Aérospatiale Alouette II
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2008) |
| SA 313 / SA 318 Alouette II | |
|---|---|
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| A West German Alouette II helicopter patrolling the border with East Germany, 1985 | |
| Role | Light helicopter |
| Manufacturer | Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale |
| First flight | 1955-03-12 |
| Introduction | 1957-05-02 |
| Primary users | France Germany |
| Produced | 1956-1975 |
| Number built | 1,300+ |
| Variants | Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama |
| Developed into | Aérospatiale Alouette III |
The Aérospatiale Alouette II (French pronunciation: [alwɛt], Lark) is a light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale, both of France. The Alouette II was the first production helicopter to use a gas turbine instead of a conventional heavier piston engine.
The Alouette II was mostly used for military purposes in observation, photography, air-sea rescue, liaison and training but it has also carried anti-tank missiles and homing torpedoes. As a civilian helicopter it was used for casualty evacuation (with two external stretcher panniers), crop-spraying and as a flying crane (with a 500 kg external sling load).
Design and development
Although Sud-Est's previous helicopter design, the SE 3120 Alouette, broke helicopter speed and distance records in July 1953, it was too complex an aircraft to market successfully. With the records falling, the French government started showing interest but with their financial backing the state gave an ultimatum that within 2 years a helicopter had to be in production otherwise all activities around rotary wings would cease. SNCASE came up with 7 turbo-engine helicopters designs: X.310A - X.310G. Earlier Joseph Szydlowski, the founder of Turboméca had successfully managed to develop the Artouste, a 260 hp (190 kW) single shaft turbine engine derived from his Orédon turbine. The X.310G design was chosen and together with the Artouste engine was fast tracked towards production as the SE 3130 Alouette II.
The SE 3130 first flew on 12 March 1955[1] and within 3 months on 6 June a pre-series Alouette II flown by Jean Boulet set a new helicopter altitude record of 8,209 m (26,926 ft).[2][3] On 13 June 1958 one, again flown by Boulet, re-took the record, reaching a height of 10,984 m (36,027 ft).[2][4]
Operational history
The Alouette II made the news on July 3, 1956 when it became the first helicopter to perform a mountain-rescue by evacuating a mountaineer who had suffered from cardiac arrest at over 4,000 m and again on January 3, 1957 the Alouette II was called upon to rescue the crew of a crashed Sikorsky S-58 which was searching for missing mountaineers Jean Vincendon and François Henry on Mont Blanc.
The Alouette II gained its domestic certificate of airworthiness on 2 May 1957.
Production started initially to fulfil orders from the French armed forces and civilian customers. It made military history by being the first helicopter worldwide to be equipped with anti-tank missiles (the Nord SS.11s),[5] and by the time production ended in 1975 with over 1500 Alouette II's had been built and in use in over 80 countries including 47 armed forces. It is also licence built in Brazil, Sweden, India and in the United States.
Indian Hindustan Aeronautics Limited license-built SA 315B Lamas, called Cheetahs in Indian service, regularly deployed at 7500 meters (24,600 ft) to forward observation outposts and air bases of the Indian Air Force in the Himalaya mountain ranges.
Variants
- SE 3130 Alouette II - After 1967[citation needed] called SA 313B Alouette II
- SE 3131 Gouverneur - Refined executive version with enclosed tailboom,[6] which was abandoned in favour of the Alouette III.[7]
- SE 3140 Alouette II - Proposed version, it was going to be powered by a 298 kW (400 hp) Turbomeca Turmo II engine. None were ever built.
- HKP 2 Alouette II - Swedish licence version of the SE.3130
- SA 318C Alouette II Astazou - It has a 550 shp (410 kW) Turboméca Astazou IIA shaft turbine (derated to 360 shp) and strengthened transmission system of the Alouette III
- SA 318C Alouette II (was SE 3180 Alouette II) - After 1967 called derived from the SE 3150
- SA 315B Lama - designed to meet an Indian armed forces requirement for operation in "hot and high" conditions; combined the Artouste powerplant and rotor system of the Alouette III with a reinforced Alouette II airframe
Operators
- Belgian Air Component
- Belgian Army (39) (Former operator)
- Federal Police (Belgium)
- Gendarmerie (Belgium) (Former operator)
- few helicopters were used by the Biafran Air Force
- Cameroon Air Force operates 1.
Central African Republic
Chile
Ivory Coast- (2)
Democratic Republic of the Congo- (3)
Djibouti
Dominican Republic- (2)
Ecuador
El Salvador
Finland- Finnish Air Force (2) phased out
France- French Army (363)
Germany
- German Army (267), phased out
Guinea-Bissau
India- (over 250 built under licence as the HAL Cheetah)
Indonesia- (3)
Israel
- Air Battalion, 11th Brigade Nepal Army (Unknown)
Peru- (6)
Portugal- Portuguese Air Force (7) (phased out) and GNR (Republican National Guard)
Rhodesia
- Rhodesian Air Force - Six helicopters on loan from the South African Air Force, in service from 1974 to 1980.
- Swedish Air Force (25)
- Swiss Air Force (30)
- Army Air Corps (17)
Specifications (Alouette II)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 4 passengers
Performance
- Endurance: 4.1 hours
See also
Related development
Related lists
References
- ^ a b Taylor 1966, p. 61.
- ^ a b "History of Rotorcraft World Records, Sub-class:E-1 (Helicopters), Category:General, Group 2:turbine". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved 3 November 2010.
- ^ Flight 8 July 1955, p. 54.
- ^ Taylor 1966, p. 2.
- ^ Helicopters at War - Blitz Editions, Page, 63, ISBN 1-85605-345-8
- ^ "Business and Touring Aircraft: Sud-Aviation". Flight, 11 October 1957, p. 585.
- ^ "Helicopters of the World:SE.3160 Alouette III". Flight, 15 May 1959, p. 684.
- "Helicopters in Europe: Fourteen Different Types Seen at Paris". Flight, 8 July 1955, pp. 54–55.
- Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1966.