Aérospatiale Alouette II
 
 
An Aérospatiale SA-318 BW Alouette II
Type Light helicopter
Manufacturer Sud Aviation/Aérospatiale
Maiden flight 1955-03-12
Introduced 1957-05-02
Primary users France
Germany
Indian Air Force
Produced 1956-1975
Number built 829
Variants Aérospatiale Alouette III

The Alouette II is a light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale of France. The Alouette II was the first production helicopter to use a gas turbine instead of a conventional heavier piston engine.

It 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 put to use as a casualty evacuation (with two external stretcher panniers), crop-spraying and flying crane (with a 500kg external sling load).

Operational history
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 2 years a helicopter had to be in production otherwise all activities around rotary wings would cease. SNCASE came up with 7 turbo-engine helicopters designs: X.310A - X.310G. Earlier Joseph Szydlowski, the founder of Turboméca had successfully managed to develop the Artouste, a 260 hp 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.

The SE-3130, first flew on March 12 1955 and within 3 months a pre-series Alouette II flown by Jean Boulet set a new helicopter altitude record of 8,209 m on June 6 then on June 13 pushed the record even further to 10,984 m.

The Alouette II made the news on July 3 1956 when it became the first helicopter to perform a mountain-rescue by evacuating a mountaineer who had suffered from cardiac arrest at over 4,000 m and again on January 3 1957 the Alouette II was called upon to rescue the crew of a crashed Sikorsky S-58 which was searching for missing mountaineers Jean Vincendon and François Henry on Mont Blanc.

The Alouette II gained its domestic certificate of airworthiness on May 2 1957.

Production started initially to fulfil orders from the French armed forces and civilian customers, but by the time production ended in 1975 with over 1500 Alouette II's had been built and in use in over 80 countries including 47 armed forces. It is also licence built in Brazil, Sweden, India and in the United States.

In 1963 the Alouette II became the first commercially operated turbine helicopter in the USA.

Indian Hindustan Aeronautics Limited license-built SA.315B Lama called Cheetahs regularly deploy at 7500 meters (24,600 ft.) to forward observation outposts and air bases of the Indian Air Force in the Himalaya mountain ranges.

Specifications (Alouette II)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 4 passengers
Length: 9.70 m (31 ft 10 in)
Rotor diameter: 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Disc area: 81.7 m² (879.4 ft²)
Empty weight: 895 kg (1,975 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 1,600 kg (3,525 lb)
Powerplant: 1× Turboméca Artouste IIC6 turboshaft, 410 kW (550 hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 185 km/h (99.9 knots, 115 mph)
Range: 565 km (305 nm, 350 mi)
Service ceiling: 2,250 m (7,380 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.2 m/s (825 ft/min)