Bell 47J Ranger

The Bell 47 was the first helicopter to be certified for civil use in March 1946. It was largely designed by Arthur Young who joined Bell Helicopter in 1941. Over 5,600 were produced up to 1974, including 1200 under license in Italy, 239 in Japan, and 239 in the UK.

It went into military service in 1946 and was used in Korea by the US Army as the H-13 Sioux. The early versions had the famous ‘goldfish bowl’ canopy and an exposed tail  boom structure of steel tubing. There was seating for a pilot plus two passengers.

First flown in 1955, the 47J model had a stressed-skin, semi-monocoque tail boom replacing the welded steel-tube boom. The engine was enclosed and the cabin was enlarged with the pilot directly ahead of a three-passenger bench. The passenger configuration could be quickly changed to cargo or patient litters, or equipped with a cargo winch for rescue or heavy loads. Two special version Presidential models were produced with President Eisenhower flying in one.

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