{"id":2937,"date":"2026-06-17T10:25:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T08:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jaermuseet.no\/flyhistorisk\/?p=2937"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:27:13","slug":"westland-sea-king-mk-43b-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jaermuseet.no\/flyhistorisk\/en\/westland-sea-king-mk-43b-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Westland Sea King Mk.\u202f43B"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a person in distress at sea, the sound of an\u00a0approaching rescue helicopter must be among the most\u00a0powerful experiences imaginable. The helicopter is a flying\u00a0symbol of how we humans take care of each other.\u00a0The Norwegian Sea King were in operational service from\u00a01973 to 2023. The helicopter had a crew of six, including\u00a0a doctor and a rescue swimmer. The main task of the\u00a0Sea King was search and rescue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the last Sea Kings were retired in 2023,\u00a0they had completed 47 751 rescue and ambulance\u00a0missions over 50 years. The white helicopter with an\u00a0orange nose and thick orange stripes on the fuselage\u00a0serves as a reminder of 50 years of safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Westland Sea King is a British licensed production of the American Sikorsky S-61, developed in the mid-1950s. It was developed as an anti-submarine-warfare helicopter for the US Navy. The military designation was Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King. The civilian version was particularly popular among Norwegian and British helicopter operators servicing North Sea oil installations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Norway, the type gained recognition as a rescue helicopter after a giant wave smashed the stern door of the passenger and car ferry MF Skagerak in the autumn of 1966. The ferry was 40 nautical miles northwest of Hirtshals and taking on water. At the time, Denmark had recently started using the Sikorsky S-61 in their search and rescue service. Five Danish S-61s participated in the rescue operation and hoisted 69 people; the rest were rescued by boats. Following the accident, plans for Norwegian rescue helicopters were developed, and ten Westland Sea King Mk. 43 were ordered. Later, an additional five helicopters were purchased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Norwegian Sea Kings were formally owned by the Ministry of Justice, while the Ministry of Defence managed operations. In May 1973, the first helicopters from 330 Squadron went on standby at Sola and Bod\u00f8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August of the same year, Sea Kings also went on standby at \u00d8rland and Banak. In 2006, readiness was strengthened with Sea King stationed at Rygge. The helicopter crew consisted of a pilot who was the captain, a co-pilot, a system operator, a flight engineer, a rescue swimmer, and a doctor. Initially, the helicopters were on one-hour standby, but this was later reduced to 15 minutes, meaning the crew had to stay near the helicopter around the clock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The museum\u2019s aircraft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The museum\u2019s helicopter carries tail number\u00a0060. This was the first Sea King produced\u00a0for Norway.\u00a0Its\u00a0very first flight was on 19\u00a0May 1972. The helicopter participated in the\u00a0rescue efforts after the Alexander Kielland\u00a0platform capsized on the Ekofisk field in\u00a0March 1980. It was also involved in the\u00a0MS\u00a0Sleipner grounding near\u00a0Ryvarden\u00a0lighthouse\u00a0in\u00a0Sveio\u00a0in November 1999. By the time it\u00a0was retired in June 2022, it had a total\u00a0flight time of 17 945 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spesifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Type<\/td>Rescue helicopter<\/td><\/tr>
First flight<\/td>1969<\/td><\/tr>
Length<\/td>17 m<\/td><\/tr>
Rotor diameter<\/td>19 m<\/td><\/tr>
Height<\/td>5,1 m<\/td><\/tr>
Weight, empty and max<\/td>6370 \/ 9500 kg<\/td><\/tr>
Engine<\/td>2x Rolls Royce Gnome H1400<\/td><\/tr>
Engine power<\/td>2x 1660\u00a0hk<\/td><\/tr>
Top speed<\/td>220 km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
Range<\/td>1200 km<\/td><\/tr>
Crew<\/td>2x pilot, 1x system operator, 1x flight engineer, 1x rescue swimmer, 1x doctor<\/td><\/tr>
Passenger capacity<\/td>18<\/td><\/tr>
Country of origin<\/td>United Kingdom<\/td><\/tr>
Number used by Norwegian Armed Forces<\/td>15<\/td><\/tr>
Service period<\/td>1972 \u2013 2023<\/td><\/tr>
Museum number<\/td>J\u00c6G2025.021.01<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a person in distress at sea, the sound of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":2891,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","featured-image-size-large"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWestland Sea King Mk.\u202f43B - Flyhistorisk Museum Sola<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jaermuseet.no\/flyhistorisk\/en\/westland-sea-king-mk-43b-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nn_NO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Westland Sea King Mk.\u202f43B - 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