What kind of helicopter is this?

July 13, 2011 7:15 PM

What kind of helicopter is seen at the beginning of the 1967 Otto Preminger film Hurry Sundown? The movie is set in 1945 after the end of WWII, is this helicopter contemporary with that time?
posted by ackptui to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)

Without a image of the helicopter you're thinking of it's hard to say but here are two helicopters that might been seen in 1945

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_R-4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VS-300
posted by southof40 at 7:41 PM on July 13, 2011

The video of this is available. There is video at 2:03 .


It looks like an H-19 Chickasaw
posted by sien at 8:32 PM on July 13, 2011

I agree with sien (though technically it is the civilian counterpart, a Sikorski S-55). There is a clear shot of the aircraft here at about 3 and a half minutes in, showing the distinctive shape with twin nose gear.
posted by exogenous at 5:00 AM on July 14, 2011

The helicopter definitely is an S-55, but the S-55's first flight didn't happen till 1949, according to Wikipedia.
posted by Logophiliac at 8:10 AM on July 14, 2011