The last SH-3 Sea Kings of the Spanish Navy leave on a ship for Peru

@DefAviation ES 8·11·2023 · 18:48 0

In October you could read here the news of the sale of six SH-3D Sea King helicopters of the Spanish Navy for 600 euros to Peru.

The sale of six SH-3D Sea King of the Spanish Navy to Peru for 600 euros
The Air Arm of the Spanish Navy in old photographs of the US National Archives

These helicopters were retired from service in June of last year, being replaced by the more modern SH-60F Sea Hawk in the 5th Squadron of the Navy Aircraft Flotilla. The first SH-3 was received by the Spanish Navy in 1966, although the helicopters sold to Peru are more recent. The six helicopters have been delivered at a symbolic price of 100 euros per unit.

This Wednesday, the multipurpose ship "Pisco" (AMP-156), an amphibious helicopter carrier of the Peruvian Navy, arrived at the Rota Naval Station, in Cádiz, to proceed with the loading and transport of the six Sea Kings, known in Spain by the radio callsign of the 5th Squadron: "Morsa" (Walrus).

The Spanish Navy indicated yesterday that the loading of helicopters and aircraft spare parts "developed normally since the arrival of the ship and this morning, Thursday the 10th, aircraft and material were on board the “Pisco” and perfectly ripped off." The Peruvian ship is scheduled to set sail from Broken on the morning of Sunday August 13, bound for El Callao.

With these helicopters, Peru takes an important part of Spain's aviation history. The SH-3 is an aircraft with which the Peruvian Navy is familiar, since it received its first helicopters of this type in 1977, specifically four Agusta SH-3D Sea King, to equip its old cruiser BAP Aguirre (CH-84), decommissioned in 1999. Three of those helicopters are still in service today, with anti-ship capabilities and equipped to carry out rescue missions. In 2010, Peru received six Sikorsky UH-3H Sea Kings from the US Navy, but in this case to be "cannibalized", as they say in aeronautical jargon, in order to obtain pieces of replacement.

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Photos: Armada Española.