TheBell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine lighthelicopter manufactured byBell Helicopter. It was based on the thirdBell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed byArthur M. Young. The 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946.[1][2] The first civilian delivery was made on 31 December 1946 toHelicopter Air Transport.[3] More than 5,600 Bell 47s were produced, including those underlicense byAgusta in Italy,Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan, andWestland Aircraft in the United Kingdom. TheBell 47J Ranger is a modified version with a fully enclosed cabin and tail boom.
Early models varied in appearance, with opencockpits orsheet metal cabins, fabric covered or open structures, some with four-wheel landing gear.Later model D and Korean War H-13D and E types settled on a more utilitarian style. The most common model, the47G introduced in 1953, can be recognized by the full"soap bubble" canopy,[4] exposed welded-tube tail boom, saddlefuel tanks and skid landing gear.
The later three-seat47H had an enclosed cabin with full cowling andmonocoque tail boom. It was an attempt to market a "luxury" version of the basic 47G. Relatively few were produced.
Engines wereFranklin orLycoming vertically mountedpiston engines of 175 to 305HP (130 to 227kW). Seating varied from two (early 47s and the later G-5A) to four (the J and KH-4).
Bell 47s were produced in Japan by a Bell and Kawasaki venture; this led to theKawasaki KH-4 variant, a four-seat version of the Model 47 with a cabin similar to the Bell 47J. It differed from the "J" in having a standard uncovered tail boom and fuel tanks like the G series. It was sold throughout Asia, and some were used in Australia.
In February 2010, the Bell 47type certificates were transferred toScott's Helicopter Services.[7] The sister company that was formed,Scott's – Bell 47, was in the process of starting production of aturboshaft powered version of the Bell 47, the 47GT-6, using aRolls-Royce RR300 engine and with composite rotor blades, with deliveries planned from 2016.[8] However, development appears to have stalled, and as of 2025, no production models have appeared, and the company's website has made no mention of it since 2013.[9]
The Bell 47 entered US military service in late 1946, and operated in a variety of versions and under different designations for three decades. It was designatedH-13 Sioux by theUS Army, and during theKorean War, it served a variety of roles, including reconnaissance and scouting, search and rescue, and medevac.
The "Telecopter" was a Bell 47 rented bytelevision stationKTLA inLos Angeles,California. It was outfitted with a television camera and it made the world's first flight by atelevision news helicopter on July 3, 1958, with its inventor,John D. Silva, aboard. When the television station reported it was receiving no video, Silva exited the helicopter'scockpit to climb onto its landing skid while it hovered at 1,500 feet (457 m) so he could investigate themicrowave transmitter bolted to its side, where he discovered avacuum tube had failed due to vibration and hot weather. After Silva fixed the problem overnight, the Telecopter made the world's first successful television news flight on July 4, 1958.[10]
13 May 1949, a Bell 47 set an altitude record of 18,550 feet (5,650 m).[12]
21 September 1950, first helicopter to fly over theAlps.[12]
17 September 1952, Bell pilot Elton J. Smith set a world distance record for piston helicopters of 1,217 miles (1,959 km) by flying nonstop fromHurst, Texas, toBuffalo, New York.[12] As of 2018, this record still stands.[13]
A three-seat utility version. A two-seat agricultural version was later known as theAg-5. The 47G-5 remained in production even after H & J production had ended.[citation needed]
A Bell 47H-1
Bell 47H-1
A three-seat version with an enclosed cabin and fuselage.[16]
Agusta A.115 1971 Italian prototype of a Bell 47J with an unclad, tubular tail boom, and powered by aTurbomeca Astazou II turboshaft engineMeridionali/Agusta EMA 124 Italian prototype with redesigned forward fuselage. Not produced.[19][20]
Kawasaki KH-4 Japanese production version with redesigned, lengthened cabin, and redesigned control system
Carson Super C-4El Tomcat Mk.II Bell 47G-2 modified extensively for agricultural spraying by Continental Copters Inc. First flew in April 1959, followed by further improved versions.
G-AZYB (painted in former SABENA markings as OO-SHW) – Bell 47H on static display at the Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. It supported a scientific expedition in Antarctica.[49][50]
^Young, Arthur M.Arthur Young on the Helicopter (Part 2)(YouTube) (YouTube). Event occurs at 10:15 to 11:45.Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. RetrievedApril 8, 2016.I thought the bubble was a great idea, and we tried it. It consisted of taking a large sheet of Plexiglas, and a plywood form, cut for the final dimension for the outside of the bubble, then heating the Plexiglas, putting it under the plywood form, letting air pressure come up through the middle, and it would blow just like asoap bubble. And, then we had a gauge saying how far to blow, and when it reached that point, we turned off the air pressure.
^"FAA". Archived fromthe original on May 13, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2010.
^"CAA". Archived fromthe original on May 13, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2010.
^"BELL 47G".The Hangar Flight Museum. Archived fromthe original on October 27, 2020. RetrievedMarch 3, 2017.
^Dan Gallacher and Chris Kitzan (November 2001)."The Bell 47D-1 Helicopter".historymuseum.ca.Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. RetrievedAugust 22, 2021.
^"Bell 47B".American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. RetrievedMarch 2, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N5H]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on March 3, 2017. RetrievedMarch 3, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N3H]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on May 13, 2017. RetrievedMarch 3, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N39KH]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on March 20, 2017. RetrievedMarch 20, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N996B]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on March 3, 2017. RetrievedMarch 3, 2017.
^"Bell 47H".American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. RetrievedMarch 2, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N2490B]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on March 5, 2017. RetrievedMarch 5, 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N7576]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on March 20, 2017. RetrievedMarch 20, 2017.
^Glover, Scott."The Bell 47".Mid America Flight Museum. Archived fromthe original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved3 March 2017.
^"FAA REGISTRY [N6356X]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on March 3, 2017. RetrievedMarch 3, 2017.
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Elliott, Bryn (January–February 1999). "On the Beat: The First 60 Years of Britain's Air Police, Part One".Air Enthusiast (79):68–75.ISSN0143-5450.
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Mutza, Wayne.H-13 Sioux Mini in Action. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1995.ISBN0-89747-345-0
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Riley, David (February 1958). "French Helicopter Operations in Algeria".Marine Corps Gazette. pp. 21–26.
Shrader, Charles R. (1999).The first helicopter war: logistics and mobility in Algeria, 1954–1962. Westport, CT: Praeger.ISBN0-275-96388-8.
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