Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is currently in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, and Mexico. The United States Air Force operated the HH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giant" during the late– and post–Vietnam-War era, updating most of them as the MH-53 Pave Low. The dimensionally-similar CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavier-lifting, improved version designated S-80E by Sikorsky. Its third engine makes it more powerful than the Sea Stallion, which it has replaced in the heavy-lift mission. The Sea Stallion has a fuselage design similar to, but much larger than, the Sikorsky S-61R series. It has a passenger door on the right side of the fuselage behind the cockpit and a power-operated rear loading ramp. The fuselage is watertight, though not intended for amphibious use, and is only intended to land on water in emergencies. The Stallion has mechanical flight controls which are backed by three independent hydraulic systems. Armor protects crew and vital systems. The CH-53A carries a crew of four; pilot, copilot, crew chief, and an aerial observer, a load of 38 troops, 24 litters with medical attendants, an internal cargo load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) or an external load of 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg) on the single-point sling hook. The CH-53A is equipped with a pair of 7.62×51mm NATO M60 machine guns that point out to each side of the fuselage. The CH-53A features a six-bladed main rotor and four-bladed tail rotor developed from those used on the S-64 Skycrane. To save space on board naval vessels, the tail boom and the rotors folded. Initially, the CH-53 was powered by twin General Electric T64-6 turboshaft engines providing 2,850 shaft horsepower (2,130 kW) each, each engine being located on the upper fuselage. The CH-53D features uprated engines, initially T64-GE-412 with 3,695 shp (2,755 kW) then the T64-413 with 3,925 shp (2,927 kW) with an uprated transmission. Its interior added seats to allow for 55 troops. CH-53Ds are generally armed with twin .50 BMG (12.7 mm) M2/XM218 machine guns. In later years, CH-53Ds have been fitted with defensive countermeasures including an AN/ALE-39 chaff dispenser and an AN/ALQ-157 infrared countermeasure. For more details, including the 14 variants, click here. Specifications below are for the CH-53D model.
