Kaman HH-43 Huskie

HH-43 Huskie
HH-43B Huskie of the United States Air Force
General information
Type	Firefighting/rescue
Manufacturer	Kaman Aircraft
Designer	Anton Flettner
Status	Retired
Primary users	United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Navy
Number built	370[1]
History
Introduction date	November 1958
First flight	21 April 1953
Retired	Early 1970s
Developed into	Kaman K-1125

The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter developed and produced by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Kaman Aircraft.^[2] It is perhaps most distinctive for its use of twin intermeshing rotors, having been largely designed by the German aeronautical engineer Anton Flettner.

First flown on 21 April 1953, the HH-43 went into production and was operated by several military air services, including the United States Air Force, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was primarily intended for use in aircraft firefighting and rescue in the close vicinity of air bases, but was extensively deployed during the Vietnam War. It was used as a search and rescue platform, having often been enhanced with makeshift modification and new apparatus to better suit the tropical conditions. The HH-43 was also exported to several other countries and sold commercially. It set several aviation records in its class, and was first helicopter to experiment with twin-turbine engines. The early models used a flat six or Wasp radial piston engine, and then this was changed to single gas turbine engine. The early piston powered models had three fins on a twin tail, but the turbine model had 4 vertical tail fins on two tail booms and an engine exhaust tube. By the 1970s, it was being replaced by newer rotorcraft that were typically bigger and capable of greater performance. Many of the helicopters made their way to the civilian market and museums.

Under the aircraft designation system used by the U.S. Navy pre-1962, Navy and U.S. Marine Corps versions were originally designated as the HTK, HOK or HUK, for their use as training, observation or utility aircraft, respectively. The Air Force Version was the H-43A, however after 1962 the designation system was consolidated, and that became the HH-43A, and the H-43B, the HH-43B. HUK-1 became UH-43C, HOK-1 became OH-43D, and HTK-1 became TH-43E. The TH-43E was a training version used by the Navy, powered by flat six piston engine, with space for three people; this version had 3 vertical tail fins on the end of single, not twin tail boom.