|
The Wessex HC Mk.2 is a SAR and troop transport helicopter developed by Westland Aircraft. Today known as AgustaWestland. Following the success of the turboshaft-powered Westland Whirlwind, the company began development of the Wessex. The Wessex was developed with the UK’s Royal Navy in mind, but would later also count the Royal Air Force among its customers. A limited number of civilian versions also made their way out of the factory and there were some export sales as well. However, the main role that defined the Wessex is undoubtedly search and rescue. When designing the Wessex, Westland had anti-submarine warfare in mind. To this end, the idea was to have a helicopter with a large airframe and a powerful turboshaft powerplant. The Wessex is actually not a ground-up design or based on any previous Westland helicopter. It is actually a licensed redesign of the Sikorsky H-34/S58. Westland had their work cut out for them however, since the S-58 came equipped with a piston-powered engine. Specifically a Wright R-1820. Westland were quick to whip this out and replace it with a Napier Gazelle NGa turboshaft. This would be the first demonstrator platform for the modification that would become the Wessex. This first craft flew in its turboshaft form in 1957. Soon after, Westland built its own versions of this demonstrator as pre-production models, the first helicopters to officially carry the Wessex name. Introduced in 1961, the Wessex was produced from 1958 to 1970. In total 382 were built and the last official flight was recorded in 1995. In total the helicopter was in service for 29 years and the RAF fleet racked up 11 000 flight hours during that time.
|