Aérospatiale Alouette III

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This article is about the french light helicopter, Alouette III. For other uses, see Alouette.

SA 319 Alouette III

An Alouette III of the 22S wing of the French Navy on the landing pad of Lanvéoc base
Type	Light utility helicopter
Manufacturer	Sud Aviation Aérospatiale
Maiden flight	1959-02-28
Retired	2004
Status	Active duty in some nations
Primary users	French Armed Forces Indian Air Force
Produced	1961-1985
Number built	2,000+
Developed from	Aérospatiale Alouette II
Variants	Aérospatiale Gazelle

The Aérospatiale Alouette III (Skylark) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by Sud Aviation and later manufactured by Aérospatiale of France. The Alouette III is the successor to the Alouette II, being larger and having more seating. Originally powered by a Turbomeca Artouste IIIB turboshaft engine, the Alouette III is recognised for its mountain rescue capabilities and adaptability.

1 Development
2 Operational History
3 Variants
4 Operators
5 Specifications (SA-316B)
6 References
7 External links
8 Related content

[edit] Development

Close-up of the turbine of an Alouette III

The first version of the Alouette III, the SE-3160 prototype, first flew on 28 February 1959. Production of the SA-316A (SE-3160) began in 1961 and remained in production until 1968, when it was replaced by the SA-316B.

[edit] Operational History

The Alouette III entered in service with the French Armed forces in 1960.

Served in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 when 2 planes of the PAF were lost in the war,[1] and the Portuguese Colonial War, during 60's and 70's with large utilization in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea, where it proved its qualities.

French Navy Alouette III on the frigate La Motte-Picquet

The SA-316B and the SA-319B both remained in series production up to the early 1980s, when the main production line in France was closed down. However, HAL of India continues to licence-build Alouette IIIs as the Chetak. Versions of the Alouette III were also either licence-built or assembled by IAR in Romania (as the IAR 316), F+W Emmen in Switzerland and by Fokker and Lichtwerk in the Netherlands.

Production numbers are as follows:

France: 1453
India: 300+ (Still in production.)
Romania: 230
Switzerland: 60

June 2004, the Alouette III was retired from the French Air Force after 32 years of successful service. It will be replaced by the Eurocopter EC 155 Twin Squirrel. In the same year, the Swiss Armed Forces announced the retirement of the Alouette III, from the front line by 2006, and entirely by 2010. Venezuelan Air forces retired the Alouette III in the late 90's.

[edit] Variants

The SA-316A was the first production version.
The SA-316B is powered by a 425 kW (570 shp) Turboméca Artouste IIIB turboshaft engine, with strengthened main and tail rotor for greater performance. The SA-316B was built under licence in India as the HAL Chetak, and again under licence in Romania as the IAR 316.
The SA-319B was a direct development of the SA-316B, it was powered with a 649 kW (870 shp) Turboméca Astazou XIV turboshaft engine, but it was derated to 447 kW (660 hp).
The SA-316C was powered by a Turbomeca Artouste IIID turboshaft engine. The SA-316C was only built in small numbers.
G-Car and K-Car : Helicopter gunship versions for the Rhodesian Air Force. The G-Car was armed with two side-mounted Browning machine guns. The K-Car was armed with one 20mm Mauser cannon, fitted inside the cabin, firing from the port side of the helicopter.
IAR-317 Skyfox: A Romanian helicopter gunship project based on the IAR 316. Only three prototypes were ever built.^{[verification needed]}
Atlas XH-1 Alpha: A Two-seat attack helicopter project. It was used in the development of the Denel AH-2 Rooivalk‎.