Germany was one of the early leaders in developing helicopters in WWII (e.g., its limited production Fa 223 Drache entered service in 1941). But the United States was not far behind and by January 1943, the US Army had introduced its first successful helicopter (the R-4B Hoverfly) into service. While helicopters would only see limited use in WWII, they would see much more extensive use in the Korean War before coming into their own in the Vietnam War. Here are five facts about the early US development of helicopters in World War II.
✕ Remove Ads 1 First helicopters The US technically operated a helicopter in 1922
First helicopter flight:
Possibly 1907 with the Gyroplane No.1
First US Army helicopter:
de Bothezat helicopter (1922)
First practical helicopter:
Focke-Wulf Fw 61 (1936)
The helicopter had been in development long before airplanes, but its development took off in the age of aviation. In 1923, Time magazine reported that Thomas Edison sent George de Bothezat a congratulations for a test flight, saying, "So far as I know, you have produced the first successful helicopter" (it was able to stay aloft for 2 minutes and 45 seconds 15 feet off the ground).
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The first helicopter recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) flew in April 1924. The quadrotor de Bothezat helicopter was built for the Army, but the Army canceled it in 1924. Many more innovations and firsts were made with helicopters through the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1936, the world's first practical helicopter took flight - the Focke-Wulf Fw 61.
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2 First successful prototype The VS-300 first flew on 14 September 1939
Endurance:
1 hour 30 minutes
Type:
Successful prototype
Developed into:
R-4B Hoverfly
The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (designed by Igor Sikorsky) was the first successful single-lifting rotor helicopter in the United States (although not in the world). It was also the first successful helicopter to use a single vertical-plane tail rotor configuration for antitorque (being equipped with floats, it was also the world's first practical amphibious helicopter).
✕ Remove Ads Photo: James Emery | Wikimedia Commons
The VS-300 had a single engine, a single three-blade rotor, and (initially) a 75-horsepower engine. It conducted its first flight on 14 September 1939 (just two days after the German invasion of Poland) and its first free flight on 13 May 1940. Igor Sikorsky went on to develop the successful VS-300 prototype into the R-4, the first United States Army Air Force helicopter.
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3 3 Sikorsky R-4B "Hoverfly" 131 R-4B Hoverflys were built
First flight:
January 1942
Introduced:
January 1943
Used by:
Army Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, British Royal Navy
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The R-4B became the first successful helicopter to be introduced into the US Army - and it was the world's first production helicopter (helped in part by the Allied bombing of the German factories set to manufacture German helicopters). The prototype took to the air on its maiden flight on 13 January 1942. The US Army Air Force ordered three YR-4s and 27 YR-4Bs for service testing and flight training.
Photo: RuthAS | Wikimedia Commons
The R-4B went on to serve in the US Army Air Force, the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, and the Royal Navy. The new aircraft design offered so much promise that the Army Air Force ordered 100 R-4Bs, and 131 were built.
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✕ Remove Ads 4 Germany initially led in WWII The Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 & Sikorsky R-4B were used operationally
Number Fa 223s built:
20
Introduced:
1941
First helicopter:
to attain production status
All the major actors of World War II operated helicopters of some sort (although France was limited to early designs like the Breguet-Dorand Gyroplane Laboratoire, the Japanese to the Kayaba Ka-2, and the Soviet Union to the Kamov A-7). Germany built some leading designs for the time (like the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 and the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223). The Fa 223 was one of the only helicopters to see operational use during the war in a search and rescue role. However, the Allied bombing of the factory limited production.
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The British were world leaders in many aviation sectors in the war (including the development of jet engines). However, they seem to have lagged behind the Germans and Americans in their helicopter designs (although they did build the Cierva W.9). In the end, the operational British helicopters were the limited number of Sikorsky R-4 Hoverflys they received from the US.
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1 5 USAAF use in WWII The R-4B Hoverfly saw action in Burma and the Philippines
Notable roles:
Search and rescue
Notable theaters:
Burma, Philippines
Combat use:
None
By the end of the war, helicopters were still a nascent technology, but the US did use the R-4B Hoverfly operationally. They first conducted the first helicopter rescue mission in January 1944 after the sinking of the USS Turner, conducted the first helicopter combat rescue (in the tropical mountainous wilderness of the China-Burma-India theater), evacuated wounded soldiers from the highlands in the Philippines, and conducted other wartime missions.
✕ Remove Ads Photo: National Museum of the US Air Force
US Army Lieutenant Carter Harman (of the 1st Air Commando Grocombup) conducted one of the first major rescue feats by helicopter in the Burma theater. Despite the fact the R-4B had a capacity for only one passenger, he managed to rescue a downed liaison aircraft pilot and his three British soldier passengers two at a time. Warfare History Network writes, "It was little comfort to Harman that the YR-4B's 200-horsepower Warner piston engine had previously been used only in washing machines, not in airplanes. He was going to have to push engine and helicopter to the limit to make the pick-ups."
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