Sikorsky H19 Chickasaw

Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw

In an attempt to compete with larger MMR helicopters, Sikorsky reconfigured the S-55 to position the engine in the nose of the helicopter, powering the TTR with a long piston angling through the cockpit area located above the powerplant. This made engine maintenance simpler, as well as changing the center of gravity of the aircraft, alleviating a number of balance problems in loading a helicopter of this size. The YH-19 was accepted by the U.S.A.F. in 1949, and reached operational status in 1950. It replaced the H-5 and was used for the same roles of transport and rescue. Attempts were made to arm the helicopter for self-defense, but the H-19 was too underpowered to feasibly accommodate even the most basic of weapons.

It was used by the U.S. in the Korean War, with over 1,000 machines built. Some Chickasaw helicopters were used in the opening operations of the Vietnam War until being replaced by the H-34 Choctaw, which was based on the H-19 and shows an obvious resemblance. It was built in the U.K., France, and Japan under license to a total of 550 additional aircraft. The H-19 was exported to Greece, Israel, Chile, South Africa, Denmark and Turkey.

The H-19 has a crew of two: pilot and copilot. It could carry up to 8-12 passengers or 8 litters. The H-19 burns 22.4 gallons of aviation fuel per hour of routine usage. Historical range was 405 miles. A full load of fuel costs $38.

Subassemblies: Huge Helicopter chassis +3; Rotor -1, four fixed wheels +1.

Powertrain: 448-kW aerial Turbocharged HP gasoline engine with 448-kW Helicopter transmission and 190-gallon self-sealing fuel tank [Body], 4,000-kWs battery.

Occ.: 2 CS, 8 PS Body

Cargo: 0 Body.

Armor F RL B T U

Body: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Rotor: 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10

Wheels: 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5

Equipment:

Body: Medium radio transmitter and receiver, navigation instruments, backup driver.

Statistics:

Size: 62'x6'x15' Payload: 1.55 tons Lwt.: 3.95 tons

Volume: 400 Maint.: 45 hours Cost: $20,037

HT: 12. HPs: 360 Body, 100 Rotor, 8 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 112 aAccel: 2 aDecel: 9 aMR: 2.25 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 0 mph.

Design Notes:

Design weight was decreased 1% to historical weight. Design aSpeed was 126 mph. The chassis is 13 VSPs too small; passenger seating is reduced to 3.5 VSP each to accommodate. (Sources quote various passenger loads of 8, 10 or 12 occupants; GMs might allow larger numbers of passengers in a "standing room only" situation). Historical cost per unit was $177,350.

Variants:

The H-19A was the initial production model, featuring a 472-kW powerplant. 50 built. The SH-19A was an air-sea rescue variant.

The H-19B featured a 522-kW engine. 264 built.

The H-19C and -D were the U.S. Army versions of the -A and -B, respectively. 72 and 301 built, respectively.

The S-55 was the commercial version, featuring a 472-kW engine. The -55A and -55C featured 596-kW and 472-kW engines, respectively. Other civilian versions a ultra-quiet version for sightseeing in the Grand Canyon, an aerial advertising version with arrays of computer controlled lights, an agricultural variant, a flying crane, and target drones.

The Whirlwind HAR21 and HAS22 were license-built versions manufactured by Westland for the Royal Navy. A total of 25 were built. Other foreign manufacturers included Sud Est and Mitsubishi.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS