Sikorsky H-34

[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.

It retained the nose-mounted radial reciprocating engine with the drive shaft passing through the cockpit placed high above the cargo compartment.

[5] French evaluations on the reported ground fire vulnerabilities of the CH-34 may have influenced the U.S. Army's decision to deploy the CH-21 Shawnee to Vietnam instead of the CH-34, pending the introduction into widespread service of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois.

[6] Its higher availability and reliability due to its simplicity compared to the newer helicopters led Marines to ask for it by name.

[7] USMC H-34s were also among the first helicopter gunships trialled in theatre, being fitted with the Temporary Kit-1 (TK-1), comprising two M60C machine guns and two 19-shot 2.75 inch rocket pods.

An H-34 was featured in the famous early-Vietnam War Time-Life photo essay "One Ride With Yankee Papa 13", photographer Larry Burrows, which depicted stages of a disastrous combat mission in which several crew were wounded or killed.

On 3 September 1973, the last flight of a USMC UH-34 occurred as Bureau Number 147191 which had been formally assigned to Headquarters Squadron, FMF Pacific was flown from Quantico, Virginia to MCAS New River to be placed on static display.

[10][11] France purchased an initial batch of 134 Choctaws; these were shipped in kit-form from the United States and locally assembled by Sud-Aviation.

The extra weight was too much for the H-34 and the capsule, Liberty Bell 7, was emergency released and sank in deep water,[15] remaining on the ocean floor until 1999.

Sikorsky set up a production line in 1970 to remanufacture existing S-58 aircraft into the S-58T configuration, replacing the R-1820 engine with a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3 Twin-Pac turboshafts; Sikorsky obtained a Federal Aviation Administration type certificate for the conversion in April 1971.

[17] In the early 1970s, Orlando Helicopter Airways developed a novel civil conversion of the S-55/H-19, the Heli-Camper, a campervan-like conversion—featuring a built-in mini-kitchen and sleeping accommodations for four.

The S-58 version featured a larger kitchenette, sleeping accommodations for six, a minibar, and an entertainment system; optional floats were offered for amphibious operations.

The aircraft were featured in several American popular magazines and reportedly drew large crowds at RV shows and dealerships, but their high purchase price together with rising 1970s fuel prices resulted in very limited sales; production is not well documented but is estimated at only six or seven of the S-55 and S-58 versions combined.

A U.S. Coast Guard HUS-1G in 1960.
Row of Westland Wessex HU.5, 1978
A U.S. Navy HSS-1 with dipping sonar deployed, in 1960.
Radial engine of a H-34 under the fuselage
CH-37C and UH-34D of the United States Marine Corps . The H-34 was complementary to other other types in US serve. Nevertheless, it showed how a versatile and reliable medium helicopter could be adapted to many roles.
Sikorsky H-34 being used by French commando during Plan Challe
U.S. Marine Corps UH-34Ds over Mekong Delta
USMC helicopter in Vietnam
U.S. Marine Corps UH-34Ds over Vietnam, 1965.
Wessex at Ascension Island, 1982
RVNAF CH-34As at Tan Son Nhut .
Israeli Air Force Sikorsky S-58 (1967)
Civil S-58T powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T Twin-Pac turbine power plant
S-58T of New York Helicopter at 34th Street Helicopter pad in 1987
Choctaw gunship armed with XM3 armament system, 1962
SH-34Js on the USS Essex in 1962
A VH-34D presidential helicopter (BuNo 147201) on the South Lawn of the White House in 1961
S-58C at Schreckhof airfield in warbird livery, 2016.
An S-58T performing an external load operation in Dallas, Texas.
A retired S-58T Twinpac, with its distinctive squared "nostrils" on the nose. On display at an Indonesian aviation Museum
Wessex of the Royal Navy, 1980
Chilean Navy UH-34J
French Navy helicopter H-34 and French paratroopers during a 1971 operation in Chad .
A Sud Aviation SA116, the H-34J of the French Air Force in 2006, now retired
West German Navy Sikorsky H-34G and Royal Danish Air Force Sikorsky S-61A at Ypenburg air base, the Netherlands, 1970
Sikorsky S-58T at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Bangkok Thailand
Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse in National Air and Space Museum
H-34 of the Heer
Indonesian Air Force UH-34 number H-3402 inside Dirgantara Mandala Museum in Yogyakarta (Java Island, Indonesia)
A Sikorsky H-34 helicopter on display at the Philippine Air Force Aerospace Museum in Manila.
UH-34D at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum , Texas
VH-34C of the Presidential Fleet. In service with the head-of-state it would have gone by callsign "Army One"; since 1976 only "Marine One" is used.
Another view of the VH-34C at Pima Museum
H-34 at Pacific Coast Air Museum, in California, USA
The ill-fated Piasecki PA-97, used 4 modified H-34s with a blimp