Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe

CH-54 Tarhe
	A CH-54A carrying a parachute bomb
Role	Heavy-lift cargo helicopter
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft
First flight	9 May 1962
Retired	1991
Status	retired
Primary user	United States Army
Number built	105
Variants	S-64 Skycrane

The Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe is a twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter designed by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. It is named after Tarhe (whose nickname was "The Crane"), an 18th-century chief of the Wyandot Indian tribe.^[1] The civil version is the S-64 Skycrane.

Development

Initial work on the Sikorsky "sky-crane" helicopters began in 1958 with the piston-engined Sikorsky S-60.

The first flight of the turboshaft-powered S-64 Skycrane was May 9, 1962,^[2] with the U.S. Army eventually purchasing 105, designating them CH-54. Used in Vietnam for transport and downed-aircraft retrieval, it was highly successful, thanks to the 'adaptable' nature of the module system first conceived by General James M. Gavin in his book Airborne Warfare in 1947. Early pods could not carry troops and external sling-loads at the same time. Advanced pods for the CH-54 could carry troops and cargo underslung at the same time but were not purchased. The Skycrane can not only hold its cargo up and tight against its center spine to lessen drag and eliminate the pendulum effect when flying forward, it can winch vehicles up and down from a hovering position, so the helicopter itself did not need to land. Due to budget cuts the Heavy Lift Helicopter (HLH) program was canceled and the CH-54s not upgraded with larger engines. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook gradually supplemented it in combat and eventually replaced it in Regular Army aviation units, although CH-54 Skycranes remained in Army National Guard service until the early 1990s. The Soviet Union also created much larger crane helicopters with a similar skeletal design.

A CH-54B holds the record for highest level flight altitude: 36,122 feet (11,010 m)—piloted by James K. Church on 4 November 1971 in the USA.^[3]

Today, Erickson Air-Crane of Central Point, Oregon operates the largest fleet of S-64 helicopters in the world under the name Erickson S-64 Aircrane, which can be equipped with water-dropping equipment (some also have foam/gel capability) for firefighting duties worldwide. After obtaining the type certificate and manufacturing rights in 1992, Erickson remains the manufacturer and world’s largest operator of S-64s.

Variants

YCH-54A: Pre-production aircraft, six built.^[4]
CH-54A: Production model powered by two 4,500 shp (3,400 kW) Pratt & Whitney T73-P-1 turboshafts, 54 built.^[4]
CH-54B: Heavier version of the CH-54A with two 4,800 shp (3,600 kW) T-73-P-700 turboshafts and twin-wheeled main undercarriage, 37 built.^[4]

Operators

United States

Survivors

A large number of surviving airframes exist in flyable condition as well as in museum collections worldwide.

Specifications (CH-54B)

Data from The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft^[5]

General characteristics

Crew: 3

Performance

References

^ Ohio History Central page on Tarhe
^ Taylor 1976, p.386.
^ "Record File n°9918". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Harding 1990, p.243.
^ Donald, D. (1997). "Sikorsky S-64 / CH-54 "Tarhe" helicopter". The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Retrieved 2006-10-08.

Francillon, René J. (Spring 1991). "The Army Guard's Weightlifter". World Air Power Journal. 5: 36–41.
Harding, Stephen (1990). U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-102-8.
Taylor, John W. R. (1976). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.

External links

CH-54 U.S. Army Aviation history fact sheet
CH-54 Skycrane/Tarhe on Global Security.org
The short film STAFF FILM REPORT 66-2A (1966) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
The short film STAFF FILM REPORT 66-21A (1966) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.

[1] Ohio History Central page on Tarhe

[Janes_76_p386-2] Taylor 1976, p.386.

[3] "Record File n°9918". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved 11 January 2011.

[Harding_p243-4] Harding 1990, p.243.

[5] Donald, D. (1997). "Sikorsky S-64 / CH-54 "Tarhe" helicopter". The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Retrieved 2006-10-08.

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v t e Sikorsky aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft (company designations)	S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 S-8 S-9 S-10 S-11 S-12 S-13 S-14 S-15 S-16 S-17 S-18 S-19 S-20 S-21 S-22/23/24/25/26/27 S-28 S-29-A S-30 S-31 S-32 S-33 S-34 S-35 S-36 S-37 S-38 S-39 S-40 S-41 S-42 S-43 VS-44 S-45
Fixed-wing aircraft (military designations)	C-6 C-28 JRS JR2S PS P2S RS XBLR-3 XPBS XSS XV-2
Helicopters (company designations)	VS-300 (S-46) S-47 S-48 S-49 S-50 S-51 S-52 S-53 S-54 S-55 S-56 S-57 S-58 S-59 S-60 S-61 S-61L/N S-61R S-62 S-63 S-64 S-65 S-66 S-67 S-68 S-69 S-70 S-71 S-72 S-73 S-74 S-75 S-76 S-80 S-92 S-95 S-97 S-100 S-102 S-103 S-300 S-333 S-434
Helicopters (military designations)	SH-3 Sea King HH-3E/F R-4 H-5 H-6 H-18 H-19 Chickasaw H-34 Choctaw CH-37 Mojave XH-39 HH-52A Seaguard CH-53 Sea Stallion CH-53E Super Stallion CH-53K King Stallion MH-53 CH-54 Tarhe UH-60 Black Hawk HH-60G Pave Hawk HH-60J/MH-60T MH-60R/S Seahawk SH-60B/F Seahawk H-60J/K VH-60 RAH-66 Comanche VH-92 Patriot CH-124 Sea King CH-148 Cyclone HLH
Experimental aircraft	Cypher/Cypher II Firefly Raider Raider X SB-1 X2 XBLR-3 XV-2

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