula and it now does not float on water.

After their arrival in the Pacific in early 1945, the six converted Liberty ships were renamed with new “General” names. The 1st and 2nd ships were specially equipped and trained to support B-29s in the Marianas, including repair of their radar and complex central fire control systems. They became known as “The Generals.” The six generals were highly distinguished pioneers and leaders in US military aviation.

Major General Robert Olds (died on 28 April 1943) was the father of First Lieutenant Robin Olds (434th fighter squadron ace) and later flew in the Vietnam War.

Each ARU(F) carried:

  • 2 DUKW Amphibious Trucks:
    Used primarily to ferry replacement aircraft parts that were too heavy for helicopters.
  • 2 LCVP “Higgins” Boats:
    Provided standard ship-to-shore personnel and cargo transit.
  • 2 Motor Launches:
    Utilized for general utility and maritime transport.
  • 3 to 4 Sikorsky R-4 Helicopters:
    Maintained on an onboard 40 by 72 foot (12.19 by 21.95 meter) steel landing deck for rapid transit and medical evacuation.

At the start of June 1945, the 3rd, 5th, and 6th Aircraft Repair Units were operating in the Philippines, supporting the Fifth Air Force, while the remaining three supported the 20th Air Force in the Marianas.

ARU(F)-4 Brigadier General Asa N. Duncan at Guam in May 1945. Note the steel landing deck and helicopter.

A R-4B helicopter flown from Harmon Field on Guam probably landing on ARU(F)-4. Note the star and bars insignia painted across the underside of the fuselage. The underside is painted Olive Drab. If it was Neutral Grey, the edge of the blue roundel behind the white star would be visible.

ARU(F)-4 at anchor either at Saipan or Iwo Jima, date unknown. Note the helicopter taking off.

A R-4B helicopter with floats landing on the ARU(F)-1 Major General Robert Olds.

R-4B 43-46531 launched from the ARU(F)-2 Major General Herbert A. Dargue landed at the main fighter strip on Iwo Jima on 23 March 1945 while the island was still being secured by the US Marines. It was the first helicopter to land on the island and it drew immense curiosity since many had never seen a helicopter before.

A R-4B helicopter with floats landing on Iwo Jima on 3 May 1945.

Film: Sikorsky R-4B of the 2nd Aircraft Repair Unit (Floating)

The helicopter in this film is R-4B 43-46531 landing supplies on Iwo Jima on 4 June 1945.

R-4B 43-46531 launched from the ARU(F)-4 Major General Herbert A. Dargue (anchored in Tanapag Harbor) hovers over Isley Field on Saipan in 1945. The B-29 below it belonged to the 500th BG, 73rd BW of the XXI Bomber Command.

R-4B 43-46533 (no Floats) launched from the ARU(F)-1 hovering over North Field on Tinian on 11 April 1945. The B-29 in the background bears the “Hellbirds – with Malice Toward Some” insignia of the 462nd BG, 58th BW, which normally operated from the West Field on Tinian.

A R-4 helicopter landing on Okinawa at one of the four captured Japanese airfields that the US engineers are repairing and expanding. In the foreground are tractor track marks on the ground and corrugated metal culvert tube halves for build the drainage system for the airfield.

U-858

U-858 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat which was launched on 17 June 1943. She had one commander for her two patrols, Kapitänleutnant Thilo Bode. Near the end of the war, she was sent to cause havoc along the east coast of the US. However, she saw no combat and did not sink or damage any allied ships during the war.

On the morning of 14 May 1945, US ships escorted U-858 into the waters off Cape May, New Jersey, under the watchful eyes of a HNS-1 helicopter and a US Navy Blimp.

This is my close up of the above photo. The helicopter is ex-USAAF YR-4B 43-28231 which was transferred to the US Navy on 8 March 1944 and re-designated as HNS-1 BuNo 39035. The yellow text on the tail reads “BEWARE of ROTORS”. Beside it on the right is a US Navy K-Class Patrol Blimp. For anti-submarine patrols, the blimp was able to carried four 350 lbs. (160 kg) depth bombs, two in a bomb bay and two externally, and had a machine gun mounted in the forward section of the control car.

