The UH-60 is a twin-engine, medium lift, utility or assault helicopter, used by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Some versions, such as the Air Force's MH-60 G Pave Hawk and the Coast Guard's HH-60J Jayhawk, are equipped with a rescue hoist with a 250 foot (75 meter) cable that has a 600 pound (270 kg) lift capability, and a retractable in-flight refueling probe. The Army's UH-60L Black Hawk can carry 11 soldiers or 2,600 pounds (1,170 kg) of cargo or sling load 9,000 pounds (4,050 kg) of cargo.

The Army uses Blackhawks as the primary dedicated air ambulance. The typical medical evacuation configuration provides for four litter patients and one ambulatory patient. Other configurations include: (Each allows sufficient room for a crew chief and a medical aidman.)

When configured for medical evacuation for 4 litter patients, there is a center pedestal which can be rotated 90 degrees about the vertical axis to facilitate loading and unloading litters. Patients can be loaded from either side of the aircraft.

The normal aircrew for medical evacuation missions numbers four, including a crew chief and medical aidman.

Patients are positioned in the aircraft according to the directions of the aircrew:

• Usually, the most seriously injured patients are loaded last on the bottom pans of the litter support unit.

• If in-flight emergency medical treatment is required, he should be loaded into either of the top two pans.

• Because of the cabin structure, patients receiving IV fluids can be placed on any of the litter pans.

• Patients with traction splints should be loaded last and on a bottom pan.

• Patients should be loaded so their heads are toward the front of the aircraft.

• Patients are unloaded in reverse order, the most serious first.

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Operational Medicine 2001

Health Care in Military Settings

This web version is provided by The Brookside Associates Medical Education Division.  It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMED P-5139, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the US Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

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