IATA S61ICAO S61

Sikorsky S-61

Sikorsky

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Versatile twin-turbine helicopter for offshore and transport roles.

First flight

1959

Category

Helicopter

Seating

26–30

Range

796 km

Engines

Two General Electric T58 turboshaft engines

Status

In service

The Sikorsky S-61 is a twin-engine, single-rotor helicopter developed by Sikorsky Aircraft in the late 1950s. Originally designed for the United States Navy as the SH-3 Sea King, it was adapted for commercial and civil use and became widely adopted for offshore oil platform support, passenger transport, and search-and-rescue missions. The S-61 features amphibious capability with a boat-type hull, allowing water landings when required. Its reliability and payload capacity made it a preferred choice for helicopter airlines and oil industry operators throughout the 1960s to 1990s. While largely supplanted by newer helicopter types in commercial service, the S-61 and its military Sea King variants remain in limited operation worldwide. Licensed versions were produced by Agusta in Italy, Mitsubishi in Japan, and Westland in the United Kingdom.

Notable operators

British Airways Helicopters, Bristow Helicopters, CHC Helicopter, and various offshore oil support operators have been major commercial users.

Notable facts

›The military variant, the SH-3 Sea King, served as the primary U.S. Navy anti-submarine helicopter for decades.
›It has amphibious capability due to its watertight hull design.
›Licensed production versions were built by Westland (UK), Agusta (Italy), and Mitsubishi (Japan).
›Used extensively for offshore oil and gas platform crew transfer missions.
›A modified S-61 was used to recover Apollo astronauts after splashdown.