[ThePythonicCow]

U.S. Marines CH-53D Sea Stallion

USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), 8 June 1999 — The first contingent of U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit load on to a CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter on the deck of the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) as the ship operates in the Adriatic Sea. The Marines are headed to a staging area in Skopje, Macedonia, in support of NATO Operation Allied Force.

DOD photo by Lance Cpl. Richard O'Connor, U.S. Marine Corps.

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U.S. Marines CH-53 Sea Stallion

Kosovo, 10 September 2001 — Cpl. Nicholas Bearer, CH-53 Sea Stallion Crew Chief, HMM-266, from Detroit, MI, signals his pilots during the preflight operations of a meal and troop transfer of Marines from the 24th () involved in Operation Rapid Cheetah in Kosovo.

USMC photo taken by LCpl. Jeff Sisto.

[BwanaNdege]

Both photos are CH-53E. The Echos (Super Stallions) have 7 main rotor blades (each with a 3.5 foot extension between the rotor blade & the rotor head sleeve & spindle) while other -53s have only 6, Echos have a third engine behind the transmission with a sloping cowling back toward the vertical stabiliser. The tail rotor is 20 feet diameter, vs 16 feet for the Ch-53D, so the vertical stabilizer is canted and the Horizontal stabilizer has a dogleg like the Corsair wing. These are the best visual clues. Other structural and equipment differences...