| The Aerospatiale SA366G1 Dauphin was selected by the United States Coast Guard in 1979 as its new short range recovery (SRR) air-sea rescue helicopter, replacing the Sikorsky HH-52A Sea Guard.
In order to comply with american regulations relating to local content, engineering changes were required: most notably the french original Turbomeca Arriel engines were replaced with Lycoming LTS101 powerplants.
The Dolphin normally carries a crew of four: pilot, copilot, flight mechanic and rescue swimmer. 1984 : HH-65A Dolphin 2001 : HH-65B Dolphin : first avionics upgrade 2006 : HH-65C Dolphin : re-engined and with new nose 2007 : The HH-65 is re-designated MH-65 2007 : MH-65C Dolphin. Replaced the MH-68A Stingray 2011 : MH-65D Dolphin. 97 aircraft with new avionics upgrade The HH-65 had a little fan on the top of the main rotor called OADS (Omni-directional Air Data System). It spins around and measures differences in air pressure to indicate relative winds. The system was set to be removed in the MH-65D variant as it was extremely maintenance intensive and not very accurate. 2013 : MH-65E Dolphin. Glass cockpit (CAAS) similar to MH-60T Jayhawk Serials: Bought new were 99 HH-65A plus 7 HH-65C 4101-4104 - test aircrafts 4105-4118 - original numbers ( changed later to 65nn ) 4119-4123 - cancelled ? 6501-6598 - current ( ex 41nn included ) 66nn - airframes received post 2000 (AS365N3) The Coast Guard plans to have 98 helicopters converted to the MH-65E configuration by end 2024 |
Units | |
Platform | |
| Classes |
| W Famous MEC class |
| W Hamilton class |
| W National Security Cutter |
| W Reliance MEC class |
| AW Healy class |
| AW Polar class |
