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 Photo: Robert Deering 6/28/2010 USS Midway Museum San Diego, California |
| The Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor assault helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and equipment is secondary. Additional tasks include combat support, search and rescue, support for forward refueling and rearming points, CASEVAC and Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP).
Known colloquially as the "Phrog", the CH-46 Sea Knight was first procured in 1960 from the Vertol Aircraft Corporation (formerly Piasecki) under the designation of "HRB" to meet the medium-lift requirements of the Marine Corps. The acquisition of Vertol by Boeing Aircraft Co. resulted in Boeing Vertol. In total, 524 H-46s were produced for the United States Navy and Marine Corps with the final production version being the CH-46E (although an F variant was procured, the E was the later model and carried the more advanced T-58-GE-16 engines.) Used in all Marine combat and peacetime environments since that time, the last Sea Knight rolled off the assembly line in February of 1971. Still regularly flown by the Marine Corps, its longevity as a reliable airframe has lead to such mantras as "phrogs phorever" and "never trust a helicopter under 30. While the United States Navy retired the airframe on September 24, 2004 , replacing it with the MH-60S Seahawk, the Marine Corps plans to maintain its fleet until the MV-22 is fully fielded. In March of 2006 Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (HMM-263) was deactivated and redesignated VMM-263 to serve as the first MV-22 squadron. The replacement process is expected to continue through the other medium helicopter squadrons into 2014. SPECIFICATIONS: Crew: 4: 2 pilots, 1 crew chief, 1 aerial gunner/observer Capacity: 25 troops Length: 45 ft 8 in fuselage (13.92 m Fuselage width: 7 ft 3 in (2.2 m)) Rotor diameter: 51 ft (16 m) Height: 16 ft 8.5 in (5.1 m) Disc area: 4,100 ft² (380 m²) Empty weight: 15,537 lb (7,047 kg) Loaded weight: 17,396 lb (7,891 kg) Max takeoff weight: 24,300 lb (11,000 kg) Powerplant: 2× General Electric T58-GE-16 turboshafts, 1,870 shp (1,400 kW) each Performance: Maximum speed: 165 mph (143 knots; 265 km/h) Combat radius: 184 mi (160 nm, 296 km) Ferry range: 420 mi (360 nm, 676 km) Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,300 m) Rate of climb: 2,045 ft/min (10.4 m/s) Disc loading: 4.2 lb/ft² (21 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.215 hp/lb (354 W/kg) Armament: Guns: 2× XM-218 .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (optional), 1 Ramp mounted 240G 7.62mm machine gun (optional) |
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| Bibliography: Wikipedia |