During the afternoon of May 14th, U-858 was brought to anchor behind the breakwater at Cape Henlopen, Delaware. At Fort Miles, Delaware, Captain Bode officially surrendered U-858 to the US Navy becoming the first foreign surrender on US soil since the War of 1812.

After surrendering, U-858 was used for publicity in war bond drives. After used for torpedo practice in the New England area, the US Navy scuttled her on 21 November 1947.

XR-6

The R-6 was developed to improve on the successful Sikorsky R-4. In order to enhance performance, a completely new streamlined fuselage was designed and the boom carrying the tail rotor was lengthened and straightened. The main rotor and transmission system of the R-4 were retained. Initial production was by Sikorsky, but most were built by Nash-Kelvinator.

The R-6 had numerous defects and was an even trickier machine to fly. The fuel tank was located in front of the center of lift, so when it ran low on fuel, the nose began to rise up. The pilot would run out of forward stick (not able to fly forward) if he was alone.

XR-6A 43-28240 in flight.

XR-6A 43-28240 with “Hotdog” floats during a flight test. Note the tethered cable attached to the nose.

Film: USAAF Sikorsky R-6A rescue training in Burma (1945)

Luzon 1945

In early June 1945, the 6th Aircraft Repair Unit arrived in Manila Bay, Luzon, and began rescue operations with R-4B and R-6A helicopters. In the span of only four days, pilots First Lieutenant James Brown, Second Lieutenant John Noll, and Flight Officer Edward Ciccolella rescued around 40 wounded.

In the process, they introduced a significant innovation to the battlefield. Though Sikorsky engineers had designed slots running through the R-6’s airframe to mount two encased litter pods, the R-6As they received did not have this feature. The helicopter mechanics of the Sixth Aircraft Repair Unit improvised external litters using Stokes baskets (steel-tube and wire-mesh baskets used to transport the injured) welded to the steel frame. This way, prone casualties could be carried without risk to the helicopter.

By July 29th, six pilots flying US helicopters evacuated 75 to 94 wounded soldiers from the highlands northeast of Manila. The Japanese forces, determined to resist to the end, opened fire with machine guns on the helicopters, making the missions extremely dangerous. This made them the first combat helicopter medical evacuations under hostile fire in military history.

On 23 June 1945, R-6A 43-45342 from ARU(F)-5 landing at Grace Park Airfield in Manila after evacuating a wounded US 38th Infantry Division soldier from the rugged highlands of northeastern Luzon. A WC-54 Dodge Ambulance is waiting on the left.

US medics are carrying a litter away from a R-6A helicopter to load the wounded GI into a WC-54 Dodge Ambulance on the right.

Film: Sikorsky R-4B, Luzon, 1945

China 1945

The 8th Emergency Rescue Squadron of the 14th Air Force led by Captain Knute Flint arrived in China in May 1945 became the USAAF’s first official dedicated land-rescue helicopter unit. Based in Kunming, China, the squadron consisted of only 5 YR-6A helicopters, liaison planes, and modified C-47s and B-25 bombers equipped with cameras for scouting, search coordination, and supplies deployment.

With Kunming’s altitude of 1900 meters (6234 feet) above sea level, the mechanics had to remove the outer engine cowling and the heavy radio set in order for the YR-6A to have enough lift to takeoff in the thin mountain air.

The early piston-engine helicopters were not able to cross “the Hump” (eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains) into Burma and the YR-6As had a limited 135 mile (217.26 km) combat radius. Pilots who had mechanical problems or ran out of fuel while flying over the hump were ordered to glide as far as possible away from the mountains before baling out.

The C-47s and B-25s first located the downed aircrew and made contact with them, then dropped supplies to them. If within range, then the helicopter(s) flew from Kunming directly to the downed crew’s location for a pickup. To expand the range of the helicopters, a makeshift rescue camp with a short dirt airstrip was setup closer to the downed crew’s area and 1 or 2 helicopters flew to the camp site to make the local rescue effort. C-47s airdropped Jerry cans of fuel at the rescue camp for refueling the helicopter(s). The helicopter(s) would either fly the aircrew back to Kunming or back to the rescue camp where liaison planes would transport them back.

