page_title: Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: A Sikorsky HO4S (S-55) helicopter of the Royal Canadian Navy in the mid-1950s.
context_page_description: The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom. United States Navy and United States Coast Guard models were designated HO4S, while those of the U.S. Marine Corps were designated HRS. In 1962, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps versions were all redesignated as H-19s like their U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force counterparts.
context_section_description: The H-19 Chickasaw holds the distinction of being the U.S. Army's first true transport helicopter and, as such, played an important role in the initial formulation of Army doctrine regarding air mobility and the battlefield employment of troop-carrying helicopters. The H-19 underwent live service tests in the hands of the 6th Transportation Company, during the Korean War beginning in 1951 as an unarmed transport helicopter. Undergoing tests such as medical evacuation, tactical control and frontline cargo support, the helicopter succeeded admirably in surpassing the capabilities of the H-5 Dragonfly which had been used throughout the war by the Army.
  The U.S. Marine Corps made extensive  use of the H-19 in the Korean War. It was designated as the HRS in USMC service. Marine Squadron HMR-161 arrived in Korea on September 2, 1951 with 15 HRS-1 helicopters. The new helicopter squadron started operations upon arrival. On September 13, 1951, during Operation Windmill I, HMR-161 transported 18,848 pounds of gear and 74 Marines onto a ridge in the Punchbowl area. A week later HMR-161 shuttled 224 recon company marines and 17,772 pounds of supplies to a remote hilltop in the same area. Their performance continued to improve and in Operation Haylift II on February 23–27, 1953, HMR-161 lifted 1.6 million pounds of cargo to resupply two regiments.  Although HMR-161 helicopters were operating in hot landing zones they did not lose any helicopters to enemy fire. HRS-1 helicopters were also used to relocate rocket launcher batteries. Because rockets create much visible dust when fired they make an easy target for enemy artillery. To reduce their exposure, launchers and crews were moved twice a day. Each HRS-1 helicopter carried four rocket launchers and extra rockets as external cargo, with the crew in the cabin. The HRS-1 helicopter proved to be durable and reliable in Korean service. One reportedly flew home after losing 18 in (46 cm) of main rotor blade to a tree. HMR-161 reported 90% aircraft availability.
  The U.S. Air Force ordered 50 H-19A's for rescue duties in 1951. These aircraft were the primary rescue and medical evacuation helicopters for the USAF during the Korean War. The Air Force continued to use the H-19 through the 1960s, ultimately acquiring 270 of the H-19B model.
  On 1 September 1953, Sabena used the S-55 to inaugurate the first commercial helicopter service in Europe, with routes between Rotterdam and Maastricht in the Netherlands and Cologne and Bonn in Germany.
  France made aggressive use of helicopters in Algeria, both as troop transports and gunships, Piasecki/Vertol H-21 and Sud-built Sikorski H-34 helicopters rapidly displaced fixed-wing aircraft for the transport of paras and quick-reaction commando teams. In Indochina, a small number of Hiller H-23s and Sikorsky H-19s were available for casualty evacuation. In 1956, the French Air Force experimented with arming the H-19, then being superseded in service by the more capable Piasecki H-21 and Sikorsky H-34 helicopters. The H-19 was originally fitted with a 20-mm cannon, two rocket launchers, two 12.7-mm machine guns, and a 7.5-mm light machine gun firing from the cabin windows, but this load proved far too heavy, and even lightly armed H-19 gunships fitted with flexible machine guns for self-defense proved underpowered.
  The H-19 was also used by the French forces in the First Indochina War. A small number of war-worn H-19s were given to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in 1958, when the French military departed. These saw very limited service in the early days of the Vietnam War, before being supplanted by the more capable Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw.
  The H-19 left U.S. military service when the CH-19E was retired by U.S. Navy squadron HC-5 on 26 February 1969. Surplus H-19s were sold on the open market, and civil interest was sufficient that Sikorsky (and later Orlando Helicopter Airways) offered conversion kits allowing a military surplus H-19 to be commercially operated under a standard Federal Aviation Administration type certificate as an S-55B. Turboshaft con
caption: An HO4S of the Royal Canadian Navy
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