Why is this 1960s helicopter still in service today?

[@Moroklumpen]

Norwegian here. My uncle used to work in search and rescue, based in a nearby town that was nevertheless quite a ways away because on the coast of Norway, you *never* get to travel in a straight line unless you're flying a helicopter. He would come visit for weekends or holidays every now and then, and the majestic white and orange Sea King would land and drop him off in the field across the road. And let me tell you, when you arrive by helicopter you are the coolest uncle in the world, no contest.

[@MultiVogon]

I've been winched into an RAF Rescue sea king in a former life. Noisy buggers, no creature comforts inside, we all loved them 🙂

[@davefromnb473]

Yep. Noisiest helicopter I ever heard. You could hear the gas turbine engines from miles away.

[@LmgWarThunder]

In a former life?

[@MultiVogon]

Well, I no longer play with boats and helicopters like I once did ;-)

[@beejay7665]

@@MultiVogon Thanks for your service. My former life was U.S. pave lows and cv-22s. Now enjoying back pain, loss of hearing, and precious time with my wife and kids. Hope you are well and enjoying the life you earned, and merry Christmas to you.

[@thetruthhurts7675]

@@davefromnb473 You've very obviuosly never been within two miles of the Lynx, or the more modern Wildcat, both iterations of this helicopter makes the Sea king a steath fighter by comparison.

[@ajdexter4195]

I live two minutes from Westlands now Leonardos, it’s so cool to see sooo many helicopters every single day :)

[@sdcoinshooter]

I am a former USN pilot and have over 1,000 in the H-3 Sea King. Old, slow, some I flew were built before I was born, but what a dependable workhorse.

[@fakenorwegian4743]

This presenter does an excellent job. He speaks clearly and is easy to understand.

[@officialusmanqureshi]

unlike darkskies, who has nice content, but always tries to talk too fast and slurs his words

[@myriaddsystems]

It's most refreshing to hear a narration like this

[@shaunmcclory8117]

Yes for this day and age but when you hear the narration at 0.25sec to 0.40 you realise how far standards have slipped

[@normcameron2316]

I can answer the question presented in the Video Title: Because they work! They are reliable. Tough, durable, repairable.

[@Moltenbramley]

As an Air Cadet on a summer trip to RAF Valley I was lucky enough to be flown in one of their Sea Kings. A fantastic experience for a young lad.

[@icarus_falling]

I got a ride from Lossiemouth as a cadet lol

[@Moltenbramley]

@ it was a prize for the best summer cadet. Although I wasn’t the winner, as that prize was a ride in a Hawk, we runners up got the sea king.

[@IanHardmanPhotography]

Same here, 2013, up at Lossiemouth. I'm not entirely sure who it was now, but the pilot who flew us that day and his winchman were awarded honours for a rescue they did in awful conditions at some stage. I still have his signature in my 3822

[@IanHardmanPhotography]

Thought so. FLT LT Ian Campbell - Queen's Gallantry Medal

[@alexpervanoglu7420]

@@Moltenbramley I got both, 1989 for the Sea King and 1990 for the Hawk ( I was more determined the second year I think ) Enjoyed those summer camps. I was on a scholarship but sadly caught a virus that affected my heart and that was the end of all the hard work. Still was great fun at the time.

[@doberski6855]

I believe the term is dependable workhorse! It was the 'C-130 Hercules' of helicopters!

[@himaro101]

That's an apt comparison actually.

[@harridan.]

agreed.

[@lakota_stu]

Ex 845 engineer here (Sea King mk4 commando). Went to Iraq and Afghanistan to maintain these beasts, love them! Will always have a soft spot for this cab.

[@ianmorris7485]

I remember visiting an aunt in Yeovil and marvelled at seeing a Sea King, probably the prototype, flying overhead. Been a favourite helicopter ever since. Such an iconic design.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

In April 2023, the BBC did an interview with one of the co-pilots of a UK donated Sea King to Ukraine. These helicopters served in the Falklands War so they are at least some 40 years old. The co-pilot has said that the Sea King is used for rescuing pilots who have ejected, delivering soldiers, and conducting reconnaissance, among other tasks. One engineer also told the BBC: "The are old... but they have gone through modernisation, amd we need them very much. I believe this is just the start or our work together."

[@meintveldman4769]

Alongsides the Chinook, the Alouette and the UH1 one of the absolute best ever Helicopter designs!

