W.T. LARKINS MEMORIAL COLLECTION
No. 11096. Bell 47J HUL-1 (143144 c/n 1612) US Navy
Photographed at NAS Miramar, San Diego, California, USA, August 1957, by W.T. Larkins

Bell 47J HUL-1

12/31/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "The four-seat Model 47J, with its lengthened cabin, was also procured by the USN, 28 being delivered as HUL-1s in 1955-1956 for general utility operations by Helicopter Utility Squadrons, including service aboard ice-breakers. BuNo were 142364 to 142372, 143134 to 143147, 147578 to 147581, and 148277.

Four months after the photo above was taken, BuNo 143144 was lost while attached to detachment 30, Helicopter Utility Squadron One (HU-1) assigned to the icebreaker USS Atka (AGB-3) during Operation Deep Freeze in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. On December 1, 1957, it caught fire while taking off from the USS Atka, and crashed back on the flight deck and was damaged beyond repair, eventually the wreckage was pushed overboard."


Created December 31, 2011