Australian Aviation — January 2018

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 63

and industry who have supported the
machine.”
As a training helicopter, the
Squirrels notched up a few bingles but
none ever resulted in fatalities or even
serious injury.
For some, flying Squirrels has led to
significant achievements. One is Vince
Di Pietro, COMFAA prior to CDRE
Smallhorn and now chief executive of
Lockheed Martin Australia.
He said the Squirrel was
fundamental to developing a
capability that is now very much taken
for granted – flying helicopters off the
back of warships.
Until the Squirrels arrived in
mid-1984, the Navy’s only experience

of helicopter operations from small

ship decks was using a Bell 206 from

hydrographic ship HMAS Moresby.

“We had never had any real

experience of using helicopters on

small spritely decks like a frigate. Our

only other shipboard experience until

that state was Wessex and Sea King

helicopters on the aircraft carrier

HMAS Melbourne,” he said.

“We had other ships like HMAS

Stalwart with helicopter decks. But

they weren’t fully permanent flights.

Squirrel was really very much the

aircraft that paved the way for us to

start using the Seahawk seriously

at sea. It got the ships used to using

helicopters, it got the aircrew used to

being at sea in small ships.

“All of that experience came

together quite as a matter of fact

rather than being fully appreciated for

the significant transition that it was.”

Australia’s acquisition of the

S-70B-2 Seahawk followed a US Navy

requirement for a multirole helicopter

to replace its ageing Kaman SH-2F

Seasprites.

Following a detailed evaluation, the

USN selected the SH-60B Seahawk,

an aircraft based on the familiar

Black Hawk, although with extensive

modifications for maritime use.

The first US Navy SH-60B

Seahawk entered service in 1984.

The type has since proved

stunningly successful, with variants

used by 12 other navies. In late 1984

Australia picked Seahawk over the

Westland Lynx to be the Navy’s new

helicopter, configured for anti-

submarine warfare and anti-surface

warfare.

Secondary missions were to

include basic utility helicopter duties

such as transporting personnel and

stores, maritime search and rescue,

humanitarian and disaster relief

missions and assisting in boarding

operations.

As it turned out, Seahawk

performed far more of the latter

missions.

For Australia, initially, eight

aircraft were to be acquired

for $317 million but that was

subsequently increased to 16. The first,

aircraft N24-001 arrived in early 1988

and the last, N24-016 in 1992.

CDRE Smallhorn noted Australian

Seahawks were vastly different to US

aircraft when it came to sensors and

combat system.

“The aircraft truly broke new

ground with an integrated combat and

sensor suite and a semi-glass cockpit,”

he said.

Officially the aircraft was termed

the S-70B-2 Seahawk Role Adaptable

Weapon System (RAWS). Did anyone

outside the project office ever call it

that – probably not. To most everyone,

it was just the Seahawk.

Former Labor government Defence

Minister Kim Beazley recalls how that

decision came about.

Beazley, at that time in 1984

Assistant Defence Minister, said the

Labor caucus was debating whether

to choose Seahawk or the British

Westland Lynx, favoured by the force

development analysis section of the

Defence Department.

“[Prime Minister] Hawke noticed

that [Defence Minister] Gordon

‘The Seahawk

truly broke

new ground

with an

integrated

combat and

sensor suite.’

CDRE CHRIS SMALLHORN

Bravo Zulu