Alouette II
Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale · France · first flew 1955 · helicopter
The Alouette II was the world's first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine, first flown on 12 March 1955. The little French five-seater proved the turboshaft revolution and set altitude records in the Alps.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × turboshaft, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 9.7 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Open lattice tail boom — the framework structure is completely exposed
- Bubble canopy with the engine and gearbox uncovered behind the cabin
- Skid landing gear with small ground-handling wheels
Nothing else looks like it: a glazed bubble cabin, an entirely open framework tail boom, and the engine sitting naked behind the rotor mast. The skids usually carry small wheels for ground handling.
Specifications
- The Alouette II has a length of 9.7 m (32 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10.2 m (33 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 185 km/h (115 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Sud-Est designed the SE 3130 around Turbomeca's compact Artouste turbine after piston prototypes disappointed, and it entered service in 1957. More than 1,300 were built by Sud Aviation and successor Aérospatiale for some 47 countries, pioneering mountain rescue and agricultural flying.
Variants
The Artouste-powered SE 313B was the main model, joined by the SA 318C Alouette II Astazou with a more efficient engine. The high-altitude SA 315B Lama combined its airframe with Alouette III dynamics, and the Alouette III itself was the enlarged successor.
Where you'll see it
French forces used it for observation, training and light attack — it fired some of the first anti-tank missiles from a helicopter — and the German, Belgian and Swiss forces flew it for decades. In Britain it appeared only in small numbers, including Army Air Corps trials aircraft, and survivors are now vintage fly-in favourites.
Related aircraft
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