[@grrlpurpleable]

The Merlin may be more advanced but it doesn't have the Seaking rugged good looks! I miss seeing the Seakings on our coastlines.

[@WaVeTECH-b9z]

The raw power and precision of these machines are absolutely awe-inspiring

[@whathasxgottodowithit3919.]

I worked on a North Sea Oil Production Platform Platform in the early 80s (Ninian South) and I remember R.N. Sea Kings bringing a special Operations Team onboard for a training exercise. the Helicopters carried no lights on landing. P.S. We flew on and off the Platform in S61s for crew change,, they were a little slow but very safe.

[@nickgood8166]

That would be Royal Marines from the SBS and /or Camacchio Company.

[@gregorturner9421]

you might very well have had my father as a pilot. captain Turner as he flew for british airways from aberdeen and shetland taking people to the rigs in the early 80s

[@stuartthornton3027]

I live spitting distance from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. I remember as kid, it was impossible to look up and not see wessex or seaking helo's buzzing around. My farther who was a fitter with 824 squadron in the Falklands, loved working on them.

[@alanwllms5172]

@stuartthornton3027 Yeah, you knew it was 10 pm and 2 am when night flying started and finished

[@Anirossa]

I still see this helicopter around my island here in Norway, seems to be owned by the military, but also seems they are used to pick up people needing medical attention, to get to hospitals quickly, a truly impressive machine!

[@anthonytilling3442]

Many happy memories of my time working on Sea King at RNAS Culdrose, 771 sqdn MU and depth maintenance (Aircraft Maintenance group). I grew up in Cornwall and was always fascinated to see them flying over my house as a kid, little did I know that I would one day be lucky enough to be able to be part of it's history. Truly were the best days of my life!😊

[@stephensmith4480]

These Wonderful Machines are worth their weight in Gold. So sorry to see them retired.

[@2ToneWalt]

As a kid, we used to go to Weymouth for our family holidays, I have great memories of going to Portland Bill to see the air sea rescue Sea Kings flying in and out of there, as well as the Wasps.

[@johnmunro4952]

As a sea cadet I had the opportunity to fly in sea kings at Culdrose. Out over the Lizard and I got to be winched down over the runway. I still remember the shock of dread when the purpose of "Shepard's crook" was explained to us just before we got swung out of the door.

[@ahhobby2527]

Here in Malaysia, the Royal Malaysian Air Force operated a fleet of 40 plus Sikorsky S-61 from 1961 before they were decommissioned in 2020. Locally called the Nuri (Parrot), the helicopter have tremendously been a large part for the Malaysian military to combat communism and terrorists post-independence in 1957. I personally grew up nearby Kuantan Airbase and regularly seen the Nuris in operation back in the late 90s and early 2000s. What a machine.

[@Mike-xh7wb]

Saw 1 go into ground resonance, during a lift off, at Sembawang airfield circa 1966 I was about 20 ft away, watching from the flt office of 42 Cdo air troop btw I was the REME Greenie, no R N crew was injured, but the aircraft did tip on its side , rotor blades everywhere. My Boss was Cpt Donkin R M who rescued some Gurkhas in 1964 from a Indonesian river assault in Borneo, I later served in Kapit Borneo 1 year later with 3 flt AAC with Wasp/Scout Westland choppers.

[@fergusallan7187]

U missed “Air Power - Did you know that during the Falkland War ... A helicopter ( sea king ) equipped with electronic decoys would position itself to lure an incoming Exocet missile towards itself (and away from the targeted ship).

[@snowyowl7413]

A few lynxs were adapted for this role as well

[@jetwrench2854]

Works good. Lasts long time. Done right the first time and continuously improved.

[@GraniteGhost778]

I used to have a little diecast model of this thing as a kid. Loved that little helicopter.

[@raymurphy9749]

At primary school in Dundee in the mid 80's we had a search and rescue Sea King from Leuchars land in the playing fields.

[@tassiehandyman3090]

RNAS Culdrose. HQ for 771 Sqn SAR. Early 90s..🤷‍♂️... I was a Sea Cadet. I spent an afternoon aboard a Sea King being given a low level tour of some lovely bits of Cornwall. Bloody awesome...👍

[@richardsawyer1825]

My favourite helicopter. The big yellow budgie was always such fun to ride in. I miss that noisy, smelly lump of awesomeness (but there are some still flown by Historic Helicopters of Chard, Somerset) 😊

[@chrisblay]

The Tiger livery on that Seaking looks great

[@georgemorley1029]

814 NAS

[@chrisblay]

Naval Air Squadron. I had to look that up. My Grandfather was in the RNAS. A bit before the time of these though.

