The Fighting Scout

[@casinodelonge]

"The minigun can fire up to 6000 rounds per minute.." - good luck trying to get 6000 rounds issued! "You can have 50 rounds and pick up your brass".

[@mh53j]

First time I ever saw a minigun on a Scout. I'm assuming it was rarely armed with one. 6000 rounds of ammo would just about fill the cargo area!

[@matthewwaddington2777]

@@mh53j Not to mention the casualties among 'door gunners' in the Vietnam War were horrendous. After you'd used up the ammunition in one burst, the enemy would 'pop their heads up' and target the gunner.

[@duartesimoes508]

In the African counterinsurgency wars the Portuguese Air Force installed MG-151 20mm cannons in several Alouette III helicopters, firing from the port side . The stress to the airframe was such that Sud Aviation advised against. But it sure was a devastating weapon. Their call sign was "Bad Wolf", and they provided cover for insertions and extractions...

[@kingofaesthetics9407]

@@duartesimoes508 It worked so well that the Rhodesians and South Africans eventually started doing the same thing. The Rhodesians would refer to theirs as the 'K-Car' (Kill/Command Car) since it would also carry the commanding officer of the Fireforce operation, in which these modified Alouettes were mostly used.

[@mothmagic1]

That sounds about right.

[@hammyh1165]

Loved the scout and Wasp , used to see the Wasp quite often living next to a Naval Base. I never knew they were sometimes armed with the minigun though , learn something everyday.

[@southwest3671]

I didn’t know either. Then we learn something 45 years after seeing one flying last.

[@mothmagic1]

Sometimes carried the SS11 wire guided anti tank missile but not often. More often a fast taxi for high ranking officers.

[@stephenle-surf9893]

See we can do it! Our version of the 06ha loach. Remember these in the film who dares wins?

[@mh53j]

OH-6A; but yes, very interesting comparison.

[@jamescotter3756]

I remember the venerable scout fondly and I still miss them

[@the_bunse]

Small light and agile with a great service record, something we seem to have forgotten. Does not get the recognition it deserves.

[@brokensun100]

I had one flight in a Scout, in Malaysia, in 1967 while I was in 1 RNZIR based at Terendak.

[@muhamadsallehabdulhamed3848]

The scout at that time was base at Paroi air station in Seremban until in 1970 if I not mistaken.I love to see them take off n landings.

[@rjds1800]

Really enjoyed seeing these old films.

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it

[@paulcousins1168]

Spent many hour in a Scout in BAOR, NI and Canada they were soldier proof and have very fond memories.

[@bigbang7897]

As a kid living in rural N Ireland I got my love for helicopters my favourite was then and still is the Bell 47 and the Wessex they did operate the Wasp for a shot time but it was phased out all were then replaced with the Lynx the Puma and the Chinook, I don't miss the war but I do miss the helicopters.

[@montydon6777]

Great footage thanks for posting.

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Thanks for watching, Glad you enjoyed it

[@mothmagic1]

I loved the Scout, you could nearly always hear them coming long before they arrived/ A case of you knew it was coming just a matter of when.

[@Frank-rh7vh]

At first, a big LIKE for you, to set this ultra rare document in here! Me, born at 14.08.1960 - This is one of my first models from AIRFIX in 1/72 scale, buy and built in the early 70th... love this heli until today ! Thank You for those awesome memories !!! kind regards, Frank

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Thanks for sharing. You're very welcome glad you enjoyed the video and it bought back some good memoies for you. All the best, Marcus.

[@Frank-rh7vh]

@@BritishHelicoptersHistory Priceless works, you do for me !!! I`m only german, but God save the Queen !!! DANKE

[@rigilchrist]

I met a services Scout pilot once at an HCGB event in the UK. He told me the engines were notoriously unreliable. He had suffered three engine failures himself!

[@krugtech]

Mine takes a beating but it has all the latest mods

[@Achilles22]

I flew the Scout for 4 years , including the Falklands, and never had a failure.

