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Well, thats some awesome photos.  H 34 in sub hunting version, how about that.  i guess I will do a US Navy version now.  Thanks for posting. 

Someone just in England just gave me the torpedos in CAD for my build.

 

Oliver

Edited by Rotorman
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It was actually originally designed for the US Navy.

 

"The aircraft first flew on 8 March 1954.The first production aircraft was ready in September and entered in service for the United States Navy initially designated HSS-1 Seabat (in its anti-submarine configuration) and HUS-1 Seahorse (in its utility transport configuration)."

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I love the old (pre-1962) Navy designation system...multiple names for the same aircraft.

It was especially noticeable on the various Sikorsky helicopters of the period...some were called transports (HRS...a H-19 variant), some were observation (HO4S...H-19 variant), some utility (HUS...H-34 variant ), some anti-submarines (HSS...H-34 variant).

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4 hours ago, 11bee said:

Great pics, thanks Finn.   Still have a dream that we’ll get a large scale version of this helo.  

The helo exists in 1/32 in the Wessex version. i am working on a nose conversion to do a H.34 but with corona virus i cant get to the museum to take photos of the real thing.

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The ASW version is pretty cool.  There was an article about these helos in a magazine a few months ago (Maybe Air and Space?) that went into detail on the first USN squadron to flies this, the "Nightdippers".    Mentioned that this helo had the worlds first fully coupled autopilot that would allow the helo to transition to a full hover, 50' over the ocean so they could deploy the dipping sonar.  This was done in all weather, day or night.   They weren't thrilled with the reliability of that piston engine and for all ASW work, regardless of weather, the pilots had the doors open so if the engine failed, they could hopefully get out quickly. 

 

Rotorman, good luck with your conversion and build. Hope you aren't delayed for too long.  I've been following along with your build log. 

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6 minutes ago, 11bee said:

The ASW version is pretty cool.  There was an article about these helos in a magazine a few months ago (Maybe Air and Space?) that went into detail on the first USN squadron to flies this, the "Nightdippers".    Mentioned that this helo had the worlds first fully coupled autopilot that would allow the helo to transition to a full hover, 50' over the ocean so they could deploy the dipping sonar.  This was done in all weather, day or night.   They weren't thrilled with the reliability of that piston engine and for all ASW work, regardless of weather, the pilots had the doors open so if the engine failed, they could hopefully get out quickly. 

 

Rotorman, good luck with your conversion and build. Hope you aren't delayed for too long.  I've been following along with your build log. 

For what it’s worth, the Bell HSL was the first helicopter with the autopilot capability for dipping sonar: http://tommythomason.com/books/Bell-HSL/

Edited by Tailspin Turtle
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These are also the best photos I've ever seen of the radar installation on the cockpit roof just in front of the mast. Only a few aircraft in each squadron were equipped with it. It was highly classified at the time, so it's interesting to see these photos in a contemporary Life magazine shoot.

 

Mig

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