[@chrismartin3197]

Check out the NATO Tiger meet schemes (if you don’t already know about them)

[@IOWPCV]

Wish I could have flown one. It's my favourite helicopter.

[@Ubique2927]

Because it is the best Airfix model EVER.

[@peterbradburn9115]

Had a little snap together model out of a packet of cornflakes. Loved it

[@gazof-the-north1980]

Big strong air frame, and can fly a long way on one tank of fuel (for a helicopter) and can do many jobs. Superb aircraft 👍

[@LukeLonergan-h5q]

It's one of my favourite helicopters, it's a really nice design in my eyes, it looks classic.

[@waikanaebeach]

Excellent presentation of a wonderful helicopter.

[@koenven7012]

I once flew in one of the Belgian Air Force Seakings as part of a promo. It was great fun to see them up close, although they were quite noisy. The BAF had 5 for Search and Rescue mostly (they also did some troop transport and other such duties, but mostly SAR work) from 1976 to 2019, now replaced by NH90s. There was a show on TV called 'Windkracht 10' in the 90's that depicted the life of the 40th SAR Squadron that flew these helicopters (some scenes were filmed with the real helicopters).

[@oxcart4172]

In the 80s i saw a Belgian Air Force Sea King land next to an office building near where I was working. To this day it's still a mystery to me!

[@dudewhereismycar]

@@oxcart4172 Why was it a mystery?

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

@@dudewhereismycar It depends where the office was I guess. If it was in Brussels, not so surprising. If it was in Canberra, that might be more surprising. Possibly it was just lost on it's winter migration. It would be a hell of a bang if it flew into the window. They could have been dropping off Belgian Spies. Two of them. Both wearing bowler hats, suits and moustaches. Carrying umbrellas. With the cover name Thompson (real names Dupont et Dupond).

[@NewfieOn2Wheels]

My mom spent a big part of her 20 years with the RCAF working on Canadian sea king engines at Shearwater, and on board HMCS Nipigon during the early 90s, she even met my dad on one of the Nipigon's cruises. What a great helicopter.

[@gregorturner9421]

my father used to fly the civi version of these s-61. he flew from aberdeen and shetland to the north sea rigs and also did some search and rescue. fond memories of getting a flight over amsterdam in one whilst they were doing test flights after a maintenance period. have also been dive bombed in one by my father in shetland. I also got the chance to fly in british airways flight simulator in aberdeen. was doing great until my dad decided to simulate the tail rotor failing. not a good landing for a 12 yr old lol.

[@luddite6239]

Great history, thanks. The Sea King (the US version) was the first helicopter I remember recognising after watching them winching Apollo capsules out of the ocean (I also had the Dinky model). Hard to believe the design is over 60 years old. A great machine.

[@kizzjd9578]

Saw a australian navy westland wessex version in qld air museum and its crazy how light they are and how they had sub 30ft agl terrain following over water back in the 60’s.

[@rogerrees9845]

Another excellent presentation, thank you all at IWM.. .. What a wonderful aircraft, a true work horse..... I've been in one, apart from the noise it was the cavernous space I recall... Roger.. Pembrokeshire

[@untitled4542]

Because it is brilliant

[@aljack1979]

As an ex navy SAR medic... Found memories for me at Prestwick 😊

[@solbob501]

6:06 Love Duxford.. but this hanger is a mess at the moment all the aircraft parked in front of each other cordoned off, can hardly see the Buccaneer hidden in the corner.

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

Nah. The Buccaneer is just good at not being spotted. 😁 There's one in Hendon that is surprisingly visible if that's any help.

[@felixcat9318]

Sea King Helicopters are responsible for saving large numbers of people during marine disasters, often far from land, at night and in horrendous weather and in extremely hostile sea states! The courage and expertise of their Crews and the trusted Sea King Helicopters made for outstanding Rescues which would otherwise not have been possible! That they were (and still are) in such long term service is a tribute to the design, reliability and longevity, even in the harshest marine environments. The S-92 is a lovely aircraft, but I can't see them being in service for decade after decade, like the Sea King has been. The Swiss Army Knife of Helicopters is an apt description, given the versatility and multi-role capability of this remarkable Helicopter.