[@zundappuk]

Wow, pre DPM and with Centurion tanks (dubbed with the engine from the Chieftan:-) )

[@mickeyjuiced]

My compliments on an excellent channel, thanks for uploading one of the best early docos I've seen on an understated machine which really caught my eye back in the early 1980's British SAS flick 'Who Dares Wins' Despite several initial tragic engine failures, approximately 150 Scouts served the AAC well from 1963 to 1994. Armed with the SS.11 anti-tank missiles seen in this doco, they were used to great effect during the Falklands campaign. On 14 June 1982, an Argentine 105 mm pack howitzer battery dug in to the West of Stanley Racecourse, was firing at the Scots Guards as they approached Mount Tumbledown. Three scouts, positioned 100 metres apart, fired a total of 10 missiles (nine hit, one failed) from a ridge overlooking the Argentine positions 3km away and succeeded in hitting the howitzers, nearby bunkers, an ammunition dump and the command post. The Scout also saw operational service in Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, the Aden Emergency, Oman, Rhodesia and Northern Ireland. The Scout's Rolls-Royce Nimbus 1,050 shp (780 kW) engine , derated to 685 shp (511 kW), gave it more than twice the grunt & flexibility of its US contemporaries the Hughes OH-6A Cayuse & Bell OH-58A Kiowa. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Scout

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Hi Mike thank you for your comments and I'm glad you like the channel and enjoyed the video. Many thanks!

[@chanchito4401]

I recently unlocked this vehicle in War Thunder, it's a lot of fun!

[@frederickherring4550]

I was in the R.A.N. On HMAS Moresby, We had one. used to do flight deck watch in a Fearnaught suit. In Australian 40Deg weather not fun

[@tutmosesthe3rd]

Any pilot from 8th Flight Army Air Corps have an entry in their log books, about a flight they made from RAF Credenhill Hereford, to a school in Leominster, either summer 81 or 82 ? We were TA Guys from 5 LI taking part in a school fete. Be really grateful if anyone has anything on this event. Cheers.

[@krugtech]

I have one of those turbines in a minivan. It's an awesome turbine.

[@MrDastardly]

The SS.11, a manual command to line of sight wire guided anti-tank missile. One of the best French missiles!! 👏👏

[@deanregan7011]

Still front line in 1982 in the Falklands, and I was still flying them in 1986, engine failures and all. The Lynx was a major leap forward in capability.

[@Graham658]

Out of interest Dean what unit were you still flying Scouts in 1986 there couldn't have been many left?

[@jorgepaez5088]

Excellent helicopter designed by Ciastula too. Do you have films about AAC Middle Wallop helicopter training?

[@davidcorbett62]

Spent many hours in them when I was in the AAC. Great aircraft. Notice when the troops went in there where no seats or seat belts so not for the those scared of heights lol

[@davidcorbett62]

@MichaelKingsfordGray If you suffer from a fear of heights you don’t have an option in the army especially on operations. I have saved people from falling out and one guy was so terrified he froze the whole flight.

[@mh53j]

There's a pretty famous picture of Gurkhas being transported in the Falklands with one on each side standing on the skids, hanging on the door frames... with big smiles on their faces!

[@Achilles22]

They used an Eagle harness! Basically a large Bungee!!😂

[@beachboy0505]

Very useful aircraft

[@ginoalvarado3409]

Greetings for Chile 🇨🇱🇬🇧

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Greatings, thanks for watching

[@flybobbie1449]

Fellow instructor was AAC, he said the difference from them and RAF, he said RAF would turn up when base camp were erected. AAC would have to put up their own tents.

[@johngreen-sk4yk]

I always noticed the AAC would turn up on exercise in all weather , while the RAF wouldn't turn up because they had seen a cloud! God bless teeney weeny airways always there for the troops!👍

[@flybobbie1449]

@@johngreen-sk4yk Soldier serving in N.I. years ago said nether RAF or AAC would pick them up weather too bad. But the Navy guys turned up in bandit country and plucked them out.

[@johngreen-sk4yk]

@@flybobbie1449 never had a lift by the navy but can believe that considering their normal working conditions !🙂

[@mickhall88]

(apologies in advance for this old joke) When a serviceman finds a scorpion in his tent... In the Marines, he kills and eats the scorpion. In the Army, he tells the Sergeant Major about the scorpion, who then bollocks the lad for having a non regulation insect in his accommodation. In the Air Force, he calls the front desk and asks why the hell there's a tent in his hotel room.

[@stephensmith4480]

@@flybobbie1449 The Heli base at Bessbrook Barracks in Armagh was the busiest Heli port in Europe during The Troubles.

