The Sikorsky Sea King was not designed primarily as an SAR helicopter:
"The
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation
S-61) is a twin-engined
anti-submarine warfare (ASW)
helicopter. It was a landmark design, being the first ASW helicopter to take advantage of
turboshaft engines, as well as being the first amphibious helicopter in the world.
[2] Introduced in 1961, it served with the
United States Navy, and remains in service in many countries around the world. The Sea King has been built under license in Italy and Japan, and in the United Kingdom as the
Westland Sea King. The major civil versions are the
S-61L and S-61N."
Used for SAR as a secondary role in most Services using it as an ASW platform (eg. UK RN), and then later by some nations (UK RAF & RNoAF) as a primary SAR platform, the SK has for decades established an excellent reputation for providing "all weather" 24/7 SAR capability.
However, its time is increasingly fading as whatever its operational capability, it does not meet modern safety standards and its old design demands expensive engineering and manhour costs.
That said, its going to be around somewhere for many years yet!
