Four-seat military helicopter similar to S-51 with tricycle u/c, small tail rotor pylon, tailplane and powered by one 525hp Continental R-975-34 engine. Prot. Bu. 30368 FF 22 Sept. 1947. 3 built.

R.Simpson "Airlife's Helicopter and Rotorcraft", 1998

The Sikorsky S-53 was a development of the very successful S-51 series and was designed specifically for utility, observation, and rescue duties aboard aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers. Three prototypes of this three- to five-place aircraft were procured in 1948 by the U.S. Navy as the XHJS-1, but no production contract resulted. Additional attempts to market the S-53 were unsuccessful, and the model was developed no further.

The S-53 featured a fuselage and rotor system very similar to that of the S-51, but with some modifications: the tail rotor was raised above head-height for safety, the landing gear was strengthened for operations from a pitching deck, and the three-bladed main rotor was fitted with a folding mechanism. Amphibious landing gear was optional. A trapdoor in the cabin floor permitted the installation of a camera or a hoist for the transfer of bulky cargo by means of a sling.

Norman Polmar, Floyd D. Kennedy, Jr. "Military Helicopters", 1985

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