[@stevec1178]

brilliant aircraft

[@richardthornton3775]

Why have we not invested more in a modern version of the Scout/Wasp/Lynx/Wildcat? So many of our problems would be over as far as helos were concerned. It is Such a shame if the designers in the UK who have this knowledge and also the foresight back in the scouts day, aren’t encouraged more to come up with brilliant British designs for a modern, affordable, advanced & world class, all rounder that is adaptable, modularised in order for it to grow and to shrink depending-on what task was at hand. It goes hand in hand with autonomous air rotor craft and is a growing industry, and the autonomous ones are getting cheaper and cheaper. I don’t think that’s an unfair ask of our brilliant designers?

[@lawrencemartin1113]

Was that a young Prince Charles at 5:33!? Looks rather like it to me. Brilliant film and takes me back to my childhood and that distinctive sound. Many happy hours 'flying' the Airfix example around my garden and landing in the 'confined areas' by the bonfire! I had no idea until now that they ever carried a minigun! I wonder if there is a similar film on the Wasp? (Although you say it ended front line service around 1981, of course it, and the Wasp saw extensive service in the Falklands War in 1983, but that must have been its final Huzzah!).

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Hi Lawrence thank you for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Please follow this link to a film about the Wasp kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKSoe4qtn5Wgjqc Many thanks and keep safe.

[@stevenbevis9290]

Wasp withdrawn from naval service 1988

[@brittlanders351]

Great video! from USA

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Thank you very much and glad you enjoyed it

[@mh53j]

Have always wondered if the exposed engine and especially the fittings/wiring were more susceptible to harsh weather conditions (sand and ice mostly) than "covered" engine compartments. I would think freezing drizzle/ice in places like the Falklands would have played havoc with these systems. Would be genuinely interested in hearing anyone with first-hand experience with this.

[@johnholdcroft8404]

Worked on them for many years and lack of ECU cowlings was never a problem!

[@mh53j]

@@johnholdcroft8404 thanks for your reply. That's something that's always "bothered" me, that exposed engine position.

[@garryclark4653]

I was groundcrew on these, engine exposure was never a problem, really hardy little aircraft.

[@mh53j]

@@garryclark4653 thank you as well. I realize engine/transmission cowlings are thin and full of vent screens and really don't offer much protection; I just always thought being totally exposed like on the Scout/Wasp would cause additional problems.

[@alanwhitfield1907]

I served eight years with the RN 829 Wasp squadron, ashore in the Middle East and afloat on Tribal class ships, and I can confirm that the exposed engine, transmission, electrics were never a problem. I spent time with the Army Air Corps at the Habilayn base in South Yemen in 1966 with the Scout, and the major problem was sand erosion on the leading edge of the blades. Westland came up with a scheme to apply a neoprene coating to the blade leading edge, which was fine if you could apply it under controlled workshop conditions, but doing it at sea on a ship or in the hills in Yemen was a different story. The Scout and Wasp are generally known as Westland helicopters, and they were built by Westland, but the initial design was by SAUNDERS ROE (SARO), based on their Skeeter aircraft, which was designated as an AOP (Air observation post). SARO was absorbed by Fairey Aviation, which in turn was taken over by Westland, who developed and finalised the design, initially as the Scout for the Army, then as the Wasp (initially known as the Sea Scout) for the Navy. In the early days, the Nimbus engine did suffer many failures, but once these were identified and rectified, it was a great engine, also used on the SRN4 Hovercraft to drive the propellers. It was able to run on regular aviation kerosene, ships diesel and for a limited time on gasoline. Both types were unusual in having a rotor speed of 400 RPM that gave them a very distinct sound, that could be identified from a long way away. Most helicopters have a rotor speed around 200 RPM. The next nearest I know of is the Gazelle at 380 RPM. Both Scout and Wasp are very popular with private owner/ operators due to their agility and when flown without any military payload of weapons or flotation gear, the power surplus is the equivalent of having twin turbos and a supercharger. The Scout, Wasp and SARO Skeeter can all be seen on display at the Helicopter Museum at Weston Super Mare. If you didn’t guess, I am a volunteer and Tour guide there, and a self confessed helicopter anorak.

