Engine Overview
The T58 turboshaft engine -- the engine that would power the Sikorsky Sea King helicopter that recovered the Apollo astronauts and still powers Marine One -- the helicopter of the U.S. president since the Kennedy administration -- was born in 1953 with the award of a $3 million contract from the U.S. Navy. Under the terms of the contract, GE was to develop the XT-58 "baby gas turbine" that the company had proposed as a powerplant for helicopters. The engine was to weigh 400 pounds and was to produce 800 shaft horsepower (shp).
Most recently, in 2002, the U.S. Navy approved conversion of 300 T58-GE-16 engines powering Boeing CH-46E helicopters of the U.S. Marine Corps to the T58-GE-16A configuration. The conversion, proposed in GE's Engine Reliability Improvement Program, increases engine time on wing through installation of an improved engine core (high-pressure compressor, combustor, and high-pressure turbine) and modifications to the power turbine and accessory package.
