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LIGHT UTILITY HELICOPTER
HISTORY
Developed from Sud-Est's three-seater SE-3120 of 1951, the Alouette II (then designated the SE-3130) was totally redesigned to incorporate the more powerful Artouste I turboshaft in place of the original helicopters, Salmson 9NH radial piston engine. Flown for the first time on March 12th 1953, the helicopter received its French certification just over a year later and was immediately put into production. The helicopter's designation changed to SE-313B following SNCASE's merger with Sud Aviation, which was in turn absorbed by Aérospatiale in 1970. Re-engining in 1961 saw the introduction of the definitive SA-318C with its Astazou IIA powerplant, this variant being built in considerable numbers, raising overall production to 1, 303. The final variant to be built was the 'hot and high' optimised SA-315B Lama, built specifically for the Indian Army and combining the Alouette II airframe with the larger powerplant and dynamic components of the Alouette III. Aérospatiale built 407 up to 1989 whilst Indian manufacturer HAL continues low-rate license production today. The Indian helicopters are known as Cheetahs. Over 50 countries have used the Alouette II in military service, with the German Army being the biggest employer with 226 SA-315Bs and 54 SA-318Cs. Many still remain in frontline service across the globe today.
Thrity-two machines (SE-313 & SE-318) were used by the Aéronautique Navale by the 10S (1955-1956), 22S, 58S (1956-1960), 20S (1956-1991) and 23S (1957-1997) squadrons. On December 31th 1997, the last Alouette II of the French Navy (serial number 1163) was scraped. They were mainly used for transport, communications and rescue. Being partly replaced in the 1970s by the Alouette III and in the 1990s the AS-365F Dauphin, its missions were focused around supporting French Navy test ranges in the Mediterranean sea. They had worn the colors of the French Naval Aviation for forty years, and spent more than 8,000 hours in the sky !!!