[@Masada1911]

Because it works.

[@WeirdSeagul]

@@Masada1911 reliability and flight hours without maintenance is not prioritized enough

[@nukers1234]

We retired them as SAR helicopters last and this years, i dont think we have anyone left in service here in Norway

[@AlexHalt100]

i`m always baffled by the length of service life of some of current day equipment. although updated and modernized several times, some air frames are in service 50+ years. F15, Sea King, B52, even Armour such as the Leopard and Abrams. Imagine the Skies over Vietnam filled with Fokkers and Sopwith's or rolling into Iraq with Sherman Tanks.

[@rexochroy2]

To answer the title question, easy , it’s a fantastic design.. 😊

[@grahamkearnon6682]

Rather glaring omission of the flagship carrier Hermes in the Falklands, it carried & deployed more seakings then any other ship, I personally viewed their use in the Hermes to Pebble island sbs/sas airfield attack.

[@JeffBilkins]

Love the boat nose even though the water landing wasn't used often.

[@420BulletSponge]

Having worked on the flight deck of the Saratoga (CV-60) in the late 80's I would rather receive a Sea King over a Sea Stallion or Sea Knight landing in Fly 1 any day (or night) of the week.

[@muriwatch]

gazed on it in the famous Stephen Biesty "Incredible Cross Sections" book as a kid in the mid 90's. Now my kid is gazing at the very same pages ;)

[@OscarOSullivan]

A licensed production version of the Sikorsky S-61. The S-61’s until the early 2010’s were the SAR helicopters in Ireland until they were replaced by the S-92.

[@alpine1600s]

Sikorsky name is synonymous with the modern helicopter configuration, main rotor and tail rotor.👍

[@Kalah_]

TLDR: Because it's an incredibly good design, that's why.

[@ianjardine7324]

These old beasts are so solid and dependable i wouldn't be surprised if most are still flying in another sixty years. Probably being passed down to smaller and smaller nations ending up as local search and rescue assets for tiny islands who need such a simple but rugged design and can't afford the flashier complex more modern chopper's.

[@garyshuttleworth3459]

great informative video, many thanks to all involved

[@troon5488]

Entertaining video, great subject matter. The prolonged, three-quarter head shot is a bit disconcerting, though.

[@stco2426]

Good, but I'd have liked a visual and voice mention of 771 Squadron.

[@The_Oracle]

I’ve been on an s61 with my dad flying and a sea king in Afghanistan whilst serving.

[@garryferrington811]

Now that is a rock star name.

[@timgosling6189]

I was in an UK Royal Marines' SeaKing just last week.

[@mountkeen8701]

Interestingly the commentary on the archive promotional film dating from the 1970's was done by the same guy who voiced "The Flowerpot Men" in the 1950s, the "Captain Pugwash" animations and often appeared in "Dave Allen At Large" - Peter Hawkins.

[@morgan97475]

I love that 70s music in the video.

[@paulpowell4871]

It was a Sikorsky SH-3 on license to Westland

[@GEODUCK9]

@@paulpowell4871 Feel free to write out the entire script rather than just little bits

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

@@GEODUCK9 Ooo, harsh. 😂

[@a.vanwijk2268]

I like the video. One thing I do not like is the shots where the side camera shoots the presenter looking at the main camera. These shots, if used, shouldn't last longer than half a second or so. An alternative would be to have a camera at the exact same spot as the main, but zoomed in.

[@hogey74]

Hello from Brisbane. Great vid all round - thanks! These things remain IMO the quintessence of sturdy, impressive ability. Improbably big to my childish eyes, now still the thing I'd want to arrive if everything had gone pear-shaped.

[@darrenjones3681]

Should also be pointed out the Chinook is still in service and probably been around as long

[@mattsiede443]

Love this channel.... Love your vids!!!!

[@scroggins100]

Right now any chopper would be a very good thing for UK Defences.

[@Daniel-S1]

Thanks.

[@12345fowler]

Who wants a fuc** taxi then ? The most british thing ever.

[@madman3371]

@@12345fowler when sh*t hits the fan, you can always rely on us brits to crack a joke about it 😆

[@YorkGod1]

Great Video!

