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Westland Dragonfly (WS-51)

1950 COLD WAR MALAYAN EMERGENCY

History

The British Westland Aircraft Company produced the Sikorsky "S-51" helicopter product for some time in its history and licensed the WS-51 "Dragonfly". This light-utility-oriented platform operated in search and rescue (SAR) and communications roles during its lifetime, with 133 such platforms manufactured by Westland between 1949 and 1954.

The first flight of the prototype took place on October 5, 1948, and it entered service in 1950.

Rather than developing the helicopter system from scratch, Westland managed to contract Sikorsky for the production of the S-51 in December 1946. The aircraft retains all the form and function of the original, including a more functional exterior, three-blade main rotor and three-blade tail rotor.

The wheeled tricycle landing gear is fixed in place, and the front of the fuselage incorporates a set of window panes to provide excellent cockpit visibility. A helicopter is essentially a simple product that can be assigned various roles on the battlefield.

In addition to the WS-51 prototype - the only complete example - there are several main variants: HR. The Mk 1 are standard SAR platforms, 13 of which were built for the Royal Navy (RN), powered by 1 Alvis 50 540hp radial piston engine. HC.

The Mk1 was used for casualty evacuation in the Royal Air Force (RAF) - only two were procured. Human Resources Department. The Mk 3 is used by the RN for air search and search and rescue missions and features all-metal rotor blades. About seventy-one were built. HC.

The Mk 4 is another casualty evacuation helicopter developed for the RAF, with the same all-metal rotor blades, bringing the total production to 12. Human Resources Department. The Mk 5 is another air search/SAR platform used by the RN. These are built from existing HR. Mk1 and HR. MK3 model.

Over time, two civilian transport forms have also emerged, the WS-51 Mk 1A and the WS-51 Mk 1B. The former was powered by a 520 hp Alvis Leonides 521/1 series radial engine, while the latter was powered by a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior B4 radial engine.

Yields are 36 and 15, respectively.

Once released, the series worked well and was eventually adopted by the armies of Egypt, Hong Kong, Italy, Thailand and Yugoslavia. Helicopter observed the operation of the commercial/civil market through Belgium and the UK.

The Westland Tornado helicopter, another locally produced licensed product (S-55/H-19 "Chickasaw") from Sikorcy, has been directly and successfully in service with the Royal Navy.