Posted on 01/31/2006 1:38:23 PM PST by SandRat
NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The last two H-3 Sea King helicopters made their last operational flight Jan. 27, taking to the air before making way for their replacement, the MH-60S Knighthawk.
Military personnel and civilians gathered in hangar SP-35 aboard Naval Station Norfolk, home of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 2, the Fleet Angels, as their Commanding Officer, Cmdr. H. Kris Croeber, addressed the crowd.
“Whatever the mission they were tasked with, the H-3 found a way to get it done.” said Croeber. “There is only one King.”
Throughout its 45-year history, the H-3 has been involved in many missions, including search and rescue, firefighting, antisubmarine warfare, worldwide logistics support and torque and drone recovery.
According to some HSC-2 crew members, the H-3 requires a lot of time and maintenance put into it in order to stay airborne.
“I’d say the biggest obstacle is just maintaining an aircraft that just keeps getting older and older,” said Lt. Dan Post, avionics division officer of the Fleet Angels. “As for flying the aircraft, it may be old, but if flies fine.”
Formerly an operational squadron with detachments in Italy and Bahrain, the Fleet Angels are now committed to teaching new pilots how to fly the MH-60S Knighthawk.
With the retirement of the H-3, HSC-2 will become the East Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for the MH-60.
“It’s very out-of-standards to go from an operational squadron to an FRS, so the command has really had to lay the groundwork down for themselves,” said Lt. James Landis, ground officer for the Fleet Angels.
Also attending the ceremony was retired Lt. Cmdr. Matt Maxwell, a former H-3 pilot who came to pay his respects to the aircraft that served him so well.
“I came here because the H-3 has always been a faithful friend,” said Maxwell. “They always brought me home and did everything that we asked them to do.”
A page of Naval Aviation History is Turned.
BTTT
Seahawks?.........No STEELERS?...........
Obviously, the Marine One squadron will continue to fly until the new Lockheed model takes over:
http://www.teamus101.com/index.cfm
Geez, what's next? Is the Corps going to retire the CH-46?
The Canadians are still flying Sea Kings, I believe.
DNDCA is doing the same...No more Sea Kings
The Sikorsky H-92 Superhawk was chosen to replace the venerable fleet of Sea Kings. The first of 28 new helicopters, dubbed CH-148 Cyclone, will be delivered to the CF in 2008.
They're playing with CH-47, H-92, S-70, EH-101, & CH146 Griffon.
MH-60S One badass chopper.
At any rate, the H-60 platform is the way to go. Extremely versatile.
Myself, I'm a bit fond of Foxtrots...
...and Hotels:
Oh well.
well duh...there it is and i was being way too nice...lol
"The Sea Kings require 30 hours of maintenance for every hour of flight, and they are unavailable for operations 40 per cent of the time."
Did you guys use these things? It looks familiar to me in white and red?
Yup. Not as common as the classic old H-52, but the CG had some H-3's for a long time. The H-3 was really big. Too big to land on the little flight decks of most of the ships, so they were pretty much all shore-based.
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