Sikorsky H-34

Sikorsky H-34 / S-58
A United States Army CH-34
General information
Type	Helicopter
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft
Status	In service
Primary users	United States Army United States Navy United States Marine Corps
Number built	2,340 [1]
History
Manufactured	1954–1970[2] (Foreign production of derivatives and sub-types continued under license after the Sikorsky production ended.)
Introduction date	1954
First flight	8 March 1954
Developed from	Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw
Developed into	Westland Wessex

The Sikorsky H-34 (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined military utility helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. A development of the smaller Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (S-55), the H-34 was originally powered by a radial engine, but was later adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and by Sikorsky as the S-58T. The H-34 was also produced under license in France by Sud Aviation.

The H-34 was one of the first successful military utility helicopters, serving on every continent with the armed forces of 25 countries. It saw combat in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, the Six-Day War, the Vietnam War, and the Algerian War, where the French Air Force used it to pioneer modern air assault tactics. It was the last piston-engined helicopter to be operated by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), having been replaced by turbine-powered types such as the UH-1 Huey and CH-46 Sea Knight; in the USMC, the H-34 was often called the "HUS" after its original designation in that service. A total of 2,340 H-34s were manufactured between 1953 and 1970, including the license productions in the UK and France.^[1]

Although most military forces retired the H-34 by the late 20th century, the type remains in limited civil use in transport and external cargo lift roles, and some have been restored and flown as warbirds.