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Alouette | Auster | Beaver | Chipmunk | Scout | Sioux | Skeeter XR379 – The Alouette II
XR 379 was delivered as F-WIEN in May 1961 to Middle Wallop. Originally numbered XJ 379, but was corrected some time later to XR 379. Her first operational unit was 18 Flight AAC, based at Detmold in BAOR where she was taken on charge on 19 June 1961. Her next station was 27 Flight AAC, at Bunde where she remained until replaced by Scout in late 1969. From here she self-deployed to 6 Flight as part of 667 Aviation Squadron, Netheravon, joining the new unit on 20 November 1969. She was again replaced by Scout at Netheravon and was transferred to 16 Flight AAC at Dhekelia, Cyprus. She underwent a minor mishap in May 1985 when she lost half of her stabiliser in flight. She was being piloted at the time by SSgt B E Ives AAC. XR 379 was eventually transferred back to RNAY Wroughton when the Alouette II was replaced by Gazelle AH1 in October 1988. At this time she was the oldest aircraft in 16 Flight having accumulated 9037.6 hrs. She was flown to Akrotiri on 13 October 1988 for return to UK and arrived at Wroughton for storage shortly afterwards. She was not advertised for sale with the remainder of the Alouettes on 9 March 1990, but instead was transferred to the Museum of Army Flying as a static display. Although she was transferred to the AHAF on 25 July 1990, she has undergone minor refurbishment since then, both in France (courtesy of Eurocopter) and at Middle Wallop.
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In
1960 the AAC was operating the Auster 9 in the Middle and Far East and
a mixture of Auster 9’s and Skeeters in UK and BAOR. It was intended
that the Saunders-Roe P531 ‘Sprite’ (which became the Scout)
should replace the Skeeter, and in due course, the Auster 9, so that the
AAC could be almost entirely rotary wing. (The exception of course was
the Beaver that would replace some Austers as liaison aircraft from 1961).
Because of problems which were delaying the introduction of the Scout,
it was decided in 1960 to purchase a small number of Alouettes to provide
5-seat helicopters in the two liaison flights in BAOR. These would replace
their Skeeters, and also some of the Auster fixed wing aircraft of the
independent flights in the Middle East.