In 1966 the German military evaluated both the CH-53 and CH-47 as a replacement for the H-21 and H-34G helicopters with an initial requirement for 133. The purchase of the CH-53 was approved in June 1968 but due to budget constraints only 110 were ordered. Following the delivery in 1969 of two pre-production helicopters from Sikorsky the production aircraft were licence built by VFW-Fokker at Speyer in Germany. The first German-built helicopter flew from Speyer on 11 October 1971 and was delivered to the EST-61 flight test centre at Manching on 1 December 1971.
Twee uitvoeringen mogelijk;
- Duitse Luftwaffe; HEER 85#38.
- Duitse Luftwaffe; HEER 84#11.
Aantal onderdelen; 116 stuks.
Afmetingen;
- Lang; 305 mm.
- rotordiameter; 304 mm.