[@duartesimoes508]

I still have mine! From Airfix... I understand that at least one Scout was sadly shot down by a Pucara during the Falklands war. Am I right?

[@mh53j]

You are correct. The pilot, Lt Nunn was killed, the gunner/observer seriously wounded. The helicopter was going out to Goose Green to pick up casualties, including LtCol Jones. The Pucara crashed into Blue Mountains afterwards in bad weather; the aircraft and the pilots remains not discovered until late in '86.

[@duartesimoes508]

@@mh53j all this I did not know. (except that LtCol Jones had been KIA) Thank you Sir!

[@mh53j]

@@duartesimoes508 quite welcome

[@seafirefr.4751]

No, I believe it was shot down by a Type 42 Destroyer during a friendly fire incident, unless I’m thinking of the Gazelle. The crew of the Type 42 mistaken it for a low flying Argentine C/130, I don’t know how you mistake a small scout helicopter for a flying behemoth, but you know…

[@MrJohnnyDuke]

@@seafirefr.4751 ... it was a Gazelle ... Chris Griffin and Simon Cockton.

[@martinsaunders2942]

It would have been interesting to hear about the design and development of the SR Wasp/ Scout

[@denniswelch3832]

First trip in a copter brilliant

[@tommylee5955]

l miss british forces in hong kong

[@大日本帝国神風特攻队]

@MichaelKingsfordGray Now is unlucky to have CCP soldiers threatening Hongkongers !

[@LEEROY_UK]

Anyone know how many are left flying?

[@sapper82]

Olive Green 1960 Pattern Combats I see! And THAT Rifle! What year was this made?

[@BritishHelicoptersHistory]

Hi Sapper82 thanks for watching, I believe this video was made around 1973.

[@sapper82]

@@BritishHelicoptersHistory I was with 61 HQ Sqn in the old West Kent barracks in Maidstone then and that was about the time my '60 Pattern Combats were exchanged for the new '68 Pattern DPMs.

[@paulclarke4776]

Was this the precursor to the LYNX???

[@jorgepaez5088]

Could you upload more vintage films, please?

[@mickhall88]

It saw service in the Falklands conflict so must have been retired post '82.

[@terik3312]

That was the wasp and it was being phased out by the lynx at the time

[@robthorne2274]

The scout was used in the land offence, wasp was navy version, they were withdrawn from service with the TA about 1995 ish

[@mickhall88]

@@terik3312 There were army Scouts in the Falklands as well as Navy wasps. One was downed by Pucaras, killing the pilot. There's plenty of footage of them being used for casevac too. As far as I know the Army didn't have any Lynx in the Falklands (the Navy did though).

[@terik3312]

@@mickhall88 my bad I thought they'd been phased out and replaced with Gazel by that point

[@mickhall88]

@@terik3312 No worries. Gazelles were in the Falklands too, as they'd replaced the old Sioux in the 70s. Scout was replaced by Lynx as a utility helo

[@narayankulkarni5378]

I don't understand why this have helicopter opened engine

[@Marlon044]

Gazelle?

[@matthewwaddington2777]

5:08 That background music 'Oh what a gay time we did have upon Salisbury Plain that day.' 'And I do mean gay as in 'festive', 'and not as in postural penetrative activities!'

[@simpl3simon806]

It seems like a good helicopter but I will never understand why the RAF did not have the Huey helicopter as well. The Huey could air lift 12 soldiers not just 4 and could do all the same jobs demanded of the Westland

[@martinsaunders2942]

Why they never bought the Blackhawk is a bit of a mystery as well… it could have certainly been built under licence by Westlands.

[@victorvictor8587]

You can Fart all you want in a Helicopter .

[@Thecrazyvaclav]

2:50-3:00 a RSM doing actual work and not shouting shocker!

[@deanregan7011]

An ASM, no shouting required. In charge of the engineering side of things.

[@bulldawg6259]

40 years old ?? Wtf

[@stephenle-surf9893]

I know mate, it hurts 🤒👍😆🤯hang on in there. See you on the other side of this covid shit.

[@MrDertien]

In comparison, the Russian Mi-28 Havoc is a beautiful machine. This looks like a BMW Isetta and an Alouette 3 made a baby.

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First

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[@Mechanicthing]

One of the very few helicopters that have become a true gay icon.

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