37-556: The Westland Wasp is a small 1960s British turbine-powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters , it came from the same Saunders-Roe P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout , and is based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter . It fulfilled the requirement of the Royal Navy for a helicopter small enough to land on the deck of a frigate and carry
74-476: A Mk 46 torpedo , and also strafed it with General Purpose Machine Gun . A Wasp launched from HMS Plymouth and two Wasps launched from HMS Endurance fired AS.12 anti-ship missiles at the submarine, scoring hits. Santa Fe was damaged badly enough to prevent her from submerging. The crew abandoned the submarine at the jetty on South Georgia and surrendered to the British forces, thus becoming
111-562: A 22% share of Westland from Hanson plc and Fiat. In 1984, Westland proposed the WG 44 light attack helicopter based on the Lynx dynamics, incorporating low observable technologies derived from its SUPERVISOR and PHOENIX UAS projects experience in 1977–1983. In 1987, in parallel with the Agusta A129 supported by Westland, Fokker , MBB and CASA , its WG 47 development was completed as
148-495: A confidential private venture with a faceted fuselage, internal weapons and twin canted tail rotors . A side-exiting infrared suppressor integrated the exhausts and its tandem cockpit with the pilot in front had transparencies angled outward to eliminate optical glint . This presaged the US Army Boeing–Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche , rolled out in 1995 and cancelled in 2004, while the fuselage shaping
185-685: A joint venture, Agusta Westland . GKN contributed Westland, its 50% share in its EH Industries (EHI) joint venture with Finmeccanica, the GKN aerospace transmissions business, and a 50% share in Aviation Training International. Finmeccanica contributed Agusta, including its transmissions and structures business, its share of EHI, its share of NH Industries , and its share of Bell Helicopter Textron . On 26 May 2004, GKN confirmed that it had agreed to sell its share of AgustaWestland to Finmeccanica for £1.06 billion. The sale
222-539: A part owner then, from 1970, the sole owner of the British Hovercraft Corporation , subsequently trading as Westland Aerospace . Most designs were Saunders-Roe or Saunders-Roe derivatives. For many years Westland owned the main London heliport at Battersea . The company gradually fell into unprofitability. Sikorsky approached with a bail-out deal in 1985 that split the cabinet and led to
259-668: A relatively short career and was phased out ten years later, replaced by the Eurocopter Fennec . The first four of an eventual nineteen Wasps were purchased by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) in 1966, being immediately assigned to the new Leander -class frigate, HMNZS Waikato . They fulfilled numerous tasks, as well as taking part in the Armilla Patrol in the Persian Gulf during
296-399: A useful load of two homing torpedoes. The increasing speed and attack range of the submarine threat, and the increased range at which this threat could be detected, led to a Royal Navy requirement for a "Manned Torpedo-Carrying Helicopter" (MATCH). Contemporary shipboard weapons did not have the necessary range, therefore MATCH was in essence a stand-off weapon with the helicopter carrying
333-400: The 2nd Frigate Squadron . On 14 May 1989, the ship's helicopter, a Lynx HAS3 , XZ244 , crashed near Mombasa , Kenya, while en route to the city's airport for a period of shore leave. A door had detached when opened inflight and collided with the tail rotor, resulting in the aircraft splitting in half and the death of all nine personnel on board. In October 1990 she saw the first members of
370-720: The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite as a stopgap until the arrival of their SH-2G(NZ). With the Royal Netherlands Navy beginning in the late 1960s, after the fire onboard HNLMS Karel Doorman , NATO anti-submarine commitments were taken over by a squadron of Westland Wasp helicopters, operated from six Van Speijk -class anti-submarine frigates. The shore base was at De Kooy Airfield . The Royal Netherlands Navy 860 Naval Air Squadron received 12 Wasp helicopters between November 1966 and June 1967, operated from Van Speijk -class frigates as AH-12As and flown in
407-679: The Westland Scout and its naval variant the Westland Wasp from the P.531, which found favour with the Army Air Corps and Fleet Air Arm respectively. In the late 1960s, the company began a collaboration with Aérospatiale to manufacture three new helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma , Aérospatiale Gazelle and Westland Lynx , with the last being a Westland design. Through Saunders-Roe, Westland became first
SECTION 10
#1732772296636444-594: The Women's Royal Naval Service to serve officially on an operational warship. In January 1991, Brilliant deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of the Operation Granby Task Force, in the First Gulf War . Brilliant starred in a BBC documentary series called HMS Brilliant – In a Ship's Company by the journalist Chris Terrill in 1994, while she was undertaking an operational tour off
481-588: The 1980s. The Wasps were flown by RNZN pilots but maintained by ground crews of No. 3 Squadron RNZAF . In 1997, four Wasps performed a flypast marking the arrival of the new Anzac -class frigate , HMNZS Te Kaha . The Wasp served 32 years with the RNZN, retiring in 1998, the same year HMNZS Waikato , which first operationally deployed the Wasp in New Zealand, was herself decommissioned. They were replaced by
