List of United States military helicopters explained

This is a list of United States military helicopters.

Name	Role	Manufacturer	Notes	Year of first flight	Introduction	Number built
Platt-LePage XR-1	Experimental helicopter	Platt-LePage Aircraft Company	First helicopter tested by the USAAF.^[1]	1941	Never	2
Sikorsky R-4		Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	World's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces.^[2]	1942	Unknown	131
Sikorsky H-5		Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1943	1945	300
Sikorsky R-6		Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	World War II	1943	1945	225
Kellett R-8	Experimental helicopter	Kellett Autogiro Corporation	Prototype. Program canceled 1946.	1944	Never	2
Bell H-13 Sioux	Light observation helicopter	Bell Aircraft Corporation	Bell 47 variant.	1945	1946	2407
Bell H-12	Military utility helicopter	Bell Aircraft	Company Model 48	1946	Never	13^[3]
Kellett XR-10	Military transport helicopter	Kellett Autogiro Corporation	Prototype. Program canceled 1949.	1947	Never	2
Sikorsky S-52	Utility helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1947	1951	93
Kaman HH-43 Huskie	Firefighting/rescue	Kaman Aircraft		1953	1958^[4]	193
Piasecki HUP	Utility helicopter	Piasecki Helicopter	The « Army Mule ».	1948	1949	339
Hiller OH-23 Raven	Multipurpose light helicopter	Hiller Aircraft		1948	1950	2000
McCulloch MC-4	Light helicopter	McCulloch Aircraft Corporation	Evaluated by the United States Army as the YH-30 and the United States Navy as the XHUM-1.	1948	Never	Unknown
Sikorsky H-19	Utility helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1949	1950	1102
Vertol H-21	Cargo helicopter	Piasecki Helicopter		1952	1954	707
American Helicopter XH-26 Jet Jeep	Experimental tip jetobservation helicopter	American Helicopter		1952	Never	5
Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave	Assault Transport	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	Large heavy lift helicopter used by the Army designated "Mojave" and Marines nicknamed "Deuce"	1953	1956	153
Cessna CH-1 Skyhook	Light helicopter	Cessna	Only helicopter ever built by the Cessna Aircraft Company.	1953^[5]	1956	~50
De Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle	Experimental rotorcraft	de Lackner Helicopters	Prototype. Program canceled.	1954	Never	12
Sikorsky H-34	Anti-submarine warfare helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1954	1954	2108
Bell 201	Experimental helicopter	Bell Aircraft		1954	Never	1
Bell UH-1 Iroquois	Utility helicopter	Bell Aircraft	The UH-1 was in the service of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Nicknamed the "Huey" because the original Army designation was HU-1.	1956	1959	>16,000
Hughes TH-55 Osage	Light utility and trainer helicopter	Hughes Helicopters	Model 269/Model 300	1956	Never	2,800
Sikorsky S-62	SAR/utility helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	It was used by the United States Coast Guard.	1958	1961	175
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King	ASW/SAR/utility helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	used as the official helicopters of the President of the United States Marine One	1959	1961	1500
Sikorsky S-61R	Medium-lift transport/SAR helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	The S-61R served in the United States Air Force and in the United States Coast Guard.	1959	1961	Unknown
Kaman SH-2 Seasprite	Anti-submarine warfare helicopter	Kaman Aircraft		1959	1962	184
Boeing CH-47 Chinook	Transport helicopter	Boeing		1961	1962	1180
Sikorsky CH-54	Heavy-lift cargo helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1962	1964	105
Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight	Cargo helicopter	Boeing	From 2004, Used only by the United States Marine Corps until 2015 retirement.	1962	1964	524
Hughes OH-6 Cayuse	Light Observation Helicopter / Utility	Hughes Helicopters	Won a prototype run off between Bell, Hiller and Hughes. The Bell prototype went on to become the OH-58. The OH-6 itself is the parent of the MD 500 and MH-6 variants.	1963	1966	1420
MD Helicopters MH-6 Little Bird	Light Observation Helicopter	MD Helicopters	Derived from OH-6 lineage; used for special operations in the United States Army.	1963	1980	?
Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion	Heavy-lift cargo helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1964	1966	500
Bell AH-1 Cobra	Attack helicopter	Bell Helicopter Textron		1965	1967	1116
Bell 206	Multipurpose Utility helicopter	Bell Aircraft Corporation	Common prototype with OH-58.	1966	1967	7300
Bell OH-58 Kiowa	Observation/scout helicopter	Bell Aircraft Corporation	Five versions: OH-58A, OH-58C, OH58C/S, OH-58D, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior	1966	1969	2200
Bell UH-1N Twin Huey	Utility helicopter	Bell Textron		1969	1970	Unknown
Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne	Attack helicopter	Lockheed Corporation	Prototype. Program canceled 1972.	1967	Never	10
Sikorsky MH-53	Heavy-lift helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft	U.S. Air Force variant of the CH-53.	1967	1968	72
Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion	Heavy-lift cargo helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation		1974	1981	~170^[6] ^[7] ^[8]
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk	Utility helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	Black Hawks have served in combat during conflicts in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and other areas in the Middle East.	1974	1979	2600
Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk^[9]	Combat Search and Rescue helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	This is another variant of the U.S. Army's UH-60 Blackhawk.	1974	1982	101
Bell YAH-63	Attack helicopter		Bell Model 409.Particaped in the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) competition. Lost to the YAH-64.	1975	Never	3
Boeing AH-64 Apache	Attack helicopter		Manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas after buyout of Hughes Helicopters.	1975	1984	1174
MD 500 Defender	Light multi-role helicopter	MD Helicopters	Based on the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse light utility helicopter. Originally developed by Hughes Helicopters. Purchased by McDonnell-Douglas, eventually sold to MD Helicopters.	1976	1976	471
Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk	Multimission maritime helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk variant.	1979	1984	Unknown
Sikorsky HH-60H	U.S. Navy Special Operations and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk variant.	Unknown	1982	112
Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin	Search and rescue helicopter	Aérospatiale Helicopter CorporationAmerican Eurocopter	Used by the United States Coast Guard	1980	1985	102
Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite	ASW helicopter	Kaman Aircraft		1985	1993	Unknown
Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche	Reconnaissance and attack helicopter	Boeing/Sikorsky	Prototype. Program canceled 2004.^[10]	1996	Never	5
Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota	Utility helicopter	Eurocopter	Adapted from the Eurocopter EC145 and built in Columbus, Mississippi.	1999	2006^[11]	250
Bell AH-1Z Viper	attack helicopter	Bell		2000	2010	229
Bell UH-1Y Venom	Utility helicopter	Bell Aircraft Corporation	The UH-1Y Venom is currently in full-rate production to replace the UH-1N Twin Huey	2001	2008	92
Boeing AH-6	Light attack/reconnaissance helicopter	Boeing Rotorcraft Systems		ULB: September 8, 2004 MELB: September 20, 2006	In development	Unknown
Bell ARH-70 Arapaho	Armed reconnaissance helicopter	Bell Aircraft Corporation	Prototype. Program canceled 2008.^[12]	2006	Never	4
Piasecki X-49	Experimental high-speed compound helicopter	Piasecki Helicopter	Prototype under development.	2007		1
Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel	Executive transport helicopter	Lockheed Martin AgustaWestland Bell Helicopter (assembly)	Variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 designed to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One presidential transport fleet.In January 2005, the US101 was selected for the VXX Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, and was promptly re-designated as the VH-71. However, development was subject to delays, cost overruns, and engineering issues.	2007	Canceled	9
X2	Experimental compound helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft / Schweizer Aircraft		2008	Never	1
Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion	Heavy-lift cargo helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation	Developed from the Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion.	2015	2022^[13]	9
Sikorsky VH-92 Patriot	Medium-lift transport/utility helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft	Developed to replace the United States Marine Corps' Marine One U.S. presidential transport fleet. It is a militarized variant of the Sikorsky S-92.	2017	In development	Unknown
	Compound helicopter	Sikorsky Aircraft / Boeing	Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing entry for the United States Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. Army selected the rival Bell V-280 Valor as the winner of the program.	2019	Never	?

