Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was the world's first amphibious helicopter and one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engines. The Sea King has its origins in efforts by the United States Navy as a means of counteracting the growing threat of Soviet submarines during the 1950s. Accordingly, the helicopter was specifically developed to deliver a capable ASW platform; in particular, it combined the roles of "hunter" and "killer", which had previously been
Igor Sikorsky 1912. In early 1912, Igor Sikorsky became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works ("Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod" or "R-BVZ") in Saint Petersburg. His work at R-BVZ included the construction of the first four-engine aircraft, the S-21 "Russky Vityaz", which he initially called "Le Grand" when fitted with just two engines, then as the "Bolshoi Baltisky" (The Great Baltic) when fitted with four engines for the first time, each wing panel's pair of powerplants in a "push-pull" tandem configuration previous to the four tractor-engined "Russki Vityaz". He also served as the test pilot for its