Atlantis Aircraft 1/48 H25A Army Mule Helicopter (formerly Aurora) Kit

The HUP type helicopter was originally designed and developed by the Vertol Aircraft Corporation, formally the Piasecki Helicopter Corp., as a shipboard utility helicopter for the US Navy. Deliveries began to the Atlantic Fleet in January 1951. A year or so later, the US Army purchased a quantity of this helicopter, gave it the designation H-25A "Army Mule" and put it to work doing general utility work in the field. Hundreds of Navy pilots' lives have been saved by the Navy's HUP, as it flies plane guard with every major carrier in the Atlantis and Pacific Fleets. In addition, it has chalked up several thousand civilian lives saved during hurricane and flood disasters, in New England and Mexico during 1955. The Army uses its mechanized Mule for laying communication lines, transporting personnel, carrying wounded or injured personnel, and hauling supplies.  This helicopter, powered by a Continental R-975-46 engine, with a take-off rating of 550 horsepower, is capable of carrying four passengers and a crew of two. Under emergency rescue conditions, many more have been carried. The HUP-type helicopter is now in service with the US Army, US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the French Navy.