CH-54 Tarhe

CH-54 Tarhe. . , The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane first took flight in May, 1962. The US Army quickly purchased six of the heavy lift helicopters, designating them YCH-54As. These were followed up by the CH-54A/B models, of which the Army eventually purchased a total of 105. Officially known as the Tarhe, the CH-54 was more commonly called 'Skycrane'.

With two Pratt and Whitney turbine engines, the Tarhe was capable of lifting 10 tons. It had a standard cockpit forward and another cockpit facing aft which is a rear-facing pilot used when lifting large loads.

The 'Skycrane' served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam where it was used for transport and downed-aircraft recovery. Retrieving 380 downed aircraft, it was highly successful and with the addition of a removable pod, the CH-54 could carry up to 45 troops. The six YCH-54 variants were first sent to Vietnam in 1965 and of those six, only this aircraft, No. 64-14203, survived. The last Tarhe was retired in 1993 by the 113th Aviation Regiment of the Army National Guard.

Not only was this aircraft the 3rd production Tarhe and the only early variant to survive Vietnam, with over 1,000 combat hours with the 478th Transportation Co., 1st Cavalry Division, this aircraft has the most combat hours of any CH-54. After returning home from Vietnam, No. 64-14203 came to Fort Eustis where it was used as a trainer before being retired to the museum in 1979.