518-627: The ASW role. The last of the Dutch Wasps were withdrawn from service in 1981 when they were replaced by the Westland Lynx . The Wasp was also in service with the Brazilian , Indonesian , and South African navies. The Indonesian aircraft were all former Dutch aircraft and the last of the type in active service. The last of the ten surplus Dutch Navy helicopters refurbished by Westland for
555-879: The Argentine coaster Monsunen , in the Battle of Seal Cove . Brilliant was part of the task force that took part in the Falklands War , with Captain John Coward in command. During the war, her two helicopters were involved in successfully attacking the Argentine submarine Santa Fe , and she was the first Royal Navy warship to fire the Sea Wolf missile in action when, on 12 May 1982, she shot down three A-4 Skyhawks . On 21 May 1982 HMS Brilliant came under Argentine air attack outside San Carlos Water and
592-594: The Commando Assault squadrons, 845 NAS and 848 NAS , until 1973. Although effective as a submarine killer, it was best deployed paired with a Wessex HAS.3 submarine hunter. In the late 1970s, the Westland Lynx started to replace the Wasp. On 25 April 1982 the Argentinian submarine ARA Santa Fe was spotted by a Wessex helicopter from HMS Antrim . The Wessex and a Lynx HAS.2 from HMS Brilliant then attacked it with depth charges ,
629-640: The Indonesian Navy was grounded in 1998. Flown by 400th Air Squadron (RON 400) from NAS Juanda , when at sea they were embarked upon the Indonesian Navy's ex-Royal Navy Tribal-class and ex-Dutch Navy Van Speijk class frigates. The Brazilian Navy operated the Wasp as the UH-2 & UH-2A, taking delivery of three new build helicopters in April 1966 and a further seven ex-Royal Navy helicopters in 1977. 1º Esquadrão de Helicópteros de Emprego Geral (HU-1) flew
666-714: The Leonardo Helicopters brand. Westland Aircraft was founded in 1935 when Petters Limited split its aircraft manufacturing from its aircraft engine concerns. During the Second World War the company produced military aircraft including the Lysander , the Whirlwind and the Welkin . After the war, the company began to build helicopters under a licensing agreement with Sikorsky . From the mid-1950s
703-523: The Netherlands, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Africa. 133 aircraft were built in total. Wasp was essentially a navalised Scout, indeed it was originally to be called the Sea Scout , and differed mainly in design details. It had a unique 4-wheeled castering undercarriage that allowed the aircraft to be manoeuvred on small, pitching flightdecks. The Wasp could use "negative pitch" from
740-569: The Royal Navy, including the evaluation of several undercarriage layouts, before settling on the definitive arrangement. An order for a pre-production batch of two "Sea Scouts" was placed in September 1961. The first flight of the two pre-production Wasp took place on 28 October 1962. Full production soon commenced, 98 in total being procured for the RN. The Wasp was successfully exported to Brazil,
777-602: The coast of former Yugoslavia enforcing a United Nations arms embargo in the Adriatic sea. She was decommissioned from Royal Navy service in 1996 and sold to the Brazilian Navy on 31 August 1996 and renamed Dodsworth . F47 Dodsworth was sold for scrap and broken up at Aliağa , Turkey, during July 2012. The silhouette of HMS Brilliant is painted, with the date 21 May, on the side of Argentine Air Force IAI Finger serial number C-412. Also painted on C-412
SECTION 20
#1732772296636814-652: The company came to increasingly concentrate on helicopters, eventually to the exclusion of other types. Production started with the Sikorsky S-51 , which became the Westland Dragonfly , flying for the first time in 1948 and entering service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in 1953. Westland developed an improved version, the Widgeon , which was not a great success. Success with the Dragonfly
851-657: The first casualty of the sea war, as well as the first direct engagement by the Royal Navy Task Force. The last Wasp was withdrawn from service in 1988 when the last of the Type 12 Rothesay -class frigates was decommissioned. The Wasp came into service with the Royal Malaysian Navy quite late, compared to the other nations who procured the aircraft when it joined the RMN on 8 April 1988. The Wasp had
888-500: The fitting of the Aimer's sight in the left cockpit roof, and the installation of large inflatable emergency floats in sponsons on either side of the cabin to prevent capsizing of the top-heavy aircraft in the event of ditching . The SS.11 had limited range, targeting small surface targets such as patrol boats or shore positions, and was later replaced by the AS.12 , which effectively had double
925-738: The helicopter divisions of Bristol , Fairey and Saunders-Roe (with their hovercraft ) were merged with Westland to form Westland Helicopters in 1961. Westland inherited the Saro Skeeter helicopter, a development of the Cierva W.14 Skeeter and the Fairey Rotodyne compound gyroplane design. They continued to develop the latter, terminating their own Westland Westminster large transport design. The company continued to produce other aircraft under licence from Sikorsky ( Sea King ) and Bell ( Sioux ). They also produced their own designs:
