CH-37 Mojave

The Army's Sikorsky CH-37 originated in an aircraft developed as an assault helicopter for the Marine Corps. The first prototype flew in 1953, and the Marines bought sixty aircraft known as the HR2S. The Army evaluated the prototype in 1954 and soon ordered ninety-four CH-37s. When it was delivered, the CH-37 was the largest helicopter in the western world. Its two 2100 hp piston engines were mounted in outboard pods that also housed the retractable landing gear, leaving the fuselage free for cargo loaded and unloaded through large clamshell doors in the nose. Its cargo compartment could carry two jeeps or a 105mm howitzer, as well as twenty six troops or twenty four litters. Several CH-37s deployed to Vietnam, where their primary role was aircraft recovery. In the late 1960s, the CH-37 was replaced by the CH-54 Tarhe and later the CH-47 Chinook, whose newer turboshaft engines made the larger, heavier piston engines obsolete. The CH-37B Mojave on display was assembled in Arizona from parts of several helicopters and then flown to Fort Eustis because it was too large to ship by truck. It was later given the markings of the 4th Transportation Company, which in 1958 became the Army's first medium helicopter company when it fielded the CH-37.

Newport News, Virginia · United States