Here are some more interesting pictures from Hawaii showing the mighty USMC Super Stallion at work.
The photographs in this post come from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 (HMH-463) based at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, in Hawaii, where the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters have conducted interoperability operations with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.
The Marines CH-53s also conducted personnel extraction and insertion operations, using Landing Zone Canes on Oahu, Hawaii, in support of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment during their Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation.
Thanks to its impressive lift capacity the Super Stallion is able to carry a 26,000-pound Light Armored Vehicle, 16 tons of cargo 50 miles and back, or enough Marines to lead and assault or humanitarian operation. For this reason it is used for a wide variety of tasks.
The latest version of the iconic CH-53, designed CH-53K King Stallion, will replace the current E variant in the coming years and will feature a lift capacity three times that of the Super Stallion retaining the same size of its predecessor.
HMH-463’s task is to support the MAGTF (Marine Air-Ground Task force) Commander “by providing assault support transport of heavy equipment, combat troops, and supplies, day or night under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint, or combined operations” according to the squadron’s website.
HMH-463 lost 12 Marines aboard two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters that collided mid-air during night training off Oahu in January this year.
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
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