_underway_off_San_Diego_-_DPLA_-_7163aa8987d7b26b6e752b40c824ae13.jpeg){kind=icon}
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6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SH-2F with Mk 46 torpedo in flight 1983: Roger Pollarhide, USN· Public domain
- 2. 149021 Kaman SH-2F Seasprite: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 2.0
- 3. An SH-2F Seasprite helicopter warms up on the deck of the guided missile frigate USS REUBEN JAMES (FFG-57) underway off San Diego - DPLA - 7163aa8987d7b26b6e752b40c824ae13: Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994· Public domain
- 4. Kaman SH-2D: San Diego Air & Space Museum· Public domain
- 5. Kaman YSH-2E Seasprite approaches USS Fox (DLG-33) c1972: U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 6. SH-2F Seasprite landing on the USS Nicholson (cropped): PH2 Wiggin, USN· Public domain
what is it?
The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter originally developed and produced by American manufacturer Kaman Aircraft Corporation. It has been typically used as a compact and fast-moving rotorcraft for utility and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions. Early on it was a modest sized single-engined naval utility helicopter, and progressed to twin-engine ASW and SAR, and the latest model served well into the 21st century, with the G model in active service in the 2020s with Egypt, New Zealand, Peru, and Poland.
How to recognise it: 2 turboshaft engines · 13.4 m main rotor
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 67 years ago, in 1959.
- Top speed is 2.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Rotor of 13.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
turboshaft: A turbine that turns a shaft, usually a helicopter rotor.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1959-07-02
- introduced
- 1962
- retired
- 1993
- status
- still flying
- number built
- 184
- role
- anti-submarine warfare helicopter
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Kaman Corporation
- engines
- 2× General Electric T58-GE-8F / T58
- crew
- 3
- passengers
- 4
- length
- 11.7 m
- rotor diameter
- 13.4 m
- height
- 4.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 5,670 kg
- top speed
- 265 km/h
- cruise speed
- 241 km/h
- range
- 680 km
- ceiling
- 6,858 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1477647, Wikipedia: Kaman SH-2 Seasprite (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.