Судавиацияның әскери-азаматтық тікұшақтары

Utility helicopter family by Sud Aviation

The Aérospatiale Alouette II (alwɛt, "lark"; company designations SE 313 and SA 318) is a French light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale. It was the first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine engine instead of the heavier conventional piston powerplant. On 12 March 1955, the prototype SE 3130 performed its maiden flight. The Alouette II was a widely used type and popular with operators, with over 1,300 rotorcraft eventually being constructed between 1956 and 1975. The type was predominantly used for military purposes in observation, photography, air sea rescue, liaison and training, but it has also carried anti tank missiles and homing torpedoes. As a civilian helicopter, the Alouette II has been used for casualty evacuation (with two external stretcher panniers), crop spraying and as a flying crane, with a external underslung load. A high altitude derivative, the SA 315B Lama, was developed and entered operational service in July 1971. The Alouette II also was further developed into the larger and more powerful Alouette III. In 1975, production of the type was terminated, having been effectively succeeded by these newer rotorcraft. Despite it being long out of production, considerable numbers of Alouette II were still in service at the start of the 21st century.

Although Sud Est's previous helicopter design, the SE 3120 Alouette, broke helicopter speed and distance records in July 1953, it was too complex an aircraft to market successfully. With the records falling, the French government started showing interest, but with their financial backing, the state gave an ultimatum that within two years a helicopter had to be in production, otherwise all rotary wing activities would cease. SNCASE came up with seven helicopter designs powered by turboshaft engines: X.310A – X.310G. Earlier Joseph Szydlowski, the founder of Turbomeca, had successfully managed to develop the Artouste, a single shaft turbine engine derived from his Orédon turbine. The X.310G design was chosen and, together with an improved version of the Artouste engine, was fast tracked towards production as the SE 3130 Alouette II. within three months, on 6 June, a pre production Alouette II, flown by Jean Boulet, established a new helicopter altitude record of According to the manufacturer, such early demonstrations of the Alouette II had served to promote the performance and advantages of turbine helicopters over their piston engined counterparts. In 1964, a new version of the Alouette II was introduced, the SA 3180 Alouette II Astazou (originally called "Alouette Astazou"), using the Turbomeca Astazou IIA engine in place of the Artouste II. In 1975, production of the Alouette II ended after more than 1,300 had been built; in 1969, a new high altitude variant, the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama had been developed to replace it in this niche capacity.

The Aérospatiale Alouette II is a French light helicopter, incorporating many innovations of its time. In addition to anti tank missiles, the French Army chose to arm their Alouette IIs with machine guns, while the French Navy outfitted theirs with aerial torpedoes to conduct anti submarine warfare (ASW) duties. It required a high level of regular lubrication, the main rotorhead alone featuring 20 grease nipples that had to be re lubricated after every five flight hours, while the drive shaft for the tail rotor was similarly demanding. Due to its high susceptibility to dust ingestion, some operators would have to remove the Alouette's rectangular sand filters after every landing in order to clean them. Shortly thereafter, large scale orders for the type were received from several foreign nations, including the United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany, and Austria. Almost immediately upon entering service, French forces commenced active combat operations using their fledgling Alouette II fleet; the type being placed into heavy use in the Algerian War, during which it made valuable contributions to France's activities in the theatre. Early operations were flown with an emphasis on its use by the Army and British South Africa Police, including paramilitary and aerial reconnaissance operations. Throughout the 1960s, the type progressively spread into additional roles, including aerial supply, casualty evacuation, communications relays, and troop transports. Rhodesian aerial operations would typically involve flying under relatively high and hot conditions, which reduced the efficiency of aircraft in general; however, the Alouette II proved to be both hardy and relatively resistant to battle damage. In order to extend the inadequate range of the type, fuel caches were strategically deployed across the country to be used for refuelling purposes. Over time, the Rhodesian Security Forces developed an innovative deployment tactic of rapidly encircling and enveloping enemies, known as the Fireforce, for which the Alouette II served as a core component. By 1975, at which point production of the type was terminated, in excess of 1,300 Alouette IIs had been constructed. The rotorcraft was also in use in over 80 countries, including 47 separate armed forces. The Alouette II was produced and sold under licence by Brazil, Sweden, India and in the United States. During July 2018, a single Alouette II was involved in the helicopter prison escape of the French gangster Rédoine Faïd. The rotorcraft, which had been hijacked by gang members who held the pilot hostage at gunpoint, flew into the courtyard of Réau prison, before flying to Roissy in the north eastern suburbs of Paris; the event allegedly occurred in under ten minutes from take off to escape.