Piasecki HUP-3
- Period: Postwar (1945-1959)
- Uses: Utility
- First Flight: 1949
- Display Status: On the Museum Floor
The HUP-3 was built to a US Navy requirement for a carrier-based helicopter for search-and-rescue and general transportation. Seventy similar aircraft went to the US Army under the designation H-25A. Considered too small, 50 were transferred to the US Navy as the HUP-3. The Royal Canadian Navy received three HUP-3s in 1954. Operating from HMCS Labrador in northern Canadian waters, they reported on ice conditions and conducted hydrographic and oceanographic surveys. The RCN HUP-3s were retired in 1964.
This aircraft was the last of a line of pioneer helicopters developed under the Piasecki name. Early versions of the HUP were called the “hupmobile” or “shoe”, because of their distinctive shape. A prototype performed the first known loop by a helicopter. A large cargo door in the side of the fuselage could accommodate a stretcher and hoist for rescue work. A floor hatch allowed 180-kg (400-lb) loads to be winched up into the cabin.
Museum Example
- Registration #: 51-16623 (RCN)
- Manufacturer: Piasecki Helicopter Corporation, United States
- Manufacture Date: 1954
- Construction #: Unknown
- Acquisition Date: 1965
- Provenance: Purchase
This helicopter manufactured as a H-25A for the US Army was modified in 1954 as a HUP-3 for the RCN, where it served until 1964. It was purchased by the Canadian War Museum in 1965 and restored by Boeing Canada between May 1981 and November 1982.
Specifications
- Rotor diameter:
- 10.7 m (35 ft)
- Length:
- 9.8 m (32 ft)
- Height:
- 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
- Weight, Empty:
- 1,874 kg (4,132 lb)
- Weight, Gross:
- 2,608 kg (5,750 lb)
- Cruising Speed:
- 129 km/h (80 mph)
- Max Speed:
- 161 km/h (100 mph)
- Rate of Climb:
- 305 m (1,000 ft) /min
- Service Ceiling:
- 3,050 m (10,000 ft)
- Range:
- 644 km (400 mi)
- Power Plant:
- one Continental R-975-46, 550 hp, radial engine
Additional Photographs
The Canada Aviation Museum’s Image Bank contains additional photographs of this aircraft. Images are provided for non-commercial study or research purposes only and may not be reproduced or published without the prior consent of the Canada Aviation Museum.
Find out more about our Image bank here.