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Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-01 00:00
by TheOldBreed
i heard somewhere that the US actually used helicopters in the PTO in WWII. i can't be arsed to find a source, but i heard it haha

Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-01 06:25
by pfhatoa
TheOldBreed wrote:i heard somewhere that the US actually used helicopters in the PTO in WWII. i can't be arsed to find a source, but i heard it haha
There where some use of helicopters in WW2 but I'm (unsourced) quite sure that they where never armed. Used only for transport and reconnaissance, and anti submarine activity.
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-01 13:40
by Rhino
ASW helicopters came much, much later I'm pretty sure than WW2.
It was only before Vietnam they discovered they could mount weapons on helicopters, the theroy before that was if you fired a weapon from a chopper it would spin out of control.
I dunno if choppers where around in WW2, the theroy of them had been around for ages but until the jet engine came along there wasn't a partial engine to do it.
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-01 15:45
by BloodBane611
pfhatoa wrote:There where some use of helicopters in WW2 but I'm (unsourced) quite sure that they where never armed. Used only for transport and reconnaissance, and anti submarine activity.
I've never heard of any large scale use of helos pre-Korean War, certainly not in the ASW role. Source?
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-01 16:12
by pfhatoa
[R-COM]BloodBane611 wrote:I've never heard of any large scale use of helos pre-Korean War, certainly not in the ASW role. Source?
Not a large use, but a use:
One special experiment took place in cooperation with the DVL's Institute for Marine Aviation. It involved "towing tests with a 50kg gliding body." The proposal originated from the director of the Erprobungs- und Lehrkommando (Testing and Instruction Detachment) 20, Hauptmann von Winterfeldt, who carried out the towing flights from an antisubmarine vessel in Gotenhafen on May 3 and 4,1943. In addition to its role as a reconnaissance aircraft in support of the sub-chasers, armed with bombs the Fl 282 was also to participate actively in the anti-submarine role.
Source:
Flettner Fl 282 "Kolibri" helicopter - development history, photos, technical data
It was however mostly used for reconaissance.
@Rino, helicopters and gyrocopters where used in WW2, mostly for recon, and in a limited fashion.
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-01 16:16
by Maxfragg
well the germans used the
Flettner
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-02 00:52
by ebevan91
master of the templars wrote:The one thing i dislike about Vietnam era conflicts, all the hideous helicopter designs.
Well other than the Huey yeah they are all ugly, LOL>
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-02 11:01
by Hitman.2.5
ebevan91 wrote:Well other than the Huey yeah they are all ugly, LOL>
well the grunts didnt care what the chopper looked like as long as it got them out of the shit they might of thought it was "playmate of the year"...

Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-02 14:51
by TheOldBreed
yeah yeah, not armed or anything major like that. it was to retrive downed pilots i think
Sikorsky H-5 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
all hail wikipedia haha
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-02 15:49
by Phantom2
You guys are forgetting the Chinook was used in the conflict too(At least I thought it was beautiful). But, I thought the skycrane was used to drop large things and to drop a certain bomb that would make the ground be easy for the helicopters to land.
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-02 16:51
by Hitman.2.5
Phantom2 wrote:You guys are forgetting the Chinook was used in the conflict too(At least I thought it was beautiful). But, I thought the skycrane was used to drop large things and to drop a certain bomb that would make the ground be easy for the helicopters to land.
You would be thinking about the 15,000 lb Commando Vault BLU-82 Daisy Cutter FAE which was then changed too the C-130 as it was more practical
The Daisy cutter would be a very nice Area attack.
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-02 22:05
by Eddie Baker
TheOldBreed wrote:i heard somewhere that the US actually used helicopters in the PTO in WWII. i can't be arsed to find a source, but i heard it haha
Burma, Spring of 1944
WW II HELICOPTER EVACUATION
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-03 11:09
by TheOldBreed
well i'll be. you learn something new everyday

thanks for sharing man
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-03 18:05
by mangeface
Sweet story. Love the part of the Allied landing party reaching the wounded troops as the helicopter took off with the last man.
Re: CH-54A skycrane?
Posted: 2010-05-10 10:47
by FOBdaBuilder
"CH-54 Tarhe Sky Crane Helicopter was very successful in Vietnam where it was credited with the recovery of hundreds of downed aircraft as well as having the ability to move artillery and supplies to firebases that were unreachable by land. In addition to lifting heavy objects by sling, the CH54 was used with specialized container units that fit in the open section of its body and could contain mobile command post, medical, maintenance, or troop transport modules.
The CH-54 was used in tests that developed the concept of the "Daisy Cutter" bomb used to create instant LZs with a huge, tree-leveling explosion. The tests were successful and the CH-54 was employed in Vietnam for that purpose.
CH54A Sky Crane (powered by two Pratt & Whitney T73-P-1 4500 shp turbine engines) could lift 20,000 pounds while the improved CH-54B (powered by two Pratt & Whitney T73-P-700 4800 shp turbine engines) could lift over 40,000 pounds. There was an internal winch so payload could be picked up or delivered without landing. The CH-54 Skycrane was used for loads too heavy for the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter."
CH-54 SKYCRANE HELICOPTER