Early Whirly Prangs ...

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

Terrible thread title I know. All photos are USAF photos from the Smithsonian Photo Collections (SIRIS)

One-half left front view of a crashed Sikorsky (VS-316B) YR-6A (YH-6A) (A/C no. 43-45339) at Wright Field, June 20, 1945

One-half left rear view of a crashed Sikorsky (VS-316B) YR-6A (YH-6A) (A/C no. 43-45339) at Wright Field, June 20, 1945.

Left side view of a crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 42-107236), October 7, 1943.

Partial left side view of a crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 42-107236), October 7, 1943.

One-half right front view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 236), Zimmerman, Ohio, June 18, 1945. An unidentified group of military personnel are near the tail of the aircraft and a large group of onlookers is visible in the background.

Right side view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 236), Zimmerman, Ohio, June 18, 1945.

Close-up partial right side view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 236), Zimmerman, Ohio, June 18, 1945.

One-half left front view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 236), Zimmerman, Ohio, June 18, 1945.

Three-quarter right rear view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 236), Zimmerman, Ohio, June 18, 1945.

Partial right side view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-317, S-51) XR-5 (A/C no. 43-28238), Barksdale Field, Louisiana. The crash occured on November 7, 1944 and this photograph was taken on December 16, 1944.

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

And some efforts to train helo pilots how not to prang helos.

USCG HNS-1 Hoverfly during trials on a rocking platform simulating a rolling ship deck at Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Brooklyn, New York, 19 May 1944

USCG HNS-1 Hoverfly during trials on a rocking platform simulating a rolling ship deck at Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn, New York, 19 May 1944.

First rescue ...

May 2, 1945, Coast Guard Lieutenant August Kleisc, flying an HNS-1 Hoverfly made the first U.S. helicopter rescue when he saved 11 Canadian airmen marooned in Northern Labrador about 125 miles from Goose Bay

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

Group photograph of personnel posed beside right side of nose of Platt-LePage XR-1A Helicopter (s/n 42-6581) on the occasion of the aircraft's delivery to Wright Field, Ohio, June 20, 1944; one-quarter front right side view, close up. Seen in rear cockpit is Platt-LePage Chief Test Pilot George H. "Buck" Miller; in forward cockpit is Edward E. Denniston (Platt-Le Page Aircraft). Posed standing, left to right: Lt. Col. Cooper, Mandel Lenkowsky, Col. Hollingsworth Franklin Gregory, an unidentified Army Air Corps officer, and Dr. W. Laurence LePage

Sikorsky HNS-1 Hoverfly, USCG

Early helicopter landing tests on board the USS Cobb.

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

A helicopter flies over the deck of the aircraft carrier Shangri-La (CV 38) in Panama 1946

An HO3S-1 of Helicopter Utility Squadron (HU) 2 flies over the carrier Leyte (CV 32) during operations at sea 1948

HSS-1 Tied Down on Sub 80-G-689827

Helo Key West May 1956

JohnB · **Posted:** Mon May 16, 2016 3:09 pm

Thanks for posting.
I love helicopter history....
Btw...Col Gregory was the first USAAF helicopter pilot and project officer at Wright Field. It turns out he retired from the USAF in the 60s as a staff officer at SAC HQ.

His period book "Anything a horse can do" is recommended for details of early AAF helicopter work and w a time developments.

Duggy009 · **Joined:** Fri Mar 23, 2012 6:20 pm **Posts:** 325

Looks like some of them needed more time in this??

View of a simulator for Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) XR-4, cockpit is all yellow, suspended from ceiling of building, simulation mechanics replace rotor blades, and will move along tracks on ceiling. :wink:

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

An HNS-1 Hoverfly pictured in a hover over the torch of the Statue of Liberty, 2 July 1944

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

Coast Guard HNS-1 Hoverfly pictured during the testing of detachable floats in the waters off Brooklyn, New York, on October 17, 1945

Coast Guard HNS-1 Hoverfly employs a hoist during search and rescue exercises in waters off of Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Brooklyn, New York during October 1945

CoastieJohn · **Joined:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:37 pm **Posts:** 1380

The guy on the right is then CDR Frank Erikson, USCG Helo Pilot #1. He has a famous history on several fronts.

