Aerospatiale Alouette II

History

The Alouette II family of helicopters is touted as a light, multi-role, rotary-wing platform with a variety of roles in military and civilian service. Under its military guise, the Skylark was used in reconnaissance and liaison roles and was further developed to take advantage of its limited offensive capabilities.

The helicopter's inherent simplicity of construction and operation makes it a starting point for helicopter pilot training, simple passenger transport, agricultural spraying or air ambulance services.

The prototype first flew on March 12, 1955, and in its initial form was powered by a Salmson 9-series piston engine. Later, development turned to turbine power plants. The Sud-Est SE 3130 Alouette II began production and was delivered to the French Army in 1957, while the helicopter set various altitude records en route and proved to be a capable high-altitude vehicle.

The Alouette II was also the first mass-produced helicopter to use a gasoline-powered turbine engine on a large scale, and the first to successfully use an anti-tank missile. The initial production form was followed by a more powerful Astazu-powered version, which first flew on 31 January 1961.

The original design, development and production were taken over by the French group Sud-Est (SE), which eventually merged with Sud Ouest in 1957 to become Sud-Aviation (SA), resulting in the well-known name change from SE Some Alouettes II series models to "SA". In 1970, Sud Aviation merged with Nord Aviation to form Aerospatiale, which eventually merged into EADS in 2000. Production of the Alouette II series eventually spanned from 1956 to 1975, by which time more than 1,500 examples had been built and subsequently delivered to various customers around the world.

The type is still widely used today under the label Aerospatiale.

The design of the Alouette II is rather traditional, despite its flimsy appearance. All in all, the Alouette design is a solid and simple end product that can take on different roles as needed. The cockpit is located at the very forward end of the short fuselage and is covered with a circular windshield for excellent visibility. Basic seats are for a pilot and a maximum of three to four passengers.

Access is via two automotive-style side hinged doors. The fuselage structure houses the major internal working components of the helicopter, including the engine, transmission and fuel storage. The tail is nothing more than a network of struts that power the tail rotor (through the shaft) and define two smaller horizontal planes. A small frame wire protects the tail rotor from ground contact.

The helicopter is powered by a Turbomeca Artouste IIC6 series turboshaft engine rated at 530 hp but downgraded to 460 hp. The engine sits high and rear of the design and exhausts through a cylindrical cover. The powerplant has a top speed of 115 mph, a cruising speed of 106 mph and a range of 350 miles. The operating limit is listed as 7,500 feet, although this is often exceeded numerous times. The climb rate is 820 feet per second.

Rotor diameter is 33.5 feet. The main rotor has three blades and the tail rotor has two. The aircraft's landing gear is a conventional paired skid assembly attached to the fuselage base at two points and supported at the rear by a pair of wheels.

While typically unarmed in many roles, the Alouette II platform has been seen equipped with wire-guided anti-tank missile launchers as well as torpedoes. This extends the usefulness of the Alouette II series in a military sense, although their ordnance carrying capabilities are inherently limited by the lightweight construction of helicopters.

However, the Alouette II's overall small stature and rather unassuming profile aided its battlefield survivability, making it a smaller target for ground-based air defense threats.

Since its introduction, the Alouette II has only existed in a few notable variants, including the original SE 3130 Alouette II, which was renamed the "SA 313B Alouette II" in 1967. The SA 315B "Lama" was specially designed for the Indian Army, although it was completed using Alouette Type III components, including the engine (Artouste IIIB) and main rotor.

The first flight of this type took place on March 17, 1969, and approximately 407 prototypes were produced by 1989. The HAL "Lancer" appeared in 1988 with an anti-tank missile and heavy machine gun designed for counterinsurgency operations. The SE 3180 Alouette II was renamed "SA 318C Alouette II", while the "Astazou" brand was equipped with a Turbomeca Astazou IIA series shaft turbine with 360 SHP and Alouette III series gearbox.

The Astazou engine was actually downgraded from 530 hp to encourage increased speed and maximum takeoff weight.

All in all, the Alouette II family of helicopters is in service worldwide. Notable operators include Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, South Korea, South Africa, South Vietnam, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Some operators have replaced aging helicopter families as needed, while others still swear by the quality and capability of this type without needing an upgrade.

Made locally by HAL, the Indian Alouette II is called "Cheetah" and is based on the SA 315B Lamas design. Likewise, local manufacturing in the United States, Brazil and Sweden (known as the "HKP 2 Alouette II") is licensed for production.

The Alouette II was eventually replaced at Sud Aviation with the arrival of the larger Alouette III series in 1960. More than 2,000 of this type were eventually built, with production spanning from 1961 to 1985.

Aerospatiale Alouette II Specification

BASICS

MANUFACTURING

ROLES

DIMENSIONS

WEIGHTS

POWER

PERFORMANCE

ARMAMENT

VARIANTS