The federal government will sell off the last of its veteran Sea King helicopters when they finally retire from service in December

Last Sea King helicopters to be sold

Five complete helicopters, three airframes, a flight simulator and assorted spare parts will be offered by tender.

One aircraft, callsign Shark 07, will be preserved at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Nowra.

"The latest example of their work was the disaster relief and search and rescue missions they conducted during the Queensland floods," Defence Materiel Minister Jason Clare said in a statement on Thursday.

"This is a really versatile helicopter and a proven capability."

The Sea Kings could be used for a range of things such as fire-fighting, disaster relief, search and rescue, by another Navy or commercially."

A total of 13 Sea Kings have served in the Australian navy with the first delivered in 1975.

Seven have been lost in various incidents of which the worst was the crash of Shark 02 and the death of nine Australian personnel on Nias Island, Indonesia, in April 2005.

Mr Clare said the Sea King sale would be advertised around the world including major defence expos in the United Kingdom and Canada in September.