- Yes
- No
General Info
The story of the Agusta A.106 began during the cold war, Italy had slowly been bolstering its helicopter fleet with several helicopters made by Agusta. Agusta had some experience and decided to experiment by designing a new naval helicopter which would hopefully be suited for the Italian Navy needs. Thus the Agusta A.106 would be designed. This Italian experimental helicopter specifically made for filling out an Italian naval specification for a single-seat helicopter, with its main role being used for anti-submarine warfare on the Impavido-class destroyers of the Italian Navy. It wasn’t the first experimental helicopter made by Agusta, its predecessors included the experimental piston-engined Agusta A.103, Agusta A.104 and also the Agusta A.105. These previous designs didn’t go anywhere but did serve well in gaining valueable know-how on creating helicopters. The first flight for the A.106 would be on the 10th on November 1965. They platform could had a lot of neat features, it was possible to install auxiliary fuel tanks, medevac litters and inflatable emergency floats. There was also an underslung hook option for light lifting duty. In terms of speed, the Agusta A.106 helicopter would use the Turbomeca-Agusta TAA 230 turboshaft engine which allowed the helicopter to reach speeds of up to 176km an hour. Paired with its relatively small size, it would prove to be a very nimble and light aircraft, only weighing 1400kg with full weight and 590kg in empty weight. It had the max range of up to 740km, which was adequate although not the best. Eventually the prototype would be completed and would fly for the first time in 1965, and would begin a line of testing and evaluation trials on the Italian ships. At the time there was somewhat of an interest in acquiring these platforms in bulk, so much so that there was plans to create a pre-production batch of 5 helicopters, but due to unspecified reasons everything that was planned for the Italian Navy got cancelled. Interestingly enough during their evaluation the helicopter would recieve the nickname ‘Schizzetto’ meaning Sprayer. In terms of armament and offensive abilities, the Agusta A.106 would be fitted with Mk44 torpedoes, it being able to carry up to 2 under the helicopter. Other naval armament included up to 10 depth charges, also likely installed under the helicopter. To assist in its duty it also recieved water floatation devices which would allow the helicopter to land at sea, this meant that if needed it could also be used for search and rescue in emergency situations. Other offensive armament is said to also have included x2 rocket launchers, which could hold up to 10 rockets but sadly photos have not been found. Same goes for the sources which mention it could mount up to x2 7.62mm machine guns. In terms of surivability, it wasnt the best. When compared to other helicopters of the era, it had no sort of meaningful armor and no counter measures, so if it was to be engaged it would easily be taken out. To allow the helicopter to be used in operations with poor visibility, the helicopter would be assisted by comprehensive instrumentation and electronics, for example the Ferranti company developed an electronic three-axis stability augmentation system for the Agusta A.106, providing a stable firing platform and damping out external disturbances. Although testing for the most part showed some good qualities, and the fact it would’ve been relatively cheap to produce at the time, only 2 prototypes would ever be completed. Both prototypes still survive till this day and are exposed in different museums.
Armaments+Equipment
x2 Mk44 Torpedoes
x2 80/82mm Rocket pods
x2 7.62 machine guns
Depth charges
Floatation pads
Specifications
Why it should be in game
It should be in game because I can see this being a nice low-tier helicopter that players would enjoy using. It is not overpowered by any means and making a 3D model would thankfully be easy since both prototypes still exist. If Gaijin introduce helicopters into naval, this platform would be perfect to add, it can still do ok in ground battles if given the proper armament.
Sources
Spoiler
Agusta Museum
Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft 1969-70
Agusta product brochure
A-Z #889 World Aircraft Information Page
Agusta A106 helicopter
Agusta A-106 light shipboard anti-submarine helicopter prototype...... | Secret Projects Forum
Agusta A.106 - Wikipedia
Agusta A-106 helicopter - development history, photos, technical data
http://all-aero.com/index.php/35-helicopters/copters/494-agusta-a106
The helicopter Agusta A.106. Specifications. A photo.
“Marieliport Augusta” La Prima Base Elicotteri AS - 1956
Agusta A-106 - Italy - Navy | Aviation Photo #5376307 | Airliners.net
Kurator App
https://www.aviastore.it/?p=3721
SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM: L'Agusta A106 era un piccolo elicottero ASW monoposto progettato nel 1965
Photos
