
The S-55 was the first transport helicopter to receive Civil Aeronautics Administration 's (forerunner of today's Federal Aviation Administration) approval for commercial operation and enter scheduled passenger service.
Sikorsky manufactured near 1300 S-55s in ten years of continuous production commencing in 1949 and was also build under license in Great Britain by Westland as the Whirlwind in France by Sud-Est and in Japan by Mitsubishi,
Sikorsky manufactured near 1300 S-55s in ten years of continuous production commencing in 1949 and was also build under license in Great Britain by Westland as the Whirlwind in France by Sud-Est and in Japan by Mitsubishi,
Derivatives & Versions of S-55 H-19 |
Model | Year | History |
---|---|---|
S-55 1949 | 1949 | Commercial version with 600HP P&W R-1340 Wasp engine. ![]() |
YH-19 1949 | 1949 | The first of the five YH-19 prototypes capable of carrying ten passengers in addition to a crew of two first flew on 10 November 1949 and was cha ... ![]() |
H-19A Chickasaw 1950 | 1950 | USAF version of the YH-19 powered by a 600hp P&W R-1340-57 Wasp engine. Some converted to SH-19A SAR helicopter. Redesignated HH/UH-19A in 1962, ... ![]() |
HO4S-1 1950 | 1950 | US Navy version of the S-55 powered by a 600hp P&W R-1340-57 Wasp engine. Redesignated UH-19F in 1962, 10 built under contract: NOa(s) 12024. ![]() |
S-55A 1950 | 1950 | Commercial version with 800HP Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone engine. ![]() |
HO4S-2 1951 | 1951 | Navalized SAR version of the H-19B powered by a 700hp Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone engine. Redesignated UH-19G in 1962, 10 built: 7 for USCG & 3 for R ... ![]() |
HRS-1 1951 | 1951 | USMC version of the HO4S-1 with P&W R-1340-57 Wasp engine for eight troops, 60 built, plus one static airframe used for testing. ![]() |
S-55B 1951 | 1951 | Improved commercial version with 800HP Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone engine. ![]() |
H-19C Chickasaw 1952 | 1952 | US Army version of the H-19A with 600HP P&W R-1340-57 Wasp engine for troop transport duties. Redesignated UH-19C in 1962, 72 built. ![]() |
HO4S-3 1952 | 1952 | Re-engined US Navy & Canadian version with 700HP Wright R-1300 Cyclone engine. Redesignated UH-19F (American variant) & HO4S-3 (Canadian & Dutch ... ![]() HO4S-3: 133844 - 133853, contract NOa(s) 42-471 (MDAP) cancelled, airframes not built. ![]() HO4S-3: 138432 - 138459, contract cancelled, airframes not built. ![]() |
HRS-2 1952 | 1952 | USN/USMC HRS-1 with equipment changes, 101 built. [Includes 10 supplied to UK RN as Whirlwind HAR.21 under MAP.] ![]() |
![]() 1952 | 1952 | During 1950, the Royal Navy had received 10 rescue (HAR.21) and 15 anti-submarine (HAS.22) versions of the Sikorsky-built S-55 airframes for eval ... ![]() The main driver for the S-55 evaluation was the frustration of the Admiralty over the difficulties experienced in development and sea tests by th ... ![]() Westland had acquired some familiarity with the US built Sikorsky S-55. In November 1950, it negotiated a licence from Sikorsky to build and deve ... ![]() The first British Whirlwind flew at Yeovil on 15 Aug 1953 for the Royal Navy with a 3 man crew and three more versions of the Series 1, two for t ... ![]() The Whirlwind HAR.5 (a prototype development of the naval HAR.3) was the first British engined version, to be powered by the 14 cylinder, 882hp, ... ![]() Westland judged that turbine engines were powerful and reliable enough to incorporate the Gnome into the HAR.9, which needed a redesigned no ... ![]() A number of versions were built for civil commercial passenger and freight users, both for the UK and export market. More than 400 Whirlwind ... ![]() |
Whirlwind HAR.21 1952 | 1952 | Ten Sikorsky HRS-2 for UK Royal Navy as Whirlwind HAR.21. ![]() |
Whirlwind HAS.22 1952 | 1952 | Fifteen Sikorsky HO4S-3 for UK Royal Navy as Whirlwind HAS.22. ![]() |
H-19B Chickasaw 1953 | 1953 | USAF version of the H-19A powered by a 700hp Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone engine. Many converted to SH-19B SAR helicopters. Redesignated HH/UH-19B in ... ![]() |
H-19D Chickasaw 1953 | 1953 | US Army version of the H-19B powered by 700HP Wright R-1300 Cyclone engine. Redesignated UH-19D in 1962, 268 built. ![]() H-19D: 57-2553 - 57-2558, contract cancelled, airframes not built. ![]() H-19D: 59-0492 - 59-0521, contract cancelled, airframes not built. ![]() |
HRS-3 1953 | 1953 | Improved HRS-2 with a 700HP Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone engine. Redesignated CH-19E in 1962. 91 built and conversions from HRS-2. ![]() |
S-55C 1953 | 1953 | Improved commercial version with 800HP Wright R-1300-3 cyclone engine. ![]() |
H-19D-3 1956 | 1956 | US Army improved version of the H-19D. Redesignated UH-19D-3 in 1962, 25 built: 14 for US Army, 11 for France. ![]() |
HRS-3Z 1956 | 1956 | VIP version of HRS-3 for France. [5 built on contract 56-4123.] ![]() |
H-19D-4 1957 | 1957 | H-19D-3 with equipment changes for France. 1 built. ![]() |
HO4S-3G 1957 | 1957 | Specialized SAR version of HO4S-3 for USCG. 9 built. ![]() |
![]() 1958 | 1958 | |
S-55T 1969 | 1969 | Designation applied to aircraft modified with a 650 shp Garrett AirResearch turboshaft and other updated equipment. Aircraft modified by Aviation Specialties and produced and marketed by Helitec with a 650SHP Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-3U-303 turboshaft and upd ... ![]() |