In 1945, the squadron attempted 110 rescue missions and completed 43 successful rescues in the rugged jungle terrain around Kunming in its first six months. The 5 YR-6As did not suffer any operational or combat losses before the Japanese surrender. In August 1945, the helicopters were decommissioned and they were either stripped for parts or sold off locally as military surplus.

A R-6 helicopter settles down on a narrow dirt road along a rice paddy in China on 4 June 1945. Note the Jeep parked on the side of the road on the left.

This is my closeup of the helicopter’s tail in the above photo. This is YR-6A 43-45330. Note the bars of the national insignia are along the top of the fuselage, not perpendicular to it. The top point of the white star points down the side of the fuselage.

Three YR-6A helicopters at a makeshift rescue camp somewhere in China.

This is my closeup of the helicopters in the above photo. In the foreground, a ground crewman is standing on a steel drum working on the tail rotor of YR-6A 43-45330. In the background on the left is YR-6A 43-4532? (the last number is probably 8, too far away to read) and on the right is YR-6A 43-4532? (a soldier is obscuring the last number).

Hoverfly I and II

RAF Wing Commander Reginald Alfred Charles Brie (27 November 1895 to 1988) was the primary British official who evaluated, recommended, and ultimately spearheaded the decision to procure the Sikorsky R-4 helicopter for British service.

After witnessing the flight capabilities of the prototype XR-4 in early 1942, Wing Commander Brie was the only non-US pilot permitted to fly the XR-4 prototype during its critical developmental testing phase. Brie’s experience behind the controls of the XR-4 gave him the definitive, hands-on proof he needed to convince a skeptical British Air Ministry that the single-rotor design was entirely viable for naval and radar duties, bypassing the need to wait for multi-rotor concepts that were lagging behind in development.

His evaluations and official reports led the British government to secure an initial procurement authority on 30 April 1942, which integrated British orders into the early mass-production contracts alongside the US military.

Wing Commander Brie and the British Air Commission (based in Washington, D.C.) successfully secured early deliveries of the Sikorsky R-4 through a strategy combining expert technical collaboration, a shared inter-service testing coalition, and the strategic leverage of the Lend-Lease Act.

Because the R-4 was entirely unproven, the US military was initially hesitant to fully prioritize it over standard combat aircraft. Brie exploited this hesitation to embed British interests directly into the aircraft’s development.

In British service, the R-4 variants were named by the British as the Hoverfly Mk.I or the Hoverfly I. The later R-6 variants were named the Hoverfly Mk.II.

List of YR-4B helicopters transferred to the Royal Navy.

List of R-4B helicopters transferred to the Royal Navy in 1944.

{RAF} Transferred to the Royal Air Force for evaluation.

List of R-6A helicopters transferred to the Royal Air Force in 1945.

The British merchant vessel and freighter MV Daghestan, which was specifically modified with a small wooden flight deck over her stern to test operating helicopters at sea for anti-submarine convoy protection. MV Daghestan was part of Convoy HX 274 which consisted of 26 freighters, two British aircraft carriers, three British escort destroyers, and an ocean-going rescue tug. Convoy HX 274 departed from New York on 6 January 1944, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean toward Liverpool, UK. This was the first-ever Atlantic convoy to utilize helicopter support for the anti-submarine protection trials.

On 16 January 1944 after days of waiting out severe storms and heavy seas, USCG Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Stewart R. Graham flying Hoverfly I FT835 (ex-USAAF YR-4B 42-107246) lands on the MV Daghestan. This was first time a helicopter completed a takeoff and landing from a vessel out on the high seas during a trans-Atlantic crossing.

The 1945 British maritime evaluations concluded that the Hoverfly I was conceptually revolutionary but practically inadequate for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations. The Hoverfly I could not carry weapons and was unable to withstand the heavy winds and severe weather conditions of the North Atlantic.

RAF No. 529 Squadron used the Hoverfly I to replace aging autogyros which were not able to hover. The Hoverfly I hovered near coastal radar stations to calibrate and test Britain’s air defense grid.

The British Army used the Hoverfly I and II to experiment with artillery spotting, aerial photography, and battlefield communications with ground forces.

The Helicopter Training School, formed in January 1945 at RAF Andover, was the first British military unit to be equipped with helicopters.

