MH-53 to Cosford

I agree that so long as one museum has it ,then why argue which one.
The fact is that the US will now only gift aircraft to “Government-owned “museums ,which the Helicopter Museum is not.Technically neither is the RAF Museum but it is MoD-sponsored so presumably that counts.

As I see it Cosford have done a good thing. Are there any other MH53’s in preservation in the UK? If not, then Cosford have achieved what no one else has and therefore should be praised. The fact that we can now get close to the thing and see what makes it tick should be enough, rather than bickering about its geographical location. Personally, I’d like to see it at NEAM, Morpeth, or my back garden, but Cosford will be just fine.

As an aside, the ends of the CWM are removable with reletive ease (alledgedly). Getting it in shouldn’t be a problem.

I don’t think anyone is questioning the relevance of the type to the UK or the kindness of the USAF on this one. I for one witnessed one of the types’ greatest, and last, long range UK SAR missions when three of them stopped at St Mawgan about four years ago – not for a refuel I must add, but to rest the crews on what was a very long operation.

However the more you think about it the weirder the choice of RAFM Cosford seems. It just dosen’t seenm to fit.
The USAF museum at Duxford would seem the blindingly obvious choice, for being – well USAF and for being in the same area as where the MH-53s operated from.
The Helicopter museum ant WSM would be an apt place aswel.

only if I can I play my “Mig 23 or 25 to Cold War Museum” whinge

Interesting aircraft type

varied use, Vietnam, Gulf, Iran (hostage rescue etc) as well unless I have my Helo’s mixed up so well worth one in a museum (somewhere) in the UK.

can I play my “F-14 more appropriate to Cold War Museum” whinge one more time though….;)

I believe its an important part of UK history.

The USAF has been based in the UK since 1942 in its various forms. The H-53 was based in the UK at Woodbridge, Alconbury and Mildenhall for a considerable length of time with USAFE as, has been pointed out, particulalry long range rescue missons over the North Atlantic.

The aircraft has been used operationally in the majority of conflicts that both the US and the UK have been involved.

Besides its a good looking piece of kit!

Hello Bograt and all

If you watch the video link you will discover why they flew it into the UK on a USAF C-17.

If anyone cannot do that, then the answer is that it came straight from active service in Iraq.

Tim S

Nice little piece over at the BBC… and a loverly take off….

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7788872.stm

Zeb

Thanks for the insight; as no-one had asked the question on UKAR or other forums I felt the need to do so, if only to satisfy my own curiosity. There are some great photos about of the C-17 reversing along Cosford’s damp runway.

Firstly I do not understand what all the fuss is about. We should be grateful that The US has donated this aircraft irrespective as to which museum it has gone to. The IHM might well have been a more appropriate location for it but sombody would have at the very least had to fund the surface transportation ofit from a UK airhead.

Whilst you may think its been a costly exercise flying it over fro the states by RAF C-17 perhaps what you do not know is that RAF C-17’s go to Kelly AFB in Texas on a regular basis for routine maintenance and often return empty. Flying the aircraft to Cosford has provided useful crew training landing at an airfield where the C-17 has not opperated from andon a relatively short runway.

The 53 is an aircraft that we have not transported before and provided useful training for the loading teams.

Aside from Cold War missions, the USAF Super Jollys provided the UK and North Atlantic a valuable rescue tool…it could do long range missions that Sea Kings couldn’t.

Check out this old article from AirForces Monthly…(I helped with the article back in my RAF Bentwater days…)

http://www.rotorheadsrus.us/documents/Airforces%20Monthly%20No.12%20March%20SOS%20Rescue%20Article,%20Larry%20Wielgosz%20collection.a.pdf

In the past such exercises have been explained away as necessary training in shifting airframes from one side of the world to the other. I think this one might have been in Iraq before being decommissioned.

I know that this is going to sound like a really stoopid question but….

…as this very machine was based in the UK until retirement, why was it airfreighted to the USA, decomissioned and then airfreighted back to the UK, and then flown again inside a C-17 from Brize to Shawbury? Good PR maybe, but can you even begin to imagine the cost involved in moving it all that distance to end up 150 miles from where it started out? I thought the C-17 fleet was busy at the moment :rolleyes:

Totally agree with Pagen maybe the MH-53 should have gone to Weston Super Mare Helicopter Museum, would the USAF rules have allowed this sort of tranfer ? If the USAF had been asked might they have been able to provide an RF-4C, this type is not in UK preservation and had a very long service with USAFE units throughout the cold war.

68-8284

yes, it was based in the UK originally

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA—Air/Sikorsky-MH-53M-Pave/1420165/M/

could it not go outside the cold war hall as a gate guardian type thing?

I hope not look at the F15 at Duxford that is slowly bleaching away, these aircraft though are still USAF property even when they ‘gift’ them to someone.

But it is good to see one being preserved here, does anyone know which one it is and if it has a UK history as then it would have a place in the cold war exhibit, plus the Mildenhall machines saved a number of UK lives backing up air sea rescue over the years so another plus.

A little piece about it below

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/news/article.cfm?news_id=124

curlyboy

could it not go outside the cold war hall as a gate guardian type thing?

Maybe loaning to the Helicopter museum would be more appropriate?
Seems ironic that it had to be flown over in a C-17 when they were based (less than 12 mths ago?) at Mildenhall.