In this article:
SH-2 Seasprite
First flown in July 1959 and delivered to fleet squadrons beginning in 1962, the SH-2 Seasprite provided the Navy with an all-weather helicopter capable of performing a variety of missions. First assigned to aircraft carriers to perform plane guard duties, the intensification of the air war in Vietnam pressed the Seasprite into service flying combat search and rescue missions.
In 1970, the Navy adopted a further variant of the Seasprite to meet the interim requirement for the Light Airborne Multi-purpose System (LAMPS), which provided over-the-horizon search and strike capability for anti-submarine destroyers, as Jim Thurber former US Navy SH-2 Seasprite pilot, recalls on Quora;
LAMPS pilot
‘As a LAMPS pilot I deployed with four pilots and twelve or thirteen ground crew – aboard a destroyer class vessel capable of carrying a single helo. In this case we used an SH-2F Seasprite, affectionately known as the Whistling Sh*t Can.
‘My crew was, in a word, excellent. The Chief Petty Officer in charge of maintenance and deck operations was top drawer. And did these guys get the job done? Absolutely and with complete professionalism.
‘The only thing that happened “outside” the realm of normal maintenance is that we had a Second Class Petty Officer, William Chestnut, who was an engine maintenance tech. It turns out he had worked in the maintenance rebuild facility for several years and knew the GE T-58 engine [the SH-2 had two of T-58s] inside and out.
Unauthorized at-sea maintenance
‘We’d landed one day and Petty Officer Chestnut had us keep number two engine running for a few extra minutes (the rotor blades were stationary – using the main rotor brake). After we shut down, he (Chestnut) said he thought we had a bad number two bearing. Normally this requires an engine change but we were in the middle of the Mediterranean and there were no engines in the European theater. “Mister Thurber,” said Petty Officer Chestnut. “I worked in depot level maintenance and I can probably tear down and replace that bearing aboard ship. Take me about 32 hours total.”
‘Absolutely UNAUTHORIZED at-sea maintenance but Petty Officer Chestnut did a GREAT job and had that engine back and running in 22 hours – max. If we had been caught, we’d had been in a world of sh*t but having guys like that on my crew . . . I had no doubt that the work Petty Officer Chestnut did on that engine exceeded anything I’d have gotten from a normal depot level rebuild.’
Thurber concludes;
‘Thanks for listening and THANK YOU to my LAMPS crew for a job very, very well done. This includes Chief Warford, Petty Officer Shrimpton, Petty Officer Chestnut and a host of others whose names I simply cannot remember.’
Photo credit: PH2 Michael A. Harnar and OS2 John Bouvia, USN
