While the name Beartrap may evoke rather violent imagery, it’s a reference to the strong, potentially life-saving grip that the device can take on a helicopter in the process of landing.
The Helicopter Hauldown and Rapid Securing Device was first developed by Fairey Aviation Ltd and the Royal Canadian Navy in the 1950s and 60s. The goal was to find a way to make it easier for helicopters to accompany vessels, thereby providing defense and versatility to missions undertaken. In the Cold War world, this was vital.
Like a lot of the world’s great engineering inventions, the HHRSD isn’t particularly elegant, but it wasn’t supposed to be. It was supposed to meet a specific need and does a fantastic and efficient job of just that.
To use it, personnel on the helicopter lower a length of cable to the deck of the ship where the Beartrap is located. A device attached to it is connected to another length equipped to the Beatrap itself, by crew on the ship. With this crucial connection made, the helicopter is guided to the deck.
The HHRSD doesn’t just help the helicopter land, though. Holding it tightly in place after it does so, it also extends beneath the deck, allowing it to carry the helicopter inside to safety. A system of winches, rope, and “teeth,” it’s essentially a very sophisticated landing pad.
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