H-3 Sea King in Action

With its development in the 1940s, the helicopter has taken on many roles previously reserved exclusively for fixed wing aircraft and no other name has been more closely associat­ed with the term helicopter than Sikorsky. In 1919. Igor I. Sikorsky immigrated to the United Slates following the Russian revolution and by 1923 he had founded the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation on Long Island. New York so he could build the S-29A all meial flying boat. Prior to coining lo the United Slates Sikorsky had worked on helicopter as well as fixed wing designs in his native Russia. Sikorsky fielded many successful designs during the Great War. the First World War. notably the S-16. a two scat reconnaissance aircraft and the S-20. a single seal scout, both were biplanes and were powered by a Gnome rotary engine. The Sikorsky S-29A. ihc A standing for America, was the first of many successful flying boat designs. Sikorsky went on to build ihc S-36. an eighi seal amphibian and the S-40. a four engined amphibian that entered service during 1931 with Pan American World Airlines. Sikorsky also built some of the world's largest flying boats during ihc 1930's, the S-42 and S-43. both of which were flown by Pan American World Airways in regular commercial passen­ger service on the Atlantic and Pacific routes. In 1929. the Sikorsky Aviation Company, as it was now called, moved to Stratford. Connecticut, where ii would soon merge with ihe United Aircraft and Transport Company. When United Aircraft purchased the Voughi Airplane Company, it was merged with Sikorsky to become the Voughi-Sikorsky Airplane Company.

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