The Westland Scout is a light helicopter developed by Westland Helicopters. Developed from the Saro P.531, it served as a land-based general purpose military helicopter, sharing a common ancestor and numerous components with the naval-orientated Westland Wasp helicopter. The type's primary operator was the Army Air Corps of the British Army, which operated it in several conflict zones including Northern Ireland and the Falklands War.
Development Both the Scout and the Wasp were developed from the Saunders-Roe P.531, itself a development of the Saunders-Roe Skeeter. With the acquisition of Saunders Roe, Westland took over the P.531 project, which became the prototype for the Scout (originally called Sprite) and the Wasp. The initial UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) development contract was for a five to six seat general purpose helicopter.
The first version that met both RN and Army requirement, the P.531-2, flew on 9 August 1959 with a Bristol Siddeley Nimbus engine. A de Havilland Gnome engine-equipped version was also trialled, starting 3 May 1960. The production Scout AH.1 used a Rolls-Royce Nimbus engine (RR having acquired Bristol Siddeley by then). The engine was rated at , but the torque was limited to . Extensive theoretical design and practical testing was carried out to provide an undercarriage that was tolerant to ground resonance. The first Army Scout AH Mk 1 flew on 4 August 1960, a powered-controls version followed in March 1961 and deliveries started in early 1963. Following trials ranging from Canada to Nairobi, the airframe was released for operations between −26 °C and ISA+30 °C.
Design Behind the two front seats was a three-seat bench, although this could be replaced with a four-seat bench when fitted with modified rear doors. It was used for general light work, including observation, liaison, training and search & rescue. When fitted as a light attack helicopter, it carried either two, skid-mounted, forward-firing machine gun (L8A1 General Purpose Machine Gun) packs or a single pintle-mounted machine gun in the rear cabin. The pintle mount was available in both port and starboard mountings. The gun-packs, which were both aimed at a pre-set convergence angle, carried 200 rounds of ammunition and were mounted on a tubular spar that was fixed between the front and rear undercarriage legs. In the anti-tank role, it could carry four guided missiles (the Nord SS.11). The sighting unit was the AF.120, the result of a joint venture between Avimo and Ferranti, had x2.5 and x10 magnification. The APX Bezu sight unit was also evaluated but rejected, although it was adopted for use on the Westland Wasp.
Additional testing and trials were carried out with the Swingfire anti-tank guided missile. Initial firings were carried out in early 1972, to test the "Hawkswing" system for the Westland Lynx, the associated AF.530 gyro-stabilized sight was subsequently trialled in 1974. The Hawkswing system was cancelled in 1975 due to its manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) compared to the semi-automatic (SACLOS) system used by the MILAN missile. In the casualty evacuation role (CASEVAC), the Scout could carry two stretchers internally or two on externally mounted pods, the co-pilot's seat could also be reversed to allow an attendant to face the casualties.
Although the general design of the aircraft was robust, with an airframe fatigue life of 7,200 hours, the cockpit ergonomics were less than perfect. An example of this was the cabin heater switch being mounted next to the fuel cock; this led to the loss of at least four aircraft when the pilot inadvertently closed the fuel cock instead of switching off the cabin heater, causing the engine to shut down. The autorotational qualities of the Scout have also been described by some pilots as 'startling'. In service trials and testing were carried out by the AAC's Development Wing at Middle Wallop, Hampshire. A wide variety of weapons and equipment were evaluated, although many were never adopted. Amongst these were the 7.62mm General Electric Minigun and the two-inch rocket pod. The rocket pods were mounted either side of the central fuselage section on the multi-spar weapon booms and both smooth tube and fin-stabilised rockets were tested, although the accuracy was described as "indifferent". Studies were also carried out for a pintle-mounted M2 Browning machine gun in place of the standard 7.62 GPMG, and the French AME.621 20mm cannon. Another was the installation of a Bendix R.100 lightweight weather and ground-mapping radar, which had a range of eight and 40 miles. This was mounted behind the fibreglass nose access panel along with a small viewing screen in the cockpit. The radar antenna was moved further forward later in the development to improve downward scanning.
During the development of the WG.13 Westland Lynx, two Scouts were used as testbeds and fitted with full-scale, composite construction semi-rigid Lynx main rotor heads as the Scout had the nearest size rotor. The first test flight was achieved 31 August 1970. The first prototype MBB BO 105 tested the airframe with Scout main rotor head and blades but it was destroyed due to ground resonance during its initial trials.
About 150 Scouts were built through 1968, primarily at the Fairey Aviation Division factory at Hayes.
Operational history The Scout formed the backbone of the Army Air Corps throughout the 1960s and well into the 1970s; the first Scout flew on 29 August 1960 and an initial order for 66 aircraft followed a month after its first flight. Engine problems delayed the introduction of the Scout until 1963, and as an interim measure the Army Air Corps received a small number of Alouette II helicopters. Although the aircraft's entry into service was delayed, the Scout still had a number of teething troubles when it was introduced. One of the earliest losses was XR596, which crashed into the jungle near Kluang airfield in southern Malaya on 16 July 1964, following a fuel pump failure. The two crew died in the incident, Captain Jacot de Boinod and Warrant Officer William John Hutchings . Engine failures were responsible for the loss of at least 11 military and civilian registered aircraft. The engine life of the Nimbus during the early part of its service was notoriously low, with four to six flying hours being the norm. A competition was allegedly held, with a prize to the first unit that could achieve an engine life of 25 flying hours. Operational experience and development work steadily improved the reliability of the Nimbus and by 1964 engine life had improved to two or three engine changes per 1,000 flying hours.
