This Day in Aviation History
February 16th, 1946
First flight of the Sikorsky H-5.

The Sikorsky H-5, (aka R-5, S-51, HO2S-1, HO3S-1) (R-5 until 1948; company designation VS-327) was a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, formerly used by the United States Air Force, and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard (with the designations HO2S and HO3S). It was also used by the United States Post Office Department. In December 1946, an agreement was signed between the British company Westland Aircraft and Sikorsky to produce a British version of the H-5 or S-51, to be manufactured under license in Britain as the Westland-Sikorsky WS-51 Dragonfly. By the time production ceased in 1951, more than 300 examples of all types of the S-51/H-5 had been built….

Source:
Wikipedia, Sikorsky H-5: http://gstv.us/1SPXYjs

YouTube, Sikorsky R 5, 1945 – Les Morris Pilot: http://gstv.us/1SPY76F

For further reading, please check out this article from the Sikorsky Archives: http://gstv.us/1SPY8rd

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