# 1940s helicopter ID **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641 "2021-04-23T20:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/1 "2021-04-23T20:28:43Z")
There’s a helicopter in the photo on this page: > **[The First Flight Of The Hughes H-4 Hercules- Largest Aircraft Ever](https://worldwarwings.com/the-first-flight-of-the-hughes-h-4-hercules-largest-aircraft-ever/)** > > That's One...Monstrous...Plane. > The fact that this was even caught on film is amazing. Think about it. This flight took place in 1947, and the footage is not only there but in pretty decent quality. We've seen some videos on Youtube from 2010 that... I thought it might be a Bell H-12, but that one has an upraised tail rotor and the one in the photo doesn’t seem to. Pretty sure it’s a Bell, though. Anyone have a positive ID? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/2 "2021-04-23T21:21:36Z")
Could it be a Sikorsky S-52? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/3 "2021-04-23T21:29:30Z")
I don’t think so. The profile looks like an early Bell. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/4 "2021-04-23T21:32:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Could it be a Sikorsky S-52? I’m thinking it might be a [Sikorsky H-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_H-5), given the long, straight boom tail, and the bulbous engine compartment below the main rotor. Given that the H-5 was introduced in 1945, it would have been contemporary to that photo (in 1947). [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/H-5\_Dragon\_Post-World\_War\_II.jpg/220px-H-5\_Dragon\_Post-World\_War\_II.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/H-5_Dragon_Post-World_War_II.jpg/220px-H-5_Dragon_Post-World_War_II.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/5 "2021-04-23T21:45:42Z")
Hmm, you may be right. The picture isnt very good and I could not find another pic of that chopper with the Spruce Goose. There are only a few contenders, however. I think your idea is better than mine. But look at the glassed-in portions, they look a bit different. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/6 "2021-04-23T21:46:30Z")
A Sikorsky was my first thought. They were in use at the time. But the helicopter in the photo has ‘chin windows’ like Bells have and the overall shape looks more like a Bell. Also, the Sikorsky has a three-bladed main rotor and the helicopter in the photo has two blades. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/7 "2021-04-23T21:48:55Z")
[This photo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules#/media/File:H-4_Hercules_2.jpg) is a little more clear. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/8 "2021-04-23T21:54:32Z")
Gotta be a Bell 47B, right? > **[Bell 47B](https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/bell-47b/nasm_A20050066000)** > > Bell Model 47BNASM No. 008645; Cat. No. 2005-0066In 1946, the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Authority awarded the first civil helicopter certification to the Model 47. It was the first Bell helicopter type to enter production. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/9 "2021-04-23T21:57:02Z")
I think that’s it, if you look at all the variants. The windows match and same with two blades. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/10 "2021-04-23T22:00:18Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Gotta be a Bell 47B, right? I think that’s it! > **[Aircraft Photo of G-AKCX | Bell 47B-2 | Irvin-Bell Helicopter Sales |...](https://www.airhistory.net/photo/138528/G-AKCX)** > > Aircraft photo of G-AKCX - Bell 47B-2 - Irvin-Bell Helicopter Sales, taken by AirHistory.net Photo Archive at The Hague - Ypenburg (EHYB) (closed) in Netherlands on 1 October 1947. Irvin-Bell Helicopter Sales was one of the first European helicopter... I should have thought of the [Bell 47](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_47), but I had the lattice-structure tail boom and bulbous cockpit, and the later [47J Ranger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_47J_Ranger) in my head, Thanks, Pork\_Rind! EDIT: The landing gear matches too. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/11 "2021-04-23T22:30:37Z")
I agree, the 47B looks right. The example of it in @Pork_Rind’s post was manufactured in '47, so the timeline seems to line up. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/12 "2021-04-24T04:54:35Z")
Side note - I saw the Hughes airplane in the museum in Evergreen, OR. It’s damn big, but not that big compared to some of the aircraft today. I suppose it looks big because it used small simple engines and lots of them, since it was designed to be easy to build with existing materials (particularly, it was plywood not metal). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/13 "2021-04-24T05:29:12Z")
It is bigger (winspan that is)than any other aircraft you have likely seen: (wiki) The Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built, and it had the largest [wingspan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingspan) of any aircraft that had ever flown until the [Scaled Composites Stratolaunch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites_Stratolaunch) first flew on April 13, 2019. > **[List of large aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_large_aircraft)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > This is a list of large aircraft, including three types: fixed wing, rotary wing, and airships. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/14 "2021-04-24T06:31:55Z")
I thought it was huge when I saw it. There’s other aircraft there that, for me, gave me a sense of scale. It’s the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, but it’s in McMinnville, Oregon, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/15 "2021-04-24T12:33:36Z")
It _is_ big, but then I’ve also flown on an Airbus A380. I’ve also been under the Antonov flight path when it was taking off. The world is catching up to Howard Hughes, but still cutting our fingernails. I assume the wide wingspan is because it was flying significantly slower than modern jet aircraft. Thanks, it’s been almost 20 years since I was there, but “Evergreen” stuck in my mind. TLTG (Too Lazy to Google). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1940s-helicopter-id/940641/16 "2021-04-24T15:54:43Z")
@Pork_Rind nailed it. Bravo! The wiki on Bell 47 that @Johnny_L.A cites also has a closeup of a -47B in a museum taken from a very different perspective. It’s interesting how long a life the -47 series had and how very different the models were. The -47D/G was certainly the definitive one in terms of number built.