On 4 March 1945, British escort carrier HMS Puncher (D79) in Scapa Flow, Scotland, was visited by two Hoverfly I helicopters with floats fitted, KK971 coded “G” (R-4B 43-46510) and FT836 coded “A” (YR-4B 43-28228) of No. 771 Naval Air Squadron.

Hoverfly I KK971 coded “G” with its pilot, RNVR Sub-Lieutenant J. A. Gray, standing on the port pontoon chatting with some of the ship’s officers. Note the US star and bars insignia on the fuselage was painted out with a darker color.

After taking the carrier’s Captain up for a short demonstration flight to showcase the helicopter’s unique handling capabilities, Gray landed back on the HMS Puncher, dropped off the Captain, and picked up RNVR Lieutenant Commander Godfrey (HMS Puncher’s Flying Commander), to repeat the demonstration. Shortly after takeoff during a tight turn to starboard at an altitude of about 150 feet (45.72 meters), the engine of the Hoverfly suddenly stopped and the helicopter plummeted into the chilly waters of Scapa Flow.

Both Sub-Lieutenant Gray and Lieutenant Commander Godfrey managed to escape from the cockpit as the helicopter hit the water and began to sink. They were safely rescued, unhurt, by a passing naval launch approximately 8 minutes later.

The helicopter eventually sank to a depth of 20 fathoms, roughly 120 feet (36.57 meters). Later, military divers successfully recovered it for investigation. Official National Archives documents later revealed that the engine failure was caused by a design flaw in the helicopter’s fuel tank, which starved the engine of fuel during tight turns.

On 24 June 1945, Hoverfly I KK995 (R-4B 43-46558) coded “E” at RAF North Weald airfield in Essex, England, is performing a flight and hovering demonstration in front of ground personnel and spectators during the official Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Stand-Down Ceremony. Several other Hoverfly Is are lined up on the airfield in the background. Hoverfly I KK995 was often referred to phonetically as “Edward” based on the 1940 RAF Phonetic Alphabet.

XR-5

The R-5 was designed to provide a helicopter having a greater useful load, endurance, speed, and service ceiling than the R-4. The R-5 differed from the R-4 by having an increased rotor diameter and a new, longer fuselage for two crewmen in tandem, though it retained the R-4’s tail wheel-type landing gear. Larger than the R-4, the R-5 was fitted with a more powerful Wasp Junior 450-hp radial engine. The R-5 introduced a metal-skinned, semi-monocoque construction for a much more streamlined, durable exterior.

XR-5 43-28237 on its maiden flight on 18 August 1943.

Three of the five original Sikorsky XR-5 prototype helicopters crashed during testing and promotional flights in 1943 and 1944 causing development delays. Production manufacturing started in July 1945 and no R-5As were delivered to the US military before the end of the war. Because production had barely started when the war ended on August 15th, the USAAF abruptly cancelled their initial order of 100 R-5As.

Captain Jackson E. Beighle, the USAAF representative at the Sikorsky Aircraft factory had a busy day on 29 November 1945.

In the morning, a military demonstration was given at Bridgeport, Connecticut to show the structural capability and mission potential of the R-5 helicopter to a visiting US Army delegation under cloudy skies.

During the demonstration, Sikorsky Chief test pilot Les Morris and Captain Beighle loaded 10 extra passengers onto the outside of YR-5A 43-46603 and successfully hovered above the spectators. A newspaper of magazine article with this photo state it was 17 extra passengers and only the pilot.

After the demonstration was completed, the crew secured YR-5A 43-46603 as a winter storm had worsen in the area.

That afternoon about one mile (1.6 km) offshore of Fairfield, Connecticut, a severe storm broke loose and drifted Texaco oil barge No. 397 onto the Penfield Reef. The barge was breaking apart, and two crewmen, Captain Joseph Pawlik and Seaman Steven Penninger, were in danger. Witnesses onshore had seen SOS flares firing from the barge. No boats could reach the reef because they would be hurled onto the rocks by the large waves. An attempt by men in a small surf boat to get a breeches buoy to the men on the barge had also failed. The local police sought assistance from the nearby Sikorsky Aircraft Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

When the call for help came, 36-year-old Sikorsky test pilot Dmitry “Jimmy” Viner (Sikorsky’s nephew) and Captain Beighle jumped in the first available helicopter, and with Viner at the controls, they were hovering over the crippled barge within minutes. From the helicopter, they watched as one of the men on the barge came out of the cabin and set off a red flare. They dropped a rope with a weight and a message asking how bad it was down there. In a few minutes, they pulled up the message bag containing the return note. It was very bad, eight oil tanks were leaking, the cabin was full of water, and the two men were afraid the barge would break up. Waves were washing over the barge, making a landing on it impossible.

