IRL Starstreaks are great against helicopters and jets, they are just implemented very poorly at the moment.
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What’s equally interesting is the fact that this is a naval Lynx (HAS.2 or HAS.3 specifically).
Do we have any further information about this?
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I am currently looking into some helicopters which haven’t had suggestions written about them, and I had gotten to the Wessex. However, I ran into some issues when trying to find images, as there seems to be a some differences between the images.
There are two Wessex variants which I am researching currently, the Wessex Commando Mk.1 and the Wessex HU.5. The main difference in regards to the airframes is in the engines, with the Commando Mk.1 having a single Napier Gazelle engine, and the HU.5 using a twin Rolls-Royce Gnome layout, which gives it a longer nose.
My main question is whether it would be possible to help me confirm the identity of some photos, as I believe that some of the images have been mixed up when being posted online. I am of the opinion that the images in the first spoiler are the Wessex Commando Mk.1, however, I would like to get a some confirmations about this before continuing my research.
Here are the images I am referring to:
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Here is the Westland Wessex Commando Mk.1:
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In comparison, here is the Westland Wessex HU.5:
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First two are HU.5s, third one is a HAS.1 possibly in the Commando role, but I suspect it’s XM330 that was the RN and later Royal Aircraft Establishment Wessex HAS.1 used for various tests including qualifying the AS.11 and AS.12 on Wessex Mk.1.
Exhausts are how you tell the Napier engined ones apart from the later Gnome ones. Napier engine had two small exhausts on each side where the RR engines was one big exhaust on each side. The intake screen on the nose was a later addition (1966/1967-ish) because they sucked up debris from the ground.
Can see the RR Gnome behind an early un-modified nose here:
Late HU.5s would also have swapped the original .303 Browning machine gun installation for a 7.62mm GPMG (probably from the 1970s onward)
HU.5s took over the commando role within 3 years so you don’t see many images of armed Mk.1s. But they did have the same weapon pylons as commonly seen on the HU.5
Can see the empty Browning pod still fitted in the above
And empty AS.11 launchers on the outboard position in the above
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Thanks for the info, and thanks for the images too! It was a real pain trying to find proper images of the Wessex Commando Mk.1s, especially with the loading bars for weapons.
Here is a list of potential helicopters which can be added to the UK Tree. I am going to split the list between UK procured and exports.
UK procured:
Westland Wessex Commando Mk.1
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Westland Wessex HU.5
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Westland Commando
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Westland Lynx XW839
Westland Lynx XX907
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Westland Lynx HAS.2/HAS.3/HMA.8
Westland Lynx AH.5
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Westland Lynx AH.7
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Westland Lynx 3
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Westland Lynx ZB500
AgustaWestland SuperLynx 300 ZT800
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AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat HMA.2
Agusta A109 Hirundo
BAE Hind-D Upgrade
Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian
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Westland-Sikorsky WS-70 Blackhawk
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Mil Mi-17-1V
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Aerospatiale Gazelle XW276
Export:
AgustaWestland SuperLynx 300 Mk.140
AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat HMA.2 (ROK)
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Westland Sea King Mk.42B
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Westland Commando Mk.3
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Edited my list to include the Westland Blackhawk
In terms of British-made stuff there’s also AW101 Merlins that can technically carry rockets and gunpods:
Now a caveat that this is a demo for potential export and no Merlins in British or Italian service (a modified Italian Merlin Mk.410/UH-101A is used for the purpose of the demonstration - in 2009 British Merlins were stretched supporting operations abroad) can reasonably be armed like this because of where the emergency flotation system that is vital for Merlin in both British and Italian service, is located on the wheel sponsons.
In service they also lack both the wiring and software necessary to support installation and firing of such weapons. Also there are other considerations like the current location of defensive aids subsystems (flare dispensers, DIRCM, RWR etc.) that might be damaged by rocket exhausts and muzzle blast, further making it costly to modify them in such a way that would allow it in reality.
But none the less posting it as an example of another helicopter that could be armed for Britain and Italy.
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Do we know what launchers these are?
Newark museum has them labeled as AS.11 launchers. But they don’t seem to match any known of that kind:
Look alot more like HOTs or Milans to me? Can Milans even be fired heli mounted?
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Would be the world’s smallest HOT tube.
Same Gazelle is pictured with a TOW tube here:
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Yeah they don’t really look like AS.11 or AS.12 launchers.
I do think it is a launcher or saddle for mounting missiles though rather than missile tubes itself. Diameter seems too small for ATGMs
To my understanding, the intention was to equip Gazelle with Hawkswing. But the Hawkswing project died (wasn’t as good as TOW and HOT) so the Gazelle ended up unarmed.
The Avimo/Ferranti AF532 sights fitted on the roof of AAC Gazelles since the 1980s is a modified version of the AF530 sight that was developed for Hawkswing, tested on Scout and seen mounted on the WG-13 prototypes before TOW was finally selected for Lynx along with the Hughes M65 sight. Not the same APX 334 “Athos” sight on French Gazelles
Tow! That’s what I was trying to think of but all I could think of was Milan
Interesting experimental Lynx AH.5/7 variant with a nose-mounted sight gimbal
From: Legendary Moments in Military Aviation: A&AEE Boscombe Down photo's from the 1990's.
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Apparently it was being looked at in the mid-to-late after Hawkswing was cancelled
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA035768.pdf
I think the picture in question is probably from several years earlier though.
Scout could also be fitted with 2 Inch RP rockets or a Door minigun
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This video seems to show that very Gazelle mounting those same little missiles. Maybe from the video people can get a better indication of what they are?
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Excellent find.
I’m still none the wiser on exactly what they are though. They’re certainly closer in scale to MILAN than HOT, TOW and what little I’ve seen of Hawkswing.
However, can determine from IWM listing for the video that the footage was produced in 1971:
AFAIK 1971 is far too early for air-launch trials for HOT which had quite a protracted development.
TOW was in service in the ground but only just having air-launched demonstration firings for the US military in '71. With operational evaluation starting in Vietnam with XM26 launchers in 1972
First Hawkswing firings were in 1972 using a Scout
MILAN was completing trials and would be in service in France next year
No clue unfortunately, however, those are the same loading bars as the French Gazelles, so it can theoretically get any weapon the early French ones can