Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma
| SA 330 Puma | |
|---|---|
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| A RAF HC1 Puma in flight, 2012 | |
| Role | Utility helicopter |
| National origin | France |
| Manufacturer | Aérospatiale |
| First flight | 15 April 1965 |
| Introduction | 1968 |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users |
French Army Royal Air Force Romanian Air Force Lebanese Air Force |
| Produced | 1968–87 |
| Number built | 697 |
| Variants |
IAR 330 Atlas Oryx |
| Developed into |
Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma Denel Rooivalk |
 French Army Puma during an exercise
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In-cockpit view of a SA 330J flight
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Spanish Air Force SA 330 Puma performing at an airshow in 2011
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| SA 330 Puma cutaway | |
 SA 330 Puma cutaway from Flightglobal.com
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The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally built by Sud Aviation of France, and continued to be made by Aérospatiale. It was also license-built in Romania as the IAR 330; an advanced, unlicensed derivative, the Atlas Oryx, was made in South Africa. The Puma was a commercial success and was quickly developed into more advanced models such as the AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar, manufactured by Eurocopter since the early 1990s. These descendants of the Puma remain in production in the 21st century.
The Puma has seen combat in a range of theatres by a number of different operators; significant operations include the Gulf War, the South African Border War, the Portuguese Colonial War, the Yugoslav Wars, the Lebanese Civil War, the Iraq War, and the Falklands War. The type also saw popular use in the civilian field and has been operated by a number of civil operators.
The SA 330 Puma was originally developed by Sud Aviation to meet a requirement of the French Army for a medium-sized all-weather helicopter capable of carrying up to 20 soldiers as well as various cargo-carrying duties. The choice was made to develop a completely new design for the helicopter, work began in 1963 with backing from the French government. The first of two Puma prototypes flew on 15 April 1965; six further pre-production models were also built, the last of which flew on 30 July 1968. The first production SA 330 Puma flew in September 1968, with deliveries to the French Army starting in early 1969.
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Wikipedia