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CH-54B TARHE SKYCRANE

General - The Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe is an American twin-turboshaft engine heavy-lift helicopter used in service by the US Army and the National Guard. Designed by Sikorsky Aircraft, and had its first flight in early May of 1962. It remained in service until it was retired by the US Army in 1970, however the National Guard did so only in 1993.

Caution Advisory Panel look-up table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18MgNjceSF1mfkRNCCemJ_ltHCI9EesFNA_gMBWDgwLQ/edit?usp=sharing

Design - The design and development of the CH-54 can be traced back to 1958, where Sikorsky began work on a prototype heavy-lift helicopter the Sikorsky S-60 as a proof-of-concept. The S-60 sought out to replace the already outdated and aging Sikorsky CH-37, in service at the time, and build on the success of the CH-37. Testing proved the design successful and furthermore had the US Army’s interest. Sikorsky had already near the end of the S-60 testing phase begun work on a civilian heavy-lift helicopter, that by design was similar to the S-60, but equipped with 2 turboshaft engines, instead of the weaker and heavier radial piston engines. This project would go on to become the civilian version the S-64 Skycrane, and during the development of it, Sikorsky proposed the design to the US army, where it underwent brief testing and evaluation. An initial 6 orders were placed and Sikorsky adopted the helicopter for a military production version that the Army would name the CH-54 Tarhe, after an 18- century Indian tribes chief's name, who was nicknamed “The Crane”. Military Operational History - The CH-54 saw its first military involvement in the Vietnam war. Here it served as the backbone of heavy-lift and logistical operations. Because of its impressive payload weight it was a fitting vehicle for equipment retrieval in Vietnam. Such missions would typically involve the retrieving of downed aircraft or abandoned munitions or vehicles, where the CH-54 could easily maneuver above the target and hover precisely, while hoisting down a hook from its center. Ground personnel would then attach the hook to the target and then the helicopter could reel in the cable. Here the open belly of the Ch-54 was ideal, as it allowed the hoisted equipment to be suspended closer to the center of mass on the CH-54, along its spine and provide greater stability whilst in hover and forward flight, compared to other heavy lift platforms. During the service period it had in Vietnam it successfully recovered an excessive 380 aircraft alone, that together by some estimates were worth 210 million dollars. Other logistical uses it had was in the relocation / transport of US equipment and supplies. Where it would see use in repositioning howitzer artillery pieces and their ammunition to new firing sites to prevent counter artillery. It also served as standard equipment transport with numerous counts of it airlifting other helicopters, military cars, tanks and so on. It also provided logistical support to particular forces stationed in remote locations in Vietnam without easy or readily available supply routes, here its main role was delivering critical supplies such as food, water, fuel and munitions to the mentioned troops and equipment. On some occasions where a large number of troops or civilians needed to be transported to a combat zone or rescue center at once, it could be fitted with a specialized military pod that could either fit seats for people or other military equipment. One such instance where a pod was utilized was in Vietnam in 1965, where a CH-54 airlifted a total of 90 people at once, 87 of them being fully equipped soldiers. The CH-54 has gone through countless unusual tasks and uses, and one occasion stands out. Under the “Commando Vault” program, a CH-54 was retrofitted with a 15.000 lb (6.800 kg) BLU-82 bomb, nicknamed Daisy Cutter used for clearing helicopter landing sites, under its fuselage for a test-drop. The CH-54A that operated in Vietnam, saw later upgrades to the CH-54B which only 29 of were built. However these did not serve for long in the Army, as the CH-54 proved costly and difficult to maintain and it was retired through the 1970’s and replaced in the Army by the CH-47 Chinook. The National guard continued to operate a small fleet of Ch-54’s until budget cuts and was retired in 1993.