Sikorsky R-7 batlesuit helicopter
Copyright 2011 by Brandon Cope
After the first appearance of the
Helijagers, American designers got a new idea for a way to deploy their lamented
airborne battlesuits. The initial attempt, a large backpack unit, proved inadequate and it was decided to instead build a small two-man helicopter where the pilot and battlesuit rode in completely exposed seating. Unlike the original deployment of airborne battlesuits, almost all were equipped with weapon pods; since these were somewhat awkward to wear as a passenger, the weapon pod was instead carried on a hardpoint on the underside of the helicopter, where it could be fired normally (if required) by the pilot.
The insertion of the battlesuits was normally preceded by a fighter sweep of P-47's or P-51's clear the area ahead of the helicopters and having the helicopters flown out after dropping off the battlesuit and releasing the hardpoint load. While the R-7 is highly vulnerable to enemy fighters, by the stage of the war when it entered service the Allies had clear air superiority so this was rarely a danger.
Crew consists of the pilot. The R-7 uses 11.3 gallons of aviation fuel per hour.
Subassemblies: Small Helicopter Chassis +2, Rotors -1, fixed Skids -1
P&P: 250 kW HP gasoline engines w/250-kW TTR transmission, 48 gallon standard tanks [Body]
Occ: 1 MCS, 1 MPS Cargo: 3.
Armor F R/L B T U
Body 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C
Rotors 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10
Wheels 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5
Equipment
Body: Medium range radio receiver and transmitter, navigational instruments, 200-lb hardpoint.
Statistics
Size: 40'x30'x10'
Payload: 1.31 tons
Lwt: 2.01 tons
Volume: 72
Maint.: 101 hours
Price: $4,000
HT: 10
HP: 112 [body], 32 [rotor], 10 [skid]
aSpeed: 79
aAccel: 5
aDecel: 6
aMR: 1.25
aSR: 1
Stall: 0 mph
Design Notes
Like the R-4 Hoverfly, it devoted more power to lift than thrust; speed was lowered by 33% and lift was multiplied by 1.8.
Cargo space is normally left empty, but if a hardpoint is not carried, it is filled with fuel cans and ammo boxes for the battlesuits.
Chassis cost, weight and HP were multiplied by two.
Variants
Some were modified for landing in especially "hot" areas by having the helicopter flown by the battlesuit soldier (while in the battlesuit) and removing the dedicated pilot. While this had certain advantages, it required more intensive training for the battlesuit trooper. This version, the R-7B, saved 0.1 tons amd was only trivially cheaper.