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

A CH-54A Tarhe carrying 2 UH-1 Hueys.

CH-54B carrying an M551 Sheridan tank, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama

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 on 9 May 1962.^[2]

The United States Army eventually purchased 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 1947 book Airborne Warfare. Early pods could not carry troops and external sling-loads at the same time; later, pods that could carry both were developed but not acquired. As of 2014, it holds the record for highest altitude in level flight (11 km in 1971)^[3] and fastest climb to 3,^[4] 6,^[5] and 9^[6] km.

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 also winch vehicles up and down from a hovering position, so the helicopter does 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, such as the Mil Mi-10.

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. These 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.

Variants

Sikorsky Skycrane CH-54B with landing gear modified for soft ground.

YCH-54A: Pre-production aircraft, six built.^[7]
CH-54A: Production model powered by two 4,500 shp (3,400 kW) Pratt & Whitney T73-P-1 turboshafts, 54 built.^[7]
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.^[7]

Operators

United States

Survivors

Main article: List of surviving Sikorsky CH-54s

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

Specifications (CH-54B)

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Payload: 20,000 lb (9,072 kg)
Length: 88 ft 6 in (26.97 m)
Rotor diameter: 72 ft 0 in (21.95 m)
Height: 25 ft 5 in (7.75 m)
Disc area: 4071.5 ft² (378.24 m²)
Empty weight: 19,800 lb (8,980 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 47,000 lb (21,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney T73-P-700 turboshaft engines, 4,800 shp (3,580 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h)
Cruise speed: 100 kn (115 mph, 185 km/h)
Range: 200 NM (230 mi, 370 km)
Service ceiling: 18,330 ft (5,600 m)
Rate of climb: 1,330 ft/min (6.75 m/s)

References

Notes

↑ Ohio History Central page on Tarhe
↑ Taylor 1976, p. 386.
↑ "FAI Record ID #9918 - Altitude in horizontal flight. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
↑ "FAI Record ID #9942 - Time to climb to a height of 3 000 m. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
↑ "FAI Record ID #9957 - Time to climb to a height of 6 000 m. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
↑ "FAI Record ID #9960 - Time to climb to a height of 9 000 m. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
1 2 3 Harding 1990, p.243.
↑ "What Is a Helicopter?". nasa.gov. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
↑ "Sikorsky CH – 54B Skycrane Helicopter". nasa.gov. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
↑ "Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe Flying crane". www.Military-Today.com. Retrieved 26 January 2013.

Bibliography

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CH-54 Tarhe (Skycrane).

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 download at the Internet Archive
The short film STAFF FILM REPORT 66-21A (1966) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
HELIS.com Sikorsky S-64/CH-54 Database

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 S-23 S-24 S-25 S-26 S-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 RS XBLR-3 XPBS XSS XV-2

Helicopters (company designations)	VS-300 (S-46) S-47 S-48 S-49 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/H-92 S-97 S-300 S-333 S-434

Helicopters (military designations)	SH-3 HH-3E/F R-4 H-5 H-6 H-18 H-19 H-34 CH-37 XH-39 HH-52A CH-53 CH-53E CH-53K CH-54 HH-60G HH-60J MH-60R/S SH-60B/F SH-60J/K UH-60 VH-60 RAH-66 CH-124 CH-148

Experimental aircraft	Cypher Cypher II Firefly X2 XBLR-3 XV-2

United States helicopter designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems

Numerical sequence used by USAAC/USAAF/USAF 1941–present; US Army 1948–1956 and 1962–present; US Navy 1962–present

Main sequence
(1941–1962)

Prefix R-, 1941–1948	R-1 R-2 R-3 R-4 R-5 R-6 R-7 R-8 R-9 R-10 R-11 R-12 R-13 R-14 R-15 R-16

Prefix H-, 1948–1962	H-5 H-6 H-9 H-10 H-11 H-12 H-13/J H-15 H-16 H-17 H-18 H-19 H-20 H-21 H-22 H-23 H-24 H-25 H-26 H-27 H-28 H-29 H-30 H-31 H-32 H-33 H-34 H-35 H-36¹ H-37 H-38¹ H-39 H-40 H-41 H-42 H-43 H-44¹ H-45¹

Main joint sequence
(1962–present)

1962 redesignations	OH-13/UH-13J UH-19 CH-21 OH-23 UH-25 CH-34 CH-37 HH-43

New designations	CH-46/HH-46/UH-46 CH-47 UH-48 XH-49 QH-50 XH-51 HH-52 CH-53/HH-53/MH-53/CH-53E/CH-53K CH-54 TH-55 AH-56 TH-57 OH-58 XH-59 UH-60/SH-60/HH-60/HH-60J YUH-61 XCH-62 YAH-63 AH-64 HH-65 RAH-66 TH-67 MH-68 H-69¹ ARH-70 VH-71 UH-72 H-73 to H-89¹ MH-90 H-91¹ VH-92

1962 redesignations
reusing old numbers

¹ Not assigned

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