10 Facts About Sikorsky H-34

Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the United States Navy.

Sikorsky H-34 S-58 was developed as a lengthened and more powerful version of the Sikorsky H-34 Model S-55, or UH-19 Chickasaw, with a similar nose, but with a tail-dragger rear fuselage and landing gear, rather than the high-tail, 4-post pattern.

CSikorsky H-34 was built and developed under license from 1958 in the United Kingdom by Westland Aircraft as the turboshaft engined Wessex which was used by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Helicopters used by the French Army Light Aviation, including the Sikorsky H-34, aggregated over 190,000 flying hours in Algeria and helped to evacuate over 20,000 French combatants from the combat area, including nearly 2,200 at night.

An Sikorsky H-34 was featured in the famous early-Vietnam War Time-Life photo essay "One Ride With Yankee Papa 13", photographer Larry Burrows, which depicted stages of a disastrous combat mission in which several crew were wounded or killed.

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Sikorsky H-34 remained in service with United States Army and Marine Corps aviation units into the late 1960s; at this time it was standard equipment in Marine Corps Reserve, Army Reserve and Army National Guard aviation units, eventually being replaced by the UH-1 Iroquois utility helicopter.

Sikorsky H-34 terminated all production activities in 1968, a total of 1,821 having been built.

All Sikorsky H-34 helicopters were retired from service in the US military by the early 1970s; the type having the distinction of being the last piston-engined helicopter to be operated by the Marine Corps.

On 3 September 1973, the last flight of a USMC USikorsky H-34 occurred as Bureau Number 147191 which had been formally assigned to Headquarters Squadron, FMF Pacific was flown from Quantico, Virginia to MCAS New River to be placed on static display.

The Sikorsky H-34 was the primary RVNAF helicopter until replaced by the Bell UH-1 Huey.