CH-53 Sea Stallion
ICAO H53The West's heaviest helicopter, in service since 1966 and now in its fourth generation. Live CH-53 positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No CH-53 Sea Stallion is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Sikorsky
- Role
- Heavy-lift helicopter
- Class
- H2T — Helicopter, 2 turboshaft engines
- Crew
- 5
- First flight
- 14 October 1964
- In service
- 1966
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the CH-53 Sea Stallion
The CH-53 family covers a lot of ground: the original Sea Stallion, the three-engine CH-53E Super Stallion that could lift more than anything else in the West, and the new CH-53K King Stallion, which is essentially a new aircraft under an old designation.
Germany is the other major operator and flies the CH-53G on transport and search and rescue duties. German aircraft transmit more readily than American ones, so much of the traffic on this page is Luftwaffe.
The Super Stallion is unusual in having three engines and a seven-blade main rotor, both driven by the sheer weight it was built to carry — up to about 15 tonnes slung underneath.
Callsign prefixes
- GAF
- German Air Force
- NAVY
- US Navy and Marine Corps flights
How to recognise it
- —Very large, with a long fuselage, sponsons along the sides and a rear ramp.
- —The CH-53E and K have three engines and a seven-blade main rotor; earlier versions have two engines and six blades.
- —A canted tail fin, tilted noticeably to one side.
Common questions
+ What is the difference between the CH-53E and CH-53K?
The K is effectively a new aircraft: new engines, a composite rotor, fly-by-wire controls and roughly triple the useful load of the original. It shares the general layout and little else.
+ Why is the tail fin tilted?
To offset the torque and thrust of the tail rotor, which on a helicopter this size is substantial. Canting the fin lets the tail rotor contribute lift as well as directional control.
+ Who flies the CH-53?
The United States Marine Corps and Navy, Germany, Israel, Japan and Mexico. Germany is replacing its fleet with the CH-47F Chinook.