04/30/2009. Remarks by Ray Watkins: "In 1945 the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics issued a specification for a utility helicopter to operate from escort carriers, battleships and cruisers in the search/rescue, plane guard and transport roles. Contracts were awarded to Piasecki (for their PV-14) and to Sikorsky (for their S-53) for two evaluation aircraft designated as the
XHJP-1 and XHJS-1 respectively.

The PV-14 followed the tandem-rotor layout established on the HRP family, but with overlapping rotors to reduce the overall length of the aircraft. Blade folding facilitated hangar stowage on cruisers but was not necessary to fit on carrier elevators.

Piasecki won the contest and received a production order in 1948 for three pre-production aircraft, now designated as the HUP-1 Retriever, with a further 22 produced between 1950 and 1952. The (PV-18) HUP-1 differed little from the XHJP-1, with the most obvious change being the addition of inward sloping endplates on the horizontal stabilizer."