962-501: The helicopters from Navy's Gearing and Allen M. Sumner -class destroyers and the Niterói -class frigates. The South African Navy received their first batch of ten new-build airframes in 1963, followed by the delivery of a second batch of eight from 1973. Only six of this batch were delivered due to the international arms embargo placed on South Africa during the apartheid regime. The Wasps were flown by 22 Flight from Ysterplaat ;
999-455: The range. The Wasp HAS.1 was introduced to service in the small ships role in 1964, after an intensive period of trials by 700(W) Intensive Flying Trials Unit between June 1963 and March 1964. It served in this primary role with 829 Naval Air Squadron , but also in training units to supply crews for the front line with 706 NAS between 1965 and 1967 and in 703 NAS between 1972 and 1981. Single airframes also served for light liaison duties in
1036-639: The resignation of Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine in January 1986 over the fate of Britain's sole helicopter manufacturer. The split, which became known as the Westland affair , was over whether to push the company into a European deal or accept the US company's offer. Eventually, the link with Sikorsky was accepted. This saw both Sikorsky and Fiat acquire minority shareholdings in Westland. In 1988 GKN bought
1073-427: The rotor-blades to enable the aircraft to "adhere" to the deck until the lashings were attached. Additional fuel tankage was installed in the cabin floor, and both the tail boom and main rotor blades were foldable to allow stowage in the small hangars fitted to the first generation helicopter-carrying escorts. It was fitted with a winch above the starboard rear door, and also had the capacity to carry underslung loads from
1110-457: The semi-automatic cargo release unit mounted under the fuselage. With a crew of two (Pilot and Missile Aimer/Aircrewman) and the capacity to seat three passengers, Wasp was useful for short-range transport missions, and for casualty evacuation with room for one stretcher fitted across the rear cabin area. Later modifications included the ability to carry the Nord SS.11 wire-guided missile, with
1147-406: The torpedo or other weapon to the target and being instructed when and where to drop it. Unlike the larger Westland Wessex , the Wasp carried no sonar of its own, and was limited strictly to working in partnership with its parent ship, other ships or other anti-submarine warfare (ASW) units. The first prototype Saro P.531 flew on 20 July 1958, with the prototypes being subject to detailed testing by
Westland Wasp - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-778: The unit became 22 Squadron, Maritime Command in 1976. The helicopters were operated from the navy's President-class frigates. The South African Navy also acquired one ex-Bahrain Public Security Force airframe as an instructional airframe to support its Wasp programme. The South African Navy withdrew their last Wasp in 1990. A small number of helicopters are still used by the military and technical colleges for maintenance and engineering training. Data from Westland Aircraft since 1915 General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Westland Helicopters Westland Helicopters
1221-405: Was a British aircraft manufacturer . Originally Westland Aircraft , the company focused on helicopters after the Second World War. It was amalgamated with several other British firms in 1960 and 1961. In 2000, it merged with Italian helicopter manufacturer Agusta to form AgustaWestland . In 2016, AgustaWestland merged into Leonardo , where it became the company's helicopters division under
1258-559: Was approved by the British government in October 2004. The former Westland site at the now unused airfield in Weston-super-Mare houses The Helicopter Museum featuring a number of examples of Westland aircraft. HMS Brilliant (F90) HMS Brilliant was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy . Brilliant took part in the only ship-to-ship engagement of the Falklands War , when she and HMS Yarmouth chased
1295-565: Was repeated with the Sikorsky S-55 which became the Whirlwind , and a re-engined turboshaft powered Sikorsky S-58 as the Wessex . The chairmanship of Eric Mensforth from 1953 to 1968 marked the start of the transition, which was aided by the government when in 1959–1961 they forced the merger of the 20 or so aviation firms into three groups. British Aircraft Corporation and Hawker Siddeley Group took over fixed-wing designs, while
1332-662: Was retained for the NH90 . In the 1990s, the company returned to profitability and grew as a result of several major contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence for EH101 Merlin helicopters and for 67 licence-built Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, designated the WAH-64 and entering full operational service in 2005. In April 1994, Westland became a wholly owned subsidiary of GKN. In 2000 GKN and Finmeccanica agreed to merge their Westland and Agusta helicopter subsidiaries into
1369-502: Was slightly damaged by cannon fire. On 23 May she joined HMS Yarmouth in the chase of the Argentinian supply ship ARA Monsunen . She rescued 24 survivors from Atlantic Conveyor on 25 May. Brilliant had sailed south with a pair of WE.177A nuclear depth charges on board. To avoid complications arising from the Treaty of Tlatelolco , these were unloaded to RFA Fort Austin on 16 April 1982. In 1987 she became leader of
#635364