Sea King Helicopter (Dinky Toys 724)
| Exhibit |
|---|
Sea King Helicopter (Dinky Toys 724).jpg) (i)
|
 |
| location: |
A blue and white model motorised "Sea King" Helicopter, Dinky Toys model no. 724.
The model has a hatch in the side for fitting an AA-size battery, which powers the main rotor. The helicopter also has a winch, and came with a floating plastic Apollo space programme space capsule with an eyelet for attaching a hook, so the pack was essentially a space capsule recovery set, with lots of play value. The example 'copter we have, since it's pre-fitted to a retailers' display stand, doesn't have the box, or the space capsule (and hasn't had the US decals stuck to it).
The background to this Dinky Toy is a little confusing: it's sometimes listed as the "Westland Sea King" (which was used by the Royal Navy), and if you didn't apply the optional US Navy decals that came with the bubble-packed helicopter, then, yes, you could get away with treating it as the version produced by Westland for the UK.
However, the US version was actually designed and built by Sikorsky, and if you were playing with the model and treating it as a British helicopter, you had to find some reason why a British 'copter would be winching a US space capsule.
Background
The "Sea King" was originally a Sikorsky design, with the Royal Navy's version being a "localised" variant built under licence by Westland – at first glance the Westland and Sikorsky "Sea Kings" look like the same aircraft with different markings. However, the Westland version was fitted with different (Rolls Royce) engines, and ended up with quite different avionics due to its different operational requirements – the US version was meant to operate from an aircraft carrier as part of an integrated response team, whereas the UK version had a more stand-alone role, and therefore (for example) had a much greater need for its own decent radar system.
The Westland "Sea King" was in service for the Royal Navy from 1969 to 2018
External links
.jpg){kind=link}