For all rescues up to that point in time, helicopters had landed to make the rescue. The Sikorsky team had been testing a experimental powered rescue harness hoist on YR-5A 43-46608 but up to that time it was only tested inside or just outside the factory, lifting light objects just a few feet (1 m) off the ground. No high-altitude or open-water operational testing had been attempted yet. The storm forced the team to pivot from routine ground testing of the experimental hoist to a real-world emergency.

Viner quickly flew the helicopter back to the Sikorsky plant and YR-5A 43-46608 with the experimental hoist was quickly readied for flight. Within minutes, the helicopter was hovering over the barge. Beighle had scribbled a note and dropped it to the men, telling them to get into the harness that was going to be lowered. The harness was a simple device that looped under their arms. Each man had to hold onto the cable over his head; otherwise, he would drop out of the harness.

The hoist worked. The first man, Penninger, was lifted quickly out of the swirling waters washing over the barge. But there was not enough room for him inside the helicopter’s two-seat cabin. He was transported to the beach half-inside and half-outside the cabin, hanging onto Beighle while Jimmy Viner fought the heavy winds.

The second man, Pawlik, the barge captain observed the tradition of the sea in being the last to leave his ship, had a much more frightening experience. While he was being lifted up, suddenly the hoist jammed, leaving him hanging 30 feet (9.14 meters) below the helicopter. And in that position, holding onto the cable for dear life, he was transported to shore in winds so fierce that the sand on the beach was blowing up in sheets.

Painting of the historic first helicopter hoist rescue at Penfield Reef by retired Sikorsky artist Joseph Keogan.

Joseph Pawlik, captain of the oil barge aground on Penfield Reef is lowered to safety from YR-5A 43-46608.

After the war, the R-5 became the USAF H-5 and the US Navy/Marines HO3S-1. The HO3S-1 saw action aboard US Navy aircraft carriers during the Korean War (1950-53) with Helicopter Utility Squadrons HU-1 and HU-2. The US Marines VMO-6 squadron deployed to Korea with four HO3S-1 helicopters where they were used in an Observation/Liaison role plus search and rescue (SAR) missions. By the end of 1950, 23 air crewmen were rescued from behind enemy lines by VMO-6 helicopters.

The H-5 and HO3S-1 was gradually phased out of service and replaced late in the Korean War by the larger, more capable Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw.

Today

R-4B 43-46592 is on static display at the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker near Daleville, Alabama.

Photo: Rod’s Aviation Photos

US Coast Guard HNS-1 BuNo 39047 is on static display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.

Photo: Gary Vincent

R-6A 43-45379 is on display in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Model Kits

1/48:
Special Hobby SH48002 Sikorsky R-4B – 1999
Special Hobby SH48030 Helicopter R-4/Hoverfly Mk.I with floats – 2005
Tamiya 32548 U.S. 2 1/2-Ton 6×6 Cargo Truck – 2007
Dogfight Workshop 48A04 Dodge WC54 Ambulance (3D Printed Kit) – 2022
Sword SW48015 L-5A/Sentinel Mk.I – 2024

1/72:
MPM Production 72045 Sikorsky R-4B – 1995
MPM Production 72503 L-1 Vigilant – 2001
CMR (Czech Master Resin) 137 Sikorsky R-6 / Hoverfly II – 2002
Kora Models 7269 Sikorsky Hoverfly II (R-6A) U.S. & R.A.F. WW II Helicopter – 2004
Extratech A72004 Sikorsky VS-300 (Resin Kit) – 2005
Academy 13403 U.S. Ambulance & Towing Tractor Ground Vehicle Series-4 – 2008
AZmodel AZ7274 Stinson L-5 “Sentinel” Special – 2009
Brengun BRS72016 Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (Resin Kit) – 2020

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