The Westland Whirlwind helicopter was a British-built version of the U.S. Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw. It primarily served with the Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm) in anti-submarine and search-and rescue roles.

The first prototype British Whirlwind HAR 1 flew in August 1953, with the 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-40 Wasp, and it entered service shortly afterwards. They served in non-combat roles, including search and rescue and communications functions. The HAR 3 had a larger 700 hp Wright Cyclone R-1300 -3 engine. It was not until 1955 that the HAR 5 flew for the first time with a British power plant, the Alvis Leonides Major.

The HAS7 become the first British helicopter designed for anti-submarine work in the front-line when it enetered service in 1956. It was equipped with radar and dipping ASDIC for submarine detection and designed to be equipped with a torpedo, but could not carry both simultaneously. In this version the engine was a 750 hp (560 kW) Alvis Leonides Major 755/1. This helicopter had a hovering ceiling at 9,400 ft and a range of 334 miles at 86 mph.

Later in their lives, some HAR9s were converted to use the Rolls-Royce Gnome turbine engine.

From its start with the Navy, the Whirlwind came to be used by the British Army and RAF. More than 400 Whirlwinds were built, of which nearly 100 were exported to the following countries: Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Ghana, Jordan, Iran, Kuwait, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Yugoslavia.

Specifications (Whirlwind HAS7)

General Characteristics

• Crew: two pilots
• Length: 41 ft 9 in (12.71 m)
• Main rotor diameter: 53 ft 0 in (16.15 m)
• Height: ft in ( m)
• Main rotor area: 2,205 ft² (205 m²)
• Empty: lb ( kg)
• Loaded: lb ( kg)
• Maximum takeoff: 7,800 lb (3,538 kg)
• Powerplant: 1x Alvis Leonidas Major 9-cylinder radial, 750 hp (559 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 104 mph (167 km/h)
• Range: 334 miles (534 km)
• Service ceiling: ft ( m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
• Main rotor loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
• Power/Mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)

Armament

• 1x torpedo (carried in place of dipping sonar)

External links:

• Navy News
• Helicopter museum
• RAF museum

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