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French and British helicopters
Although many of the most important
early developments in helicopter technology were made in Europe, and
Germany made several important helicopter advances, rotary wing
development in Great Britain was stagnant until 1944, when the Bristol
Aeroplane Company established its Helicopter Division (eventually renamed
Bristol Helicopters). Bristol's first helicopter was the Type 171, which
first flew in July 1947. The Type 171, also named the Sycamore, was in
some ways more advanced than the Sikorsky R-5 and R-6 then flying in the
United States and by far the most popular and successful helicopters of
the time.
The
Bristol 173, a twin-engine tandem rotor helicopter, was first flown early
in 1952.
Each of the three-blade rotors had a diameter of 48.5 feet. The craft
could accommodate 13 passengers plus a pilot.
British military forces soon evaluated
the Sycamore, which was then produced in quantity as the HR. Mk.14. It
entered service in 1953 and served in search and rescue and medical
evacuation missions. It also soon entered service with the Royal
Australian Navy and the German Air Force and Navy. While the Sycamore was
under development, Bristol began developing a tandem-rotor helicopter
somewhat similar to the Piasecki "Flying Banana." Known as the Type 173,
this aircraft was soon developed into the Type 192 Belvedere, which had a
rounded fuselage that looked like a baguette with four-bladed rotors on
either end. The Belvedere, designated the HC.1 in Royal Air Force (RAF)
service, was delivered in 1961 and saw service in the Middle East and Far
East. It suffered from engine reliability problems and its high landing
gear made loading cargo in the cabin difficult.
Manufactured in England under license from Sikorsky, this British version
of the S-51
was powered by a 500-horsepower Alvis Leonides engine, and carried three
passengers and a pilot.
Supplied to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, it was used for air-sea
rescue and liaison work. Its military designation was Dragonfly.
In March 1960, Bristol Helicopters was
taken over by Westland. Westland was already the primary British
helicopter manufacturer. After World War II, Westland had signed a license
to build the Sikorsky S-51 helicopter. Westland significantly modified the
design and designated it the WS-51 Dragonfly. The first flight was in
October 1948 and in 1950 aircraft were being delivered to the Royal Navy
for use aboard aircraft carriers. The Dragonfly HR.Mk1 equipped the Royal
Navy's first helicopter squadron. Westland also produced the Dragonfly for
civilian customers and the militaries of Japan, Iraq, France, Yugoslavia
and Ceylon. The WS-51 Dragonfly was the first British-built helicopter to
gain a certificate of airworthiness.
Westland began licensed manufacture of
the Sikorsky S-55, designated the WS-55 Whirlwind, in November 1950. The
aircraft served in the RAF and the Royal Navy, and also in the Queen's
Flight and in civil service. Westland also soon licensed the Sikorsky
S-58, which it produced as the popular Wessex. It was initially used as an
anti-submarine helicopter, but soon employed by the Royal Marine Commandos
and the RAF. By the mid-1960s, Westland also began producing the Sikorsky
S-61 Sea King. The company also began cooperative production of its own
helicopter design, the WG.3, with the French aerospace company
Aérospatiale.
In 1963, Westland began work on the Lynx
tactical utility helicopter, which began flying by 1970 and proved highly
successful in British military service. It saw action in the Falklands War
in 1981 and later in the Persian Gulf War in 1991. In the 1980s, Westland
began work with the Italian firm Agusta on a replacement for the prolific
Sea King. This led to the creation of European Helicopter Industries in
June 1980. The new helicopter, designated the EH.101 Merlin, first flew in
October 1987, but did not enter production until the mid-1990s. It has a
five-bladed main rotor, a retractable landing gear, and three engines, and
serves in various roles such as a submarine hunter and a utility version.
A civil version, for offshore oil rig use, can seat 30 passengers.
In France, the aviation industry had
been taken over by the government before World War II. After the war, two
companies, Sud-Est and Sud-Ouest, pursued various helicopter projects.
Sud-Ouest produced the small Djinn for the French Army. One model, the
SO-1221 Djinn, was the most successful tip-jet helicopter design and one
of the few to be put into production, with a total of 178 being built.
Sud-Est developed the three-seat Alouette I prototype. The Alouette II,
which first flew in March 1955, had a turbine engine and quickly broke the
world helicopter altitude record. It entered production one year later in
a five-seat version and soon became a highly popular helicopter. Sud-Ouest
and Sud-Est were merged into Sud-Aviation in 1957, and the company
eventually produced over 1,600 examples of the Alouette II and its
derivatives. They were supplied to military and civilian users in
approximately 50 countries. A high-altitude version dubbed the Lama was
also produced in France and Brazil and manufactured under license in India
by Hindustan, which named it the Cheetah. The Cheetah was used heavily in
the Himalayan Mountains for various tasks, including rescuing injured
mountain-climbers.
During
the early 1960s, Sud-Ouest developed the Puma medium twin turbine-powered
helicopter.
It was used for both military and civilian purposes and found widespread
use in the offshore oil industry.
During the early 1960s Sud-Ouest
manufactured several Sikorsky helicopters under license and developed the
Puma medium twin turbine-powered helicopter. The Puma became popular with
military and civilian users and found widespread use in the offshore oil
industry. In 1970, Sud-Ouest and several other firms merged into a single
company named Aérospatiale. The firm continued with a number of new
designs, including the Gazelle, as a replacement for the Alouette, and the
Dauphin. Both helicopters placed the dangerous tail rotor inside an
opening in the tail (this was called a "Fenestron tail") where it was less
likely that the spinning blades would strike objects on the ground or chop
off heads. The Dauphin has proven popular and is even operated by the U.S.
Coast Guard. Aérospatiale also produced the highly popular six-seat
Ecureuil (Squirrel).
Eurocopter Type: EC
In 1992, Aérospatiale joined with the
German helicopter firm MBB to create Eurocopter Holdings. Both companies
were already participating in the four-nation NH.90 helicopter project,
along with the Italian firm Agusta and the German firm Fokker. The NH.90
was developed as a multi-purpose helicopter capable of serving as a troop
transport, and in anti-submarine and anti-shipping roles.
The end of the Cold War and the
diminished demand for military helicopters are the primary reasons that
many European firms are forming consortia to build their new helicopters,
and this trend shows no signs of changing.
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