Westland Sea King
in
Marineflieger

The Mk.41 was the first export sale of the Westland Sea King. Twenty-two were ordered in May 1969 fitted for Search and Rescue (SAR) with an enlarged cabin, more fuel and without sonar. First example flew in March 1972 and they were all delivered between April 1973 and September 1974 to MFG 5. One early write off (Jan 1974) resulted in a replacement airframe being delivered.

They were upgraded between 1986 and 1988 receiving a Ferranti Seaspray radar in a nose radome adding the capability to carry Sea Skua anti-ship missiles.

In March 2015, after years of delay, 18 NH90 NTH Sea Lion maritime helicopters were authorized as replacement of the Sea King which will be retired in 2024.

The final SAR duty of the Sea King completed on 15 Aug 2024 at Nordholz, when it was formally replaced by the NH90 Sealion.