Migration
GALLERYSizing up the beast: The MH-53E Sea Dragon in action
Stars and Stripes
January 28, 2014
Petty Officer 2nd Class Cost Dumervil, a boatswain's mate, directs the flight deck crew as an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter lands on the flight deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall on Dec. 7, 2013. (Jesse A. Hyatt/U.S. Navy)
Petty Officer 2nd Class Cost Dumervil, a boatswain's mate, directs the flight deck crew as an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter lands on the flight deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall on Dec. 7, 2013. (Jesse A. Hyatt/U.S. Navy)
Sailors unload mail from an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, assigned to the Blackhawks of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Dec 19, 2013 while at sea in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (Karl Anderson/U.S. Navy)
An MH-53E Sea Dragon from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, lands on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer on Dec. 21, 2013 in the Arabian Gulf. (Joe Bishop/U.S. Navy)
An MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14 tows a MK-106 tow sled during airborne mine countermeasure training in St. Andrew Bay near Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City on March 5, 2013. The tow sled is a magnetic influence sweep system used in airborne mine countermeasure missions. (Ron Newsome/U.S. Navy)
Air crewman in the back of an MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter, from the Blackhawks of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, prepare for a methodical mine sweeping process in which the helicopter tows underwater equipment that can cut the chains off sea mines, thereby revealing them when they float to the surface. The crew was participating in an International Mine Countermeasures Exercise on May 17, 2013 in the Persian Gulf. (Hendrick Simoes/Stars and Stripe)
An MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, maneuvers in position during a training mission in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility on May 21, 2013. (Michael Sandberg/U.S. Navy)
An MH53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the Blackhawks of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 takes off from the deck off the USS Ponce to conduct mine countermeasures operations as part of International Mine Countermeasures Exercise on May 18, 2013. (U.S. Navy)
The MH-53E Sea Dragon is a beast of a helicopter.
With a rotor diameter of 79 feet, the air displacement on take off can easily knock a person over who dares to stand in its vicinity. It’s capable of carrying 55 troops or up to 32,000 pounds of cargo. It’s primary use is for Airborne Mine Countermeasures, but can also be called upon for assault support, or to deliver personnel and cargo to ships at sea.