Aérospatiale Alouette II
| 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 |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale |
| First flight | 12 March 1955 |
| Introduction | 2 May 1957 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users |
Tunisian Air Force Royal Cambodian Air Force Pakistan Army |
| 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 French light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale. The Alouette II was the first production helicopter to use a gas turbine engine instead of the conventional heavier piston powerplant.
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-kilogram (1,100 lb) external underslung load.
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 two years a helicopter had to be in production, otherwise all rotary wing activities would cease. SNCASE came up with seven helicopter designs powered by turboshaft engines: X.310A - X.310G. Earlier Joseph Szydlowski, the founder of Turbomeca, 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.
On 12 March 1955, the prototype SE 3130 performed its maiden flight; within three months, on 6 June, a pre-production Alouette II flown by Jean Boulet set a new helicopter altitude record of 8,209 m (26,932 ft). According to the manufacturer, such early demonstrations of the Alouette II had served to promote the performance and advantages of turbine helicopters over their piston-engined counterparts.
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