The Scout AH Mk 1 was operated by the Army Air Corps on general light work, including observation and liaison. Like the Wasp, the Scout could be fitted out with different role equipment including flotation gear and a Lucas air-driven hoist which had a lift capacity of . In the light attack role, it was capable of carrying two forward-firing 7.62mm L7 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) fixed to the undercarriage skid booms and one fixed or flexible machine gun on the port or starboard side of rear cabin (it is possible to carry two pintle-mounted GPMGs in the cabin, although this would, unsurprisingly, be somewhat cramped). These GPMG combinations were sometimes used in unison to great effect.
The forward firing GPMGs were electrically operated, being fired by the pilot and aimed using a rudimentary system of drawing a small cross on the windscreen with a chinagraph pencil. In sandy conditions, these weapons could jam, which necessitated one of the free crew leaning out of the cockpit door and 'booting' the offending weapon in the hope of clearing it. This procedure was not strictly in accordance with the flight reference cards. The L7A1 pintle-mounted weapon was operated by a door gunner.
In the anti-tank role, four SS.11 ATGWs were carried two each side; these could be carried in conjunction with the pintle-mounted GPMG. During the Falklands campaign, the SS.11 achieved some success, being used to attack Argentine positions on 14 June 1982. For nighttime reconnaissance, the Scout could carry four parachute flares mounted on special carriers. In addition, two smaller parachute flares could be carried to allow emergency landings at night. These were fitted on the starboard rear fuselage on a special attachment point. About 150 Scout helicopters were acquired for the Army Air Corps, which operated them until 1994.
The way British military aviation has been established has meant that the Royal Marines have never actually "owned" their own aircraft. The larger Westland Whirlwind, Westland Wessex and Westland Sea Kings have been Fleet Air Arm helicopters and, like the Westland Lynx AH Mk 7, the Scout AH Mk 1s operated by 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron (3 CBAS) were British Army helicopters on loan. 3 CBAS flew the Scout from 1971 through to 1982, when it was replaced by the Westland Lynx, and the squadron was eventually renumbered as 847 Naval Air Squadron.847 NAS Affiliations
The Scout saw operational service in Borneo during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, the Aden Emergency, Oman (Jebel Akhdar War), Rhodesia, Northern Ireland and then in the South Atlantic.
The Territorial Army (AAC) formed 666 Squadron with a number of Scouts in the late 1980s.
Borneo Mystery still surrounds a Scout that went missing 20 September 1965. XR599 set off for a night flight from Lundu to Kuching, the mission being to transport a local communist suspect to the Sarawak capital for interrogation. At 23:00 hrs, the aircraft was posted as missing and a search and rescue mission was mounted. Although the aircraft and the remains of the pilot, the escort rifleman and the suspect were never found, a fisherman later dredged up small parts of the aircraft wreckage. On 23 September, the Singapore newspaper The Straits Times, printed a story speculating that the Scout had been hijacked by the prisoner who had somehow managed to capture his escort's weapon and then ordered the pilot to either fly out to sea or over the jungle towards the Indonesian border until they ran out of fuel. Tragedy struck a second time on 25 September when an RAF Westland Whirlwind HAR.10 of 225 Sqn, searching over jungle for XR599, crashed killing the five crew.
Aden and Radfan In Aden and Radfan, a number of Scouts were shot down, although these usually resulted in a forced landing and the aircraft were recovered, repaired and returned to service. An example of this occurred on 26 May 1964 when the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, Lt Col Anthony Farrar-Hockley, used a Scout to reconnoitre the Wadi Dhubsan area, Radfan. The aircraft was hit by enemy fire and the pilot made an emergency landing behind enemy lines. The aircraft was subsequently recovered; Farrar-Hockley rejoined the unit and was awarded the Bar to his Distinguished Service Order for his leadership. Three Scouts were written off during the campaign, the first, XR634, was through pilot error whilst landing on 16 May 1966. Although initially repairable, this aircraft was subsequently damaged beyond economic repair when it was dropped by the RAF Westland Wessex sent to recover it. The second aircraft, XT635, flew into a hillside during a night patrol at Jebal on 5 May 1967, killing the two crew and the two passengers. The third aircraft, XT641, was destroyed on the ground in an incident where the pilot and his Foreign Office intelligence officer passenger were captured and shot dead by the National Liberation Front after landing in a wadi bed whilst on a flight from Ataq to Mayfa’ah on 3 September 1967. The NLF then set fire to and destroyed the aircraft. On 1 August 1968, Westland Sioux XT123 crashed at Sharjah, Oman, and was subsequently written off when it was dropped by the Westland Scout that was attempting the recovery.