[@nocode1603]

What a machine when I was young & in sea cadets our sumer camp was at hms gannet 819 naval Air service & got a quick flight & winch up in it you could always tel it was a sea king flying over the house before you even seen it . the base at hms gannet had the fairy gannet at the main gate as its name sake fantastic times with my mates....😂

[@driversearcher]

Unfortunately the sea king in Malaysia airforce had been retired as it been called flying coffin. Once well known as Nuri in Malaysia the sea king had served our country for decade

[@moodogco]

They've been replaced not that many yrs ago by the merlin hm2 crowsnest variant with the royal navy wildcat hma2 doing the attack or defence role

[@loiclaronche5675]

6:03 looks like we have a Buccaneer at the left, and a T-37 on the right.

[@chrismartin3197]

Think that’s a Strikemaster. The Brits didn’t fly Tweets

[@cilldublin07]

Were these involved in the 1979 Fastnet race rescues & recoveries?

[@Cous1nJack]

I think that was the Wessex era

[@burakkaya7034]

There is talk of ships sabotaging undersea gas and energy exchange. Do you have any precautions for this?

[@fleetspotter]

Fear God, Honour the King. Long live THE King (of the Skies).

[@PlaneGeek1]

I went to IWM duxford on the 29th november and it was the best time ever i went into the lanchester and concorde and i saw all of the places apart from the tank bit the american section was probaly the best as it had a colection of f-111 b-52 sr-71a u-2 and f-15 with many this part i think is the land and sea section so number 2 or 3 more

[@kennethmclennan905]

It was heavily used in the oil industry in the north sea both as sar and bus for off shore worker's

[@jamesgardiner-g9p]

Prince of Wales was shown how to land the sea king in the waters of a lake in New Brunswick By Royal Canadian Navy one one of his visits to Canada

[@54mgtf22]

Cool 😎

[@pcka12]

I remember the petrol engine Whirlwinds!

[@TheArklyte]

Because for some reason americans believe that ALL helicopters MUST fit into a transport plane. Hence absence of native Mi-26 analogue or even desire to purchase Mi-26. Which would have looked really cool with King Stallion styled air refuelling mast and engine mufflers. And since americans don't produce bigger helicopter, Westland can't license bigger helicopter. Even if unlike US, they don't have to care about transatlantic logistics of it and all it needs to fly over is English Channel 😅

[@xyzero1682]

F YEAH SEA KING!

[@201sovereign]

Land rover defender of the skies😅

[@anthonytilling3442]

And had the same amount of oil leaks! 🤣

[@201sovereign]

@anthonytilling3442 truth!🤣🤣

[@ReasonableGuy-l7o]

:30 Twin Rolls Royce engines giving single engine performance. 🙂

[@Demun1649]

The failure to increase budgets resulted in keeping helicopters that fell behind current performance. It was never as good as the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma, and lost out even further to the Super Puma. It was weird to look down on a Sea King helicopter as it past us on their way to our MRT rendezvous.

[@thomasburke7995]

What is interesting is that finding a replacement for this DESIGN will be almost impossible. Just look at the MERLIN. its missing its bow plane front nose but cockpit and fuselage along with with the tail boom look similar to the SIKORSKY..

[@quasar_33b]

the bow nose is a bit of a pointless gimmick and getting to gyros in the nose is a pain in the arse.

[@billkingston4402]

Went on one in Devon when i was in the cubs, it didn't take off😊

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

Oh dear. Were you a bit 'big-bonned' as a kid? 🤣 Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[@Jack_Gibby]

Function over form

[@markcooke5270]

That one in the Museum is a beautiful beast ... Nearly 50 years service in our Armed forces and beyond that in other roles 👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@georgemorley1029]

Auto rotations were interesting in them.

[@MaxKrumholz]

So it's Sicorsky for REAL

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

I think the answer is yes... and no. I think the Whirlwind, Wessex and Seaking were Sikorsky designs license built in the UK. The UK would often take the basic aircraft then adopt it by replacing the engines and avionics etc. So designs would have varying degree of US original and home-grown parts. The UK version of the F4 Phantom for instance had beefier Rolls Royce engines (because that was something the UK excelled at). The benefit would be using a good proven design whilst also keeping home manufacturing capabilities and jobs. The US manufacturers can capitalise on economies of scale with both research and manufacturing, making this hybrid solution a good compromise for smaller countries.

[@michaelmiklosofficial]

Hero Helicopter

[@simtalkayak]

it looks like a baby king stallion. (i know they're made by the same company)