Aérospatiale SA 330
| Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma | |
|---|---|
 A “Puma” of the BGS in 1985 in front of Hanstein Castle |
|
| Type: | Medium-weight transport helicopter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 15, 1965 |
| Commissioning: |
1968 |
| Production time: |
1968 to 1987 |
| Number of pieces: |
697 |
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a medium-sized transport helicopter . It was created in cooperation between the French manufacturer Aérospatiale and the British manufacturer Westland Aircraft .
history
The SA 330 Puma was originally developed to meet the requirements of the French armed forces for a new medium-sized, all-weather helicopter. He should be able to fly day and night in different climate zones.
In 1967 the British Royal Air Force also decided on the SA 330 and named it Puma HC.Mk.1. Due to this purchase decision , the SA 330 became part of a production cooperation between Aérospatiale and Westland Helicopters.
The first flight of the first prototype took place on April 15, 1965. Then six pre-series models were made before the first series model took off on its maiden flight in September 1968. On April 25, 1978, the SA 330J was the first helicopter outside the Soviet Union to be classified as all-weather capable. He was allowed to start even if there was a risk of icing.
Production ran until 1987. A total of 697 machines were sold, including to the Federal Border Police . Production was continued with the improved Aérospatiale AS 332 "Super Puma", which is also used by the Federal Border Police and its successor organization, the Federal Police .
Variants of the SA 330 were manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa ( South Africa ), ICA (Romania) and IPTN ( Indonesia ), some of them under license.
Versions
- SA 330A: Prototype, originally called "Alouette IV".
- SA 330B: Original version for the French aviation légère de l'armée de Terre , surviving examples later modernized to version SA 330Ba, corresponds to the H series.
- SA 330C: First series version.
- SA 330E / Puma HC.1: Version built by Westland Helicopters for the RAF in use in the 18th, 33rd and 230th squadrons, including between 1980 and 1997 at RAF Germany .
- SA 330E / Puma HC.2: Modernization between 2011 and 2014 for 340 million euros with an extended service life of the structure until the planned end of service in 2022, modern systems, reinforcements on the cell and new Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turbines. The first flight took place on June 29, 2011 in Marignane, France., 24 copies converted from HC.1
- SA 330F: First civil export version with Turbomeca Turmo IIIC4 shaft turbines.
- SA 330G: upgraded civil version with Turbomeca Turmo IVC shaft turbines and a main rotor made of plastic.
- SA 330H: upgraded machines of the French army and export machines with Turbomeca Turmo IVC shaft turbines and a main rotor made of plastic.
- SA 330L: upgraded version for use under so-called “hot and high” conditions.
- SA 330J: identical to SA 330L, but for the civil market.
- SA 330Z: Prototype with a Fenestron rear rotor.
- SA 330 “Orchidee”: Modified SA 330 to take along the “Orchidee” surveillance radar for the French army.
- AS 332
- Oryx : upgraded SA 330 "Puma" for the armed forces of South Africa
- IAR-330L: Licensed machines built by Întreprinderea Aeronautică Română in Romania. Designated by Aerospatiale as SA 330L. Three of these were later converted to naval attack helicopters
- IPTN NAS 330J: Machines assembled by the Indonesian company IPTN under the designation NAS 330J. Designated by Aerospatiale as SA 330J. Only eleven machines were built.
- Puma HC.Mk.1: SA 330 E built by Westland Helicopters for the RAF.
- Puma HC.MK.2: Modernized version, developed from converted Mk.1, the order was awarded to Eurocopter in 2008 , the conversion itself took place in Romania.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Tail rotor | Main tail rotor arrangement |
| landing gear | retractable three-point landing gear (in marine versions, inflatable floats can be mounted) |
| length | 18.15 m |
| Rotor diameter | 15.0 m |
| height | 5.14 m |
| Empty weight | 3,770 kg |
| Max. Takeoff weight | 7,400 kg |
| Passengers | 16 |
| Engine | 2 × Turbomeca Turmo IVC shaft turbines with 1,175 kW each |
| Top speed | 258 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 4,800 m |
| Rate of climb | 552 m / min |
| Armament | 7.62 mm machine guns and 20 mm machine guns |
commitment
The civil and military "Puma", "Super Puma" and "Cougar" versions were used in the following countries: Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, France, Gabon, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia , Iran, Japan , Jordan, Cameroon, Kenya, Kuwait , Lebanon , Malawi, Morocco, Mexico, Nepal , the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman , Pakistan, Portugal, Romania , Saudi Arabia , Senegambia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Sudan, South Africa , Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Zaire.
In Germany the "Puma" and "Super Puma" are used by the Federal Police (formerly BGS). The Royal Air Force Germany operational 1980-1993 also "Pumas" in Germany, stationed at the airport Gütersloh .
Station locations in Germany
-
Federal Police (formerly Federal Border Police )
- Airfield Bonn / Hangelar , December 1973 to August 2008, SA330F / G / J Puma - from 2005 replaced by AS332S1 Super Puma ( border patrol group , from 2005 federal police aviation group ), Bad Bramstedt-Fuhlendorf , Ahrensfelde-Blumberg , Fuldatal , and Oberschleißheim used.
-
Aviation Legere de l'armée de Terre
- Friedrichshafen Airport , September 1973 to 1992, SA330B Puma ( Groupe d'aviation légère du 2ème corps d'armée , from 1978 2ème Régiment d'hélicoptères de combat )
-
Royal Air Force Germany
- RAF Gütersloh , October 1980 to March 1993, SA330E Puma HC.1 ( 18th and 230th Squadron )
- RAF Laarbruch , March 1993 to March 1997, SA330E Puma HC.1 ( 18th Squadron )
See also
Trivia
In the films Rambo II - The Order and Rambo III , a converted “Puma” was used to replace the Mil-Mi-24 attack helicopter used by the Soviet troops . In the 1980s it was almost impossible to get one of the top combat helicopters in the Soviet Union, so a "Super Puma" was equipped with stub wings and armament and used instead of a real Mil.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Jürgen Schmidt: We wear the eagle of the federal government on the rock - Chronicle of the Federal Border Police 1951-1971. Fiedler-Verlag, Coburg 1995, ISBN 3-923434-17-0 , p. 61.
- ↑ FlugRevue September 2011, p. 17, Puma is being modernized
- ↑ Romania receives modernized IAR-330 Puma Naval helicopters, Janes, December 21, 2015 ( Memento of the original from January 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
