• Vietnam War
• United States Marine Corps (USMC)
  
• heavy-lift transport helicopter
  
• CH-53A - initial production variant for USMC. 139 built.
  
• CH-53D - CH-53A with improved transmission, larger cabin for 55 troops and automatic rotor blade folding for USMC. 126 built.
• HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant -  for USAF search and rescue (SAR)
• CH-53E Super Stallion - adding a third engine & a seventh blade to the main rotor, and canting the tail rotor 20°, for United States Navy & Marine Corps, 170 built.
  
• MH-53E Sea Dragon - for long-range minesweeping or airborne mine countermeasures missions, and perform heavy-lift duties for United States Navy. 50 built.
• CH-53K King Stallion - new engines, new composite rotor blades, and a wider aircraft cabin, is planned to replace CH-53E for United States Marine Corps (USMC).

Operation Frequent Wind [29~30 April 1975] -  the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon.