sensor, chaff/flare launchers, dual rear-mounted infrared countermeasures, and missile/mine detecting equipment. Eventually, all but two H-2s that were then in the U.S. Navy inventory were remanufactured into the SH-2F configuration. The final production procurement of the SH-2F was in Fiscal Year 1986. The final six orders for production SH-2Fs were converted to the more extensive and newer SH-2G Super Seasprite variant. Operational history United States In 1962, the initial UH-2 model commenced its operational service with the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy quickly determined that the helicopter's capabilities were greatly restricted by its single engine; thus, the service ordered Kaman to retrofit all of its Seasprites into a more capable twin-engine arrangement instead; when furnished with a pair of engines, the Seasprite was capable of attaining an airspeed of and operating at a range of up to . The U.S. Navy would operate a total fleet of nearly 200 Seasprites to perform a variety of missions, ranging from anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations, search and rescue (SAR) and utility transport. Under typical operational conditions, several UH-2s would be deployed upon each of the U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers in order to perform plane guard and SAR missions. The UH-2 was introduced in time to see action in the Tonkin Gulf incident in August 1964. The Seasprite's principal contribution to what would escalate into the lengthy Vietnam War between the Soviet-backed North Vietnamese and the United States-backed South Vietnamese, was the retrieval of downed aircrews, both from the sea and from inside enemy territory. The type was increasingly relied upon to perform the retrieval mission as the conflict intensified, such as during Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965. During October 1966 alone, out of 269 downed pilots, helicopter-based SAR teams were recorded as having enabled the recovery of 103 men. During the 1970s, the conversion of UH-2s to the SH-2 anti-submarine configuration provided the U.S. Navy with its first dedicated ASW helicopter capable of operating from vessels other than its aircraft carriers. The compact size of the SH-2 allowed the type to be operated from flight decks that were too small for the majority of helicopters; this factor would later play a role in the U.S. Navy's decision to acquire the improved SH-2F during the early 1980s. The SH-2F fleet was utilized to enforce and support Operation Earnest Will in July 1987, Operation Praying Mantis in April 1988, and Operation Desert Storm during January