Westland Scout
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The Westland Scout was a general purpose military light helicopter developed by Westland Aircraft Limited.
It was the older brother to the Westland Wasp, both of them developed from the Saunders-Roe ("Saro") P.531, itself an extension of the Saunders-Roe Skeeter. With the acquisition of Saunders Roe, Westland took over the project which became the prototype for the Scout and Wasp.
The P.531 was developed with both 635 shp Bristol Siddeley Nimbus and 685 shp de Havilland Gnome H.1000 engines. The production Scout AH.1 used a 1,050 shp Rolls-Royce (RR having acquired Bristol Siddeley by then) Nimbus 101 engine. The Scout first flew on 29 August 1960.
The Scout had a skid undercarriage. Behind the two front seats was a three-seat bench. It was used for general light work including observation, liaison, training, and search and rescue. When fitted as a light attack helicopter it carried two machine guns (L7 GPMG and 4 anti-tank guided missiles (the SS.11). In use for casualty evacuation, the Scout could carry two stretchers internally and two externally.
About 150 Scouts were built, mainly at Hayes, by 1968.
Variants
- Saunders-Roe P.531 Prototype.
- Saunders-Roe P.531-2 Mk 1 : Pre-production aircraft.
- Scout AH.Mk 1 : Five-seat light utility helicopter for the British Army.
Users
- British Army
- Royal Australian Navy (2)
- Royal Jordanian Air Force (3)
- Ugandan Police (2)
- Bahrain Police (2)
Specifications(Scout)
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