The Piasecki Helicopter Corporation was founded in 1940 by Frank Piasecki as the P-V Engineering Forum, first becoming known as Piasecki Helicopter in 1946. The PV-2 was the second helicopter flown in the United States (following Igor Sikorsky's VS-300 ) and was designed and flown by Frank Piasecki in 1943. In 1949, Piasecki provided the CH-21 Shawnee to the USAF.
Piasecki designed and successfully sold to the US Navy a series of tandem rotor helicopters, starting with the HRP-1 of 1944. The HRP-1 was nicknamed the "flying banana" because of the upward angle of the aft fuselage that ensured the large rotors did not hit each other in flight.
Piasecki was acquired by The Boeing Company in 1960 and renamed to Boeing Vertol. It currently operates, with Hughes, as Boeing Helicopters.
