- Yes
- No
The history of the Agusta Sea King would originate in the United States, the American Sikorsky company had been awarded a contract by the US Navy in 1957 for a new platform which was able to effectively counter soviet submarines. Sikorsky managed to combine hunter/killer functions in one airframe, by march 1959 the first prototype of what would be known as the Sea King flew. By 1961 the Sea King helicopters were being delivered to several fleet squadrons around America. Sikorsky was willing to also market the platform for export to other countries who’d also be interested, which included local license production. The Italian navy was particularly interested in the Sea King, mainly because they wanted a more robust ASW platform to support their other ASW helicopter fleet. Agusta would take note of this interest and managed in 1964 to gain the license to produce and also export the Sea King to other nations around the globe (mainly middle-east and europe). Agusta’s Sea King would be known as the AS-61/SH-3D, 73 aircraft made by Agusta were delivered to the Italian armed forces in different configurations. The first order by the Italian Navy was done relatively quickly in 1965. They would order enough of the aircraft which allowed the Italian Navy to initally equip itself with 2 squadrons. In 1966 Italy would send its naval personnel to carry out the transition abord the Sea King. To really give the helicopter the edge over other similar platforms, Agusta would carry out a set of armament intergration programs which meant the Italian Navy could carry out ASW roles more effectively. The platform could use many types of torpedos, guided munitions and also depth charges. One ASW config included x2 MK.44 torpedos and x4 AS-12 missiles. In terms of mobility, the Agusta Sea King was equipped with x2 General Electric T58-GE-10 turboshaft engines. This gave it a max speed of up to 267km/h, with an overall range of 1000km. Due to the role it had, it was not exactly meant to take enemy fire. In the event of the helicopter being targeted by enemy missiles it had access to a flare/chaff countermeasure system. The Sea King would serve the Italian Navy faithfully up until June of 2013. They were removed from service in favour of the NH-90 and AW-101 platforms.
Armament+Equipment
x4 AS-12
x2 AGM-65 Maverick
x2 Sea Killer MK2 anti ship missiles
x2 AM-39 exocet anti ship missiles
x2 MK.46 torpedos
x2 MK.44 torpedos
x2 A244 AS torpedos
MK.11 depth charges
Chaff/Flare countermeasure systems
Specifications
Why it should be in game
It should be in game as eventually there will be helicopters added into Naval, and the Sea king not only being iconic, and an important helicopter in italian history, it will be one of the only that would have acess to AS-12 missiles. The Sea king can be added to multiple countries such as the US and the UK, meaning that when you make the model, its only a matter of a few edits to make. Its armament might not be the best, however as i previously mentioned, it would fit well in Naval.
Sources
Spoiler
Agusta Sea King Brochure
CENT’ANNI DI AVIAZIONE NAVALE
Italian aviation series SH3D - in service with Italian navy, air force and Army
https://www.helis.com/database/model/Agusta-AS-61/
100 anni di Aviazione Navale: l'impiego del cielo a sostegno delle forze navali - Aviation Report
Agusta Sikorsky ASH-3 Sea King Helicopter Italian Navy Marina Militare Italiana
Marina Militare Italiana - SH-3D Sea King 3
http://www.aviastore.it/?p=10772
aeromobili
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King - Wikipedia
Westland Sea King - Wikipedia
https://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/world-air-force-military-equipment-aircraft-/north-america/united-states-air-force/united-states-american-us-air-force-usaf-helicopter-technical-data-sheet-specifications-intelligence-description-information-identification-pictures-photos-images-video-/636-sh-3-sea-king-s-61-sikorsky-anti-submarine-warfare-helicopter-data-sheet-specifications-intelligence-description-information-identification-pictures-photos-images-video-united-states-american-us-usaf-air-force-lockheed-martin-aviation-aerospace-defence.html
SS.12/AS.12 - Wikipedia
MILAVIA Military Aviation Specials - Italian Navy Sikorsky/Agusta SH-3 Sea King Retires
Elicottero SH 3D
Photos
