The Sikorsky H-34 was introduced to the world in 1954 as an anti-submarine helicopter that was also used to haul cargo and troops. It started life as a helicopter for the U.S. Navy but eventually made its way to 25 other countries for use in both military and civilian services. Production of the H-34 ceased in 1970 with between 1,800 to 2,100 units manufactured in total, including subvariants, including those that flew under the CH-34 moniker. It retired from U.S. military service quite a while ago, but you can still find some floating around, pun intended, in the civilian sector.
The H-34 saw plenty of action during its heyday. It was mostly used by the U.S. in the Vietnam War. Afterward, it found a home in places like France, South Vietnam, Israel, and other countries. Famously, it was used to try and fetch NASA’s Liberty Bell 7 out of the Atlantic Ocean but failed because the Mercury space capsule was filled with seawater.
There were well over a dozen variants of the H-34. Sikorsky modified it often in the 1960s for various other tasks. Thus, it’s hard to find an example of the original version in the wild. Most on display in museums or used in civilian service are likely one of the variants, although the Palm Springs Air Museum regularly operates an original Sikorsky H-34.
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