Hail to the King!

Like a king towering over his subjects! A red-topped UH-3H Sea King helicopter flies near three aircraft carriers moored at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on Aug. 27, 2004. The carriers are (left to right) USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), USS George Washington (CVN 73), and USS Enterprise (CVN 65). The helo was assigned to the Search and Rescue unit at Naval Air Station Oceana, a detachment of the “Fleet Angels” of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2). (DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st class Anthony M. Koch, U.S. Navy. (Released) The above aircraft is BuNo 148965, a circa 1961 (SN 61-037) which entered service as an HSS-2 model before redesignation as an SH-3A. She served with the fleet for years, serving with the “Black Knights” of HS-4 and the “Eightballers” of HS-8, and was converted to SH-3H format before being stripped down to a UH-3H. She was struck off charge on 20 April 2005. The Sikorsky S-61 first flew in 1959 and almost immediately entered service with the Navy as an…