_AN1566271.jpg)
5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Vertol CH-21B Workhorse USAF: U.S. Air Force photo· Public domain
- 2. Musée défense aérienne - Vertol H-21B: Cantons-de-l'Est· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. Piasecki H-21 C: San Diego Air & Space Museum· Public domain
- 4. Piasecki H-21B Shawnee (PV-22) AN1566271: Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation· GFDL 1.2
- 5. Piasecki H-21B Shawnee 0-34302 1N: Piergiuliano Chesi· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter (later Boeing Vertol). Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicopter, capable of being fitted with wheels, skis or floats. The H-21 was originally developed by Piasecki as an Arctic rescue helicopter.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine · 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 74 years ago, in 1952.
- Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Rotor of 13.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1952-04-11
- introduced
- 1954
- retired
- 1967
- status
- retired
- number built
- 707
- role
- military transport helicopter
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Piasecki Helicopter Corporation, Weser Flugzeugbau
- engines
- 1× Wright R-1820-103 Cyclone
- crew
- 3
- passengers
- 20
- length
- 16 m
- rotor diameter
- 13.4 m
- height
- 4.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 6,895 kg
- top speed
- 204 km/h
- cruise speed
- 158 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 2,880 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q700828, Wikipedia: Piasecki H-21 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.