_(2).jpg)
3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave (6586507201) (2): Clemens Vasters from Viersen, Germany· CC BY 2.0
- 2. CH-37B Mohave in flight: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 3. H-37B Mojave US Army in flight: U.S. Army· Public domain
what is it?
The Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave (company designation S-56) is an American large heavy-lift military helicopter of the 1950s. It entered service as the HR2S-1 Deuce with the USMC in 1956, and as the H-37A Mojave with the U.S. Army that same year. In the early 1960s, the designation was standardized to CH-37 for both services, with the HR2S-1 redesignated as CH-37C specifically.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines · 22 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 73 years ago, in 1953.
- Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Rotor of 22 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1953
- introduced
- 1956
- status
- retired
- number built
- 154
- role
- cargo helicopter
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
- engines
- 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-54 Double Wasp
- passengers
- 26
- length
- 19.6 m
- rotor diameter
- 22 m
- height
- 6.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 14.1 t
- top speed
- 209 km/h
- cruise speed
- 185 km/h
- range
- 233 km
- ceiling
- 2,652 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2164644, Wikipedia: Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.