Westland Scout AH1

The Westland Scout is a light helicopter that was co-developed with the nasalised Westland Wasp from the Saunders-Roe P.531 and Skeeter helicopters. Both the Scout and Wasp are not only visually similar but share a number of key components. First flying in 1960 the Wasp saw limited export success and was operated by the South African Air Force and the Australian Navy in addition the Bahrain and Ugandan Police. In British Army service the Scout was used as a transport and attack helicopter until the delivery of the Westland Lynx. The Scout saw active service in the Falkland Islands where it was used in the attack role to great effect against Argentinian artillery positions. The Scout was also used for casualty evacuation and one such helicopter was shot down by an Argentinian Pucara - the only Argentine air to air victory of the entire conflict.

The Historic Army Aircraft Flight was originally formed in 1980 in order to preserve the flying history of the Army Air Corps by maintaining one airworthy example of each type operated by the Army Air Corps since 1957. In 2013 as part of cuts in defence spending the MoD withdrew all funding the for the flight. The flights aircraft are now all listed on the civil aircraft register and the flight is operated as a charity governed by a registered company of the same name. The flight now exists as a living museum for veterans commemorative and memorial purposes, as an aid to recruiting and to supporting wider Army heritage in public.

The Historic Army Aircraft Flight will be providing their Westland Scout AH1 for static display at this year's Air Tattoo.

Photo Credit: HAAF

On display

Role
Static