LMM is up.
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so that’s Wildcat that’s now a viable addition.
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This is the closest thing I have found to the Battlefield Lynx prototype, G-LYNX with a wheeled undercarriage. Battlefield Lynx was essentially the undercarriage of the Lynx 3 mated to the body of an AH.7. It kept the Gems used by the AH.1/7 and it seems it also eventually received the composite BERP rotorblades, perhaps suggesting an interim phase retaining the metal ones (which may allow us to find the performance of the AH.1GT and AH.5). The Battlefield Lynx then eventually became the AH.9 in UK service, though it never carried weapons bigger than machine guns by that point, likely due to the introduction of the Apache. Some photos are labelled as “Lynx 800” (a Lynx with the T800 engines); this is not the case, as explained further down in this post
Here are some photos from ABPic (Aviation photographs of Registration: G-LYNX : ABPic)
Compare the photos I posted compared to those of ZB500, it is clear that G-LYNX retains the Gems.
https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/model/Westland%20WG-13%20Lynx%20800
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First photo is just a handler trolley set for towing the Lynx around with skids, rather than installed wheeled undercarriage
Westland produced concept images for Battlefield Lynx with armament and what looks like the Gem 60 engine fit from Lynx 3, but if you look closely they are airbrushed (a bygone art from before the digital age and Photoshop) rather than straight up photographs
Apparently from a 1987 brochure a year before ZB500/G-LYNX was mocked up with the undercarriage at Farnborough
Opposite angle of G-LYNX at Farnborough 1988, but the undercarriage isn’t so prominent apart from the rear strut
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I just realised that now, thanks for pointing that out
It makes sense, as all other advertising for the Battlefield Lynx either show a standard Lynx or in this case a Lynx 3. So it’s either trying to represent what it would look like or simply giving something to advertise because the prototype was not yet ready.
My question is this: was the undercarriage a real on or a mockup then? As ZB500 was later recnfigured back to skids when testing the T800 later on in its career.
The Helicopter Museum where G-LYNX/ZB500 resides today, describes them a mockup undercarriage for the Farnborough static display
They don’t appear to be completely identical to the production AH.9 landing gear in terms of how they’re fixed to the fuselage, and it’s not clear from the photos how functional they were in terms of having hydraulic buffers and such that the AH.9 ones have. But Farnborough '88 seems to be their only public appearance
XZ170 was the first actual aircraft converted for AH.9 trials, flying from Nov. 1989
It’s got all the AH.7/AH.9 features in this case with the reversed tail rotor, main rotor head “bonk”, BERP/CMRB and shortened stab with the Gurney flap.
Makes sense, and it also explains why it was so hard to try find the AH.9 prototype; I was looking for the wrong aircraft. It’s possible then that G-LYNX was used to market the Battlefield Lynx, which would eventually become the AH.9.
Then that begs the question: do we have photos of Battlefield Lynx and/or AH.9 with weapons?
AH.9 didn’t carry weapons in service but (what I thought was the prototype) did show weapons being mounted.
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That picture looks like it has As.12 and AS.11 at the same time, that would be neat
It does
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Hell yeah! Love to see it! Penguins and Sea Eagles next pls!
Ohohoho, that would make SOOO many people mad, as it is a AA missile so you would have a 20 of them with no additional cost
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Hopefully there’s time to add the M260 stabilised sight from the Wasp that normally comes with AS.12, to the roof of the Wessex
previously posted images
Very happy to see a new British heli getting added though!
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you should probably ping smin with that and ask.
Hello
We dont currently have this planned to my knowledge. Any and all photos would be appreciated so we can pass them on.
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