UH-2C Seasprite #150161 / UP-12 HC-1 DET. 65 1968

In 1956, the US Navy set up a design competition for a new, high-speed, long-range multipurpose helicopter. The contest was won by the Kaman K-20, and the American company accordingly received a contract to build 12 aircraft designated HU2K-1. Trials were lengthy, partly on account of the number of innovations made to the aircraft, and the first models, designated UH-2A Seasprite, only went into service at the end of 1962.
This was a conventional type of turbine-powered helicopter, with a four-blade main rotor and three-blade anti-torque rotor, retractable tailwheel landing gear and a streamlined fuselage. The sealed hull enabled it to float in calm water. Eighty-eight UH-2As were built, and the sea-grey aircraft with its fluorescent markings became a familiar sight on American aircraft carriers. Its successor, the UH-2B, was virtually identical except for the removal of some items of equipment, which were, however, available as optional extras. Originally single-engined, the Seasprite was redesigned in 1964 with twin GET58-GE-8 turbines and the conversion was so successful that over 100 UH-2As and UH-2Bs were subsequently converted into UH-2Cs