The HUP was designed by Frank Piasecki in response to a 1945 Bureau of Aeronautics requirement for a compact utility helicopter that could operate from Navy aircraft carriers, performing search and rescue, plane guard, and general transport duties. The design entered production for the Navy by 1948. Its distinctive twin overlapping tandem rotors allowed for a compact footprint suited to shipboard operations.
Aircraft Specifications
Physical Description
All-metal helicopter with two overlapping three-bladed rotors mounted fore and aft in tandem, a compact fuselage, and an electrically operated rescue hatch.
Crew: 2 (plus capacity for 3 passengers)
Length: 31 ft 10 in
Rotor span: 35 ft
Height: 12 ft 6 in
Weight (empty / max takeoff): 4,121 lbs / 6,100 lbs
Powerplant: One Continental R-975-46 radial engine, 550 horsepower
Maximum speed: 108 mph
Range: 360 miles
Service ceiling: 12,700 ft
Weapons
None. The HUP-2 was an unarmed utility and rescue helicopter.
Key Accomplishments
Was the first production helicopter equipped with an autopilot, a significant advance for shipboard helicopter operations.
This type unintentionally performed the first helicopter loop during testing, demonstrating capabilities of its rotor system that exceeded expectations.
This aircraft (Bureau #128517) served aboard four different aircraft carriers — USS Essex, USS Lake Champlain, USS Tarawa, and USS Independence — over its operational career.
The aircraft was recovered in multiple pieces from a remote airfield in southeastern Pennsylvania and fully reassembled and restored by the Museum.
Build Date
1952
Manufacturer
Piasecki Helicopter Corporation
Dates of Service
1952 – 1963
Country of Origin
United States
Inventory Number
Bureau #128517
Credit
Owned by the Museum.
Display Status
This aircraft entered Navy service in June 1952 and served with units in New Jersey, Florida, Maine, and Virginia, as well as aboard four aircraft carriers. In April 1963, the aircraft landed at Naval Air Station Norfolk, where it was stricken from service that October. The Museum received the aircraft in 1997 through a donation by Dr. Brent Follweiler, after it was recovered in multiple pieces from a remote airfield in southeastern Pennsylvania. Over several years, the Museum’s restoration team fully reassembled and restored the aircraft to its current condition.
Status: On display.
