[High-Tech/Vehicles] Rugged, Simple SAR/Medevac Helicopters

[phayman53]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Interesting, thanks.

Wikipedia says that Hueys were used by every branch of the US military, but I still haven't found a source that explains the USCG use. I suspect that if you search hard enough, you can find evidence that nearly every piece of equipment issued in one branch has at some point been used operationally by a member of another branch, so maybe it's merely a function of USCG LEDET teams having been aboard USN UH-1 helicopters or something.

Or it could be counting the use of Hueys during Operation Snowcap, as the USCG sent teams to assist the DEA and BORTAC with riverine operations and these also conducted helicopter-borne operations.

In any case, what is the rough equivalent to the Huey in terms of technological sophistication, expense and size that is designed for operations from cutters, ships or yachts?

I like your focus on realism, but I think you are misunderstanding why the Navy and Coast Guard use different helicopters than the Army and Air Force. The difference in Navy/Coast Guard equipment and Army/Air Force is not because the land based services' helicopters are not seaworthy and resistant to salt water, but rather because of other mission specific issues. The salt water problem specifically, as far as I know, really only became an issue with its possible corrosive effects on fragile stealth aircraft skins, and that is definitely not something you are worried about. The reason Navy helicopters are different come down to probably 4 reasons from what I can tell (though I am NOT an expert):

1) Wheels to move around the deck of aircraft carriers and other shipboard hangers without having to air taxi
2) Folding or compact rotor blades for shipboard storage
3) Ocean specific radars, sonars, and weapons for engaging surface and/or submerged ships
4) Preference for more than one engine for over-water redundancy in case of engine failure

For a monster-hunting organization using yachts and other single-helicopter pads, #1-3 are not important. #4 is definitely useful, but the UH-1N Twin Huey started seeing service in 1970, so they could always use those if they are worried about being over water with one engine.

Also, most Navy and Coast Guard specific helicopters that would still be operational today are much heavier than the UH-1 or even the UH-1N (which top out at 9500 lbs and 10500 lbs respectively). You can see a list of US Navy helicopters here to check this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ry_helicopters

The Sea King, for instance, was twice as heavy as the UH-1, and the current SAR helicopters for the Navy and Coast Guard are also pretty much as large as the Sea King. The exception to this that I can tell is the current light helicopter for the coast guard, the MH-65 Dolphin. It is about the same size as the UH-1 and would probably be great, but it is a 1980s design and I think that may be newer than you want. [EDIT: If you are trying to operate from a very large yacht, I think 10000 lbs is probably about the largest you want your helicopter to be. Even then, that may be a stretch.]

Another advantage to using UH-1s from this organization's boats is training and parts commonality, which is a BIG deal for a private organization with (compared to a military) limited personal and logistics. If they are already using them for shore-based operations, it would make sense to also use them from their boats unless there is a reason they would not work.

I really do think you should just have them use their Hueys from boats as well unless you need them to be able to do other Navy or Coast Guard things like tracking and sinking surface ships (and even then, adding a sea track radar pod of some kind would do the trick). But my understanding is you want insertion, extraction, and possibly rescue. I think the UH-1 or possibly the UH-1N would be great for that, even from boats.