Quote:

2. Frank Erickson, Ford Island Lt. Frank Erickson was assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Taney as the cutter’s aviation officer. Since Taney was moored in Honolulu, the Navy assigned Erickson, along with his aircraft, to Ford Island. He was the duty officer there when the first wave of the Japanese attack struck Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. He was relieved of his watch by the commanding officer and then ran to his duty station—that of assistant operations officer and he took charge of control tower on Ford Field and of a battery of machine guns set up on the roof of the operations building. He later wrote about his experiences: Lt. Frank Erickson. U.S. Coast Guard photo. We had a grand stand view of the battle. We could see all of Ford Island and the Pearl Harbor area with the ships, the Navy Yard, Hickam, Wheeler and Eva Fields all of which were on fire. Practically all our combat planes were already lost on the ground. Most of the battleships moored along Ford Island were listing badly. The Oklahoma had already capsized. In the Pearl City channel the Utah had also disappeared from sight. The [Japanese] kept up a heavy pounding for about an hour then the bombing stopped. We had practically nothing but utility planes left to put in to the air. During this lull a few Grumman J2F and Sikorsky JRS amphibians got out to scout for the enemy. They were armed only with Springfields, shotguns, tommy guns or anything available to throw into the ships before they took off. - See more at: http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2014/12/p ... ZVLX6.dpuf

More stuff on Frank Erickson. I "think" he was the one who sent out the initial under attack message from Ford Field.
http://www.pacificaviationmuseum.org/pe ... trol-tower

The name would of that helo pilot would be LT August Kleisch, a former NAP. That was the famous Gander rescue. The first helo lifesaving mission was completed by the guy above, LT Frank Erickson. I believe the first live helo rescue was done by an Army helo a short time before Erickson. In fact, Erickson is connected to a few of these helo pics.
https://www.navalhistory.org/2011/01/03 ... ter-rescue

That person on the hoist cable is either AD3 Sergi Sikorsky or an AMM2 who also was involved in early hoist experiments. I don't have his name in front of me.

JohnB · **Posted:** Mon May 16, 2016 8:51 pm

It's neat that Mr. Sikorsky was a helicopter mechanic in the CG during the war and did development work on the hoist.
I'd imagine there were few young guys that knew more about them than he did.

BTW...At Christmas he autographed a copy of his recent book on Sikorsky history...I made contact via the Sikorsky archive. He included a nice inscription.
He's 91 now.

CoastieJohn · **Joined:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:37 pm **Posts:** 1380

JohnB wrote:

It's neat that Mr. Sikorsky was a helicopter mechanic in the CG during the war and did development work on the hoist.
I'd imagine there were few young guys that knew more about them than he did.

BTW...At Christmas he autographed a copy of his recent book on Sikorsky history...I made contact via the Sikorsky archive. He included a nice inscription.
He's 91 now.

I had the privilege of meeting him once. He recently did a CG aviation event....might have the been at the H-52 induction at the U-H Museum.

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Tue May 17, 2016 12:52 am

Mark Allen M wrote:

Terrible thread title I know. All photos are USAF photos from the Smithsonian Photo Collections (SIRIS)

One-half right front view of a badly damaged, crashed Sikorsky (VS-316A, S-48) YR-4B (YH-4B) (A/C no. 236), Zimmerman, Ohio, June 18, 1945. An unidentified group of military personnel are near the tail of the aircraft and a large group of onlookers is visible in the background.

AAIR has this listed as TR-4B 43-28235, pilot Robert N. Clark. Accident listed as a mid-air collision (but no other aircraft is listed, oddly).

Mark, there's a name in quotes on the nose; can you get a higher resolution shot and zoom in so it's legible?

Craig59 · **Posted:** Tue May 17, 2016 8:09 am

Chris Brame wrote:

Accident listed as a mid-air collision (but no other aircraft is listed, oddly).

.

If, indeed it was a mid-air, I would love to know what other type of aircraft was involved. Of course, with such a fragile aircraft as these early Sikorskys, the other participant could have been a large bird. My own father's mid-air on October 2, 1952 continues to be the first helicopter-to-helicopter mid-air of which I'm aware. The story here: http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/contact-1-69079907/

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7826

Chris Brame wrote:

Mark, there's a name in quotes on the nose; can you get a higher resolution shot and zoom in so it's legible?

It looks like "whirling Dervish"

L-4Pilot · **Joined:** Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:35 pm **Posts:** 616

Great photos, here is one in storage current day

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