Westland Wessex Helicopter

The Westland Wessex was developed under license by Westland Helicopters and was the British version of the American Sikorsky Choctaw. It first flew in June 1958 and was produced until 1970. The HAS 1 version entered service with the Royal Navy in 1961 and was soon fitted with better avionics and equipment, becoming the HAS 3 which then entered service in 1967. The Royal Air Force started operating the Wessex in 1962 for Search and Rescue duties. While the Wessex didn’t have as great a payload as the Bristol Belvedere, it proved to be less maintenance-intense and was to later replace the Belvedere in the Troop Transport Role. Over 50 Wessex helicopters participated in the Falklands War, transporting regular and special forces troops between the British Fleet and the Falkland Islands. Sadly a number of Wessex helicopters were lost during the conflict, including a number that were aboard Atlantic Conveyor when it sank. The last Wessex helicopters in service with the British Military were based in Cyprus and were retired in 2003.

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