What Helicopter Is Nicknamed 'The Jolly Green Giant' And Is It Still Being Used Today?

It's common for the general public to refer to anything large and green as a "Jolly Green Giant," and military helicopters are no exception. Sikorsky's HH-3E, another chopper that proves the introduction of the helicopter changed the U.S. Army, was known as the Jolly Green Giant. It wasn't the largest military helicopter, but being 73 feet long and weighing in at 22,050 pounds when fully laden, did make it a giant indeed, and its twin T58-GE-5 General Electric engines offering 3,000 horsepower combined, gave it a potent powertrain to match. 

Despite its imposing presence, the HH-3E wasn't created for the offense. It's a friendly giant. The Vietnam War, characterized by guerilla tactics and conflict in challenging terrain, called for a versatile rescue helicopter, and that's exactly what Sikorsky delivered. Developed from Sikorsky's S-61 amphibious transport helicopter, the U.S. Air Force started flying it in the early 1960s when it was designated as the HSS-2.

For this dangerous yet crucial role, it was modified with apparatus to allow it to reach allies on the ground in areas where its large frame couldn't land, and it was also outfitted with a pair of M60s. The final United States Air Force Jolly Green Giants were removed from active service in the mid-1990s. However, its successors would adopt the same role, and one of them was named after the Jolly Green legend. Many notable aircraft flew in the Vietnam War, and this proud giant was one of them.  

The Jolly Green Giant served an invaluable role in the Vietnam War, especially as the first production helicopter that could refuel midflight. The Air Rescue Service trialed this ability 1967 and set the long-distance record for helicopters. It was an enormous boon for a search and rescue vehicle. This workhorse went on to provide support for some of the most memorable space shuttle missions and then served in Operation Desert Storm.

There were times A-1 Skyraiders accompanied the giants on rescue missions. These were more offensive models that would buddy up with the Jolly Green Giants and so would give them more freedom to do what they did best: reach and extract potentially injured pilots who had been shot down. It was joined by the Super Jolly Green Giant, the HH-53, which appeared in its H-53B guise in 1967, so named because it was even bigger, measuring just over 88 feet long and weighing 42,000 pounds when equipped for action.

These models, too, would start to be replaced near the end of the twentieth century, with several models of the Super Jolly Green Giant family upgraded to MH-53J Pave (Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment) Low III Enhanced helicopters in 1986. They were outfitted with better defenses and an array of advanced sensor equipment, such as GPS, with their capabilities bolstered even further with the MH-53M Pave Low IV, which marked the end of its active service in 2008.