See also

• List of U.S. military equipment named for Native Americana
• U.S. DoD aircraft designations table
• List of military aircraft of the United States

Notes

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) did not exist until September 1947. Therefore the Sikorski R4 of 1942 "notes" indicate USAF. Possibly it was meant to be USAAF (U.S. Army Air Force).

Bibliography

• Book: Andrade, John M. . U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials Since 1909 . Midland Counties Publications . 1979 . 978-0-904597-22-6.
• Philippe Poulet et Frédéric Ogeret, La fabuleuse histoire de l'hélicoptère, Éditions Mission Spéciale, 2007, 312 p.
• Ouvrage collectif, L'Atlas des hélicoptères, Éditions Atlas, Éditions Glénat, 2002, 240 p.

External links

• 2012 Gallery of USAF Weapons includes numbers and types of USAF aircraft
• United States Navy Fact File page includes links to Fact File pages for USN manned and unmanned aircraft.
• United States Army 2010 Weapons System Handbook (PDF file, 41.6 mb) includes pages describing USA manned and unmanned aircraft.
• United States Coast Guard Aircraft and Cutters page includes links to descriptive pages for USCG manned and unmanned aircraft.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Platt-LePage XR-1 National Air and Space Museum . 2024-02-03 . en.
2. Web site: Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly . 2024-02-03 . National Museum of the United States Air Force™ . en-US.
3. Pelletier 1992, p. 92.
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20141227180306/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=306 Kaman HH-43B Huskie, National Museum of the United States Air Force, 15 July 2017.
5. Harding, Steve. U.S. Army aircraft since 1947: An Illustrated Directory. Stillwater, MN:Specialty Press, 1990.
6. Web site: CH-53E Super Stallion . 2023-12-10 . Naval Technology . en-US.
7. Web site: CH-53E Super Stallion Heavy-Lift Helicopter . 2023-12-10 . Airforce Technology . en-US.
8. Web site: CH-53E Super Stallion . 2023-12-10 . United States Navy . en-US.
9. http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2008/May%202008/0508weapons.pdf Susan Young, Gallery of USAFF weapons – 2008 USAF Almanac, Air Force Magazine, May 2008.
10. http://www.militaryaviation.eu/helicopter/Boeing/Comanche.htm Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche, militaryaviation.eu.
11. Web site: 2021-08-10 . UH-72 Airbus U.S. . 2024-01-31 . en.
12. http://www.helicopassion.com/fr/03/wbl304.htm#.UzAWnIX1zF0 ARH70 Arapaho, helicopassion.com, 7 December 2010.
13. Web site: CH-53K King Stallion . 2023-12-08 . Navair.