Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King - HS-2 Golden Falcons - USS Hornet

When the Sea King became operational with the US Navy in June 1961, it was the largest amphibious rotorcraft in the world, and the first all-weather helicopter to reach production status for the US Navy. A capable and adaptable aircraft, it didn’t take long before the Sea King started to take on tasks other than the anti-submarine role it was intended for.

During the Vietnam War, several US Navy Sea Kings were adapted to operate as armed search and rescue helicopters in the Gulf of Tonkin during ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’, coming to the aid of downed airmen either at sea or land.

These were dangerous, secretive missions because they were operating in forward combat positions. US Navy HS-2 ‘Golden Falcons’ Sea Kings performed at least ten overland and five rescues of downed US airmen in North Vietnam during 1967, actions which were both intrepid and selfless.

The aircraft modelled here was the subject of a rare colour picture taken on the landing pad of USS Mahan in the Gulf of Tonkin in May 1967. Underlining the hazardous nature of these missions, the aircraft was lost at sea, claiming all souls, just two weeks later.

This release allows us to pay tribute to these clandestine and dangerous Sea King rescue missions during the Vietnam War.