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Gazelle

The Gazelle, produced as part of an Anglo-French venture between Westland and Aerospatiale, flew for the first time on 7 April 1967. Still one of the fastest helicopters ever built, it serves with all four branches of the British armed forces – RAF, Royal Navy, Army and Royal Marines – filling a variety of roles. Four versions of the Gazelle are used by the British Forces. The SA341D became the Gazelle HT3 in RAF service, and is equipped as a helicopter pilot trainer. The first was delivered on 17 July 1973. The SA341E is used for communications duties and VIP transport and is designated Gazelle HCC4. The SA 341B was equipped to a specification for the Army Air Corps. Designated Gazelle AH Mk 1, the first aircraft entered service in 1973. This year marks the Gazelle’s 25th year of continuous Army service. The SA 341C was also purchased for the British Armed Forces as a pilot trainer for the Royal Navy.

Lynx

The Lynx has been the subject of a continuous development and modification programme. The basic aircraft is superbly manoeuvreable and is adaptable to a wide variety of missions. Originally, 113 Lynx AH Mk 1s were supplied to the Army Air Corps as general-purpose utility helicopters. In 1985, one of these was used for engine trials and converted to the AH Mk 5 standard, and nine were ordered. With the development of the advanced AH Mk 7 Lynx, this order was cancelled, and eleven Mk 7s were delivered by July 1987. The Mk 7 was a response to General Staff Requirement 3947 and was specifically configured to improve performance in the hover for long periods, vital to the Lynx’s primary anti-tank role. Aside from the eleven new aircraft, work began on converting existing Mk 1 aircraft to this standard in 1987, which included exhaust supression baffles from 1987 onward. The latest Lynx in UK Army Air Corps service is the AH Mk 9, easily identified by its tricycle undercarriage.