| Ch-21 Shawnee |
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content]] for recommended layout. -->__NOTOC__ CH-21B at the National Museum Of The United States Air Force ]] in 1962 ]] ]] The H-21 Shawnee was the fourth of a line of Tandem Rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki (later Boeing Vertol ). Commonly called the "flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicopter, utilizing wheels, skis, or floats. It was used for Arctic rescue because it performed so well at low temperatures. The CH-21 served with the United States Army from 1949 to 1964 , and also with the U.S. Air Force (as the '''H-21 Workhorse'''), the French Navy , the Royal Canadian Air Force and the West German Air Force . The French used an armed version of the CH-21 in Algeria , mounting guns in the door ways and on the skids. The CH-21B assault helicopter could carry 22 fully-equipped troops, or 12 stretchers, plus space for two medical attendants, in the MedEvac role. The CH-21B was first deployed to Vietnam in December 1961 with the Army's 8th and 57th Transportation Companies, in support of ARVN (Army Vietnam) troops. The CH-21B/CH-21C Shawnee could be armed with 7.62 mm (.308 in) or 12.7 mm (.50 in) door guns. The CH-21 was relatively slow. Its cables and fuel lines were so vulnerable to small arms fire it was even rumored that a CH-21 had been downed by a Viet Cong spear. The Shawnee was the "Workhorse" of Vietnam until it was replaced with the fielding of the UH-1 Huey , and the later fielding of the CH-47 Chinook in the mid-1960s. The Shawnee had two tandem fully-articulated three-bladed counter-rotating rotors. The CH-21 was powered by one Curtis-Wright R1820-103 Cyclone supercharged 1150 hp Piston Engine . The CH-21B was equipped with an uprated 1425 shaft Horsepower (1063 kW) engine. The CH-21 had a top speed of 128 mph (111 knots). SPECIFICATIONS (CH-21C)
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