Eurocopter

SNCASE - SUD-AVIATION - AEROSPATIALE

 

 

Commandant Henry TESSIER congratulating Test Pilot Jean BOULET after he successfully achieved his altitude record with Alouette II SE-3130 No. 02 at Le Buc and Montesson on June 6, 1955. That day, the French helicopter has reached an altitude of 8209 meters in class E-1/E-1C, breaking so the previous record that was held then by the Sikorsky S-59, which had flown at 7467 meters on October 6, 1954.

Photo out of Jean-Marie POTELLE's collection.

 

 

 

F-WHHF registered Alouette II MSN 02 lifting a Citroën 2CV vehicle. Photo out of Jean-Marie POTELLE's collection.

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An unidentified Alouette II wearing the French roundel is pictured in mid-air. Note the early tail rotor guard model. Sud-Est Aviation Photo # 2764 .

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Alouettes actually allowed the French helicopter industry to have a rapid growth. Sud-Aviation's helicopter range can be seen on those pictures dating back to the sixties : SE3210 Super Frelon s/n 01 F-ZWWE, SE3164 Alouette III Canon, SE3160 Alouette III F-BLGX, SE3180 Alouette II Astazou F-BHOF, a SE3130 Alouette II and a SO1221 Djinn. Those original SUD-AVIATION pictures come from Test Pilot Gérard HENRY's collection.

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F-BIEA Alouette II s/n 1055 with Edouard LUCAS at the controls was pictured in Angra Reis Bay, which is located between Rio de Janeiro and Sao-Paulo, during a demonstration tour in Brazil that took place in 1963. Test Pilot Gérard HENRY who was there too comments (16-01-2006): "We had landed on a small island in order to take photographs of sea birds in their nests. (...) I was flying the Alouette III to take the pictures. We accomplished this shuttle between Rio and Sao-Paulo several times and we usually took a direct line flying over the bay that put us about 10 kilometers away from the coast and from the dense forest. We had noticed a lot of floating tree trunks in the bay. Beeing a little bit curious, I once flew lower above the water to see those obastacles to navigation and I realized that they actually were huge hammer-sharks strolling under the Sun ! We flew then along the coast line since that day. It is better to have a crash in dense forest than finishing in a shark stomach !"

Pictures are from Gérard HENRY's collection.

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Temporarily F-WKQB registered Alouette II MSN 1889 of Indonesian Air Force was used for a picture to show a side mounted machine-gun. Test Pilot Gérard HENRY comments this picture: "This 7.62 mm side mounted machine-gun installation was made for publicity reasons. We hoped to sell some in this version. It never flew. The crew members on board the helicopter were the armament technicians who had completed the installation. They were wearing flight suits borrowed by the flight crew."

Sud-Aviation Photo # 21547, Gerard HENRY's collection.

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Test Pilot Gérard HENRY pictured at the controls of F-BHOF registered Alouette II SE3180 Astazou (MSN 1012) on October 23, 1964. Photo from Gérard HENRY's collection.

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Test flights at sea with French Navy's s/n 1013 Alouette III. Test Pilot Gérard HENRY tells (16-01-2006) : "It was the first Alouette III that was fitted with floats and allocated to the French Navy. Pictures were taken on the deck of helicopter-carrier frigate named "La Galissonnière". It was the first deck landing of this type of helicopter equipped with floats, harpoon and a blade folding system. Both last systems were designed at the special request of the Navy. They were intended to allow safe landings of helicopters on ship decks with list angle up to 20 degrees and to allow sheltering of helicopters with their blades folded in ship deck hangars in order to protect them from the elements. Harpoon definition tests were completed without list that day due to a very calm sea. Demonstration practices of blade folding and hangar entry were also completed".

From left to right on the first picture : Test Pilot Gérard HENRY, Flying Engineer Henri PETIT and R&D Engineer Jacques PROT.

Ground Crew Maurice GIRARD can be seen between Henri PETIT and Jacques PROT on second picture.

A deck officer (?) can be seen with Gérard HENRY on the third picture.

Pictures are from Gérard HENRY's collection.

Further information about La Galissonnière on NetMarine.net.

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Gérard HENRY comments this picture (09-01-2008): "I can't swear it, but I believe that it was during the earlier tests of a retrieving system of the Alouette intended for rough sea landings on Marine's helicopter-carriers. It was a cable that was winded under the helicopter and tied down by sailors onto the decks at the wanted landing point. A powerful electric motor winched the cable and the helicopter was towed onto the deck. In case of emergency, it was always possible to cut the cable by means of pyrotechnic cutters. That was wild imaginings of "chair people", which was soon abandoned. But, on the other hand, we have developed a harpoon system, that was installed under the helicopter and which performed successfully."

Photo Aerospatiale photo (# 70382), Gérard HENRY's collection.

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Installation of ballasted SS-12 missile dummies on an Alouette III at Marignane. According to Test Pilot Gérard HENRY (06-01-2008), this such equipped Alouette would have never flown like this. The purpose was to take advertising pictures for the publishing of a commercial leaflet intended for customers in the Gulf area. A.L.A.T. will later use Alouette IIIs armed with SS-12 missiles.

Sud-Aaviation Photo (# 1048).

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Aérospatiale's whole helicopter range of that time. In flight: a SA341G Gazelle, a SA318C Alouette II, a SA315B Lama, a SA316B Alouette II, a SA330 Puma, and a SA360 Dauphin. On the ground: a SA321 Super Frelon, two SA316B Alouette IIIs, and another SA330 Puma.

Aérospatiale photo, Daniel LIRON's collection.

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Sling test performed by a Lama with an obsolete Gazelle. Gérard HENRY gives us comments about this picture (08-01-2008): "The purpose of the test was to define the length of the sling in various flight situations. During the next days, while I was performing the same kind of flight with Simca 1000 car, the hook opened unexpectedly and the car felt for 700 meters, fortunately ending its fall in a field! Despite my protestations, Jean Boulet has accused me to have triggered the release button because the hook was considered as reliable. Jean Boulet performed a similar demonstration one week later at the airshow of Cannes with the same car type and the same Lama. While he was performing a turn above the harbour, the hook opened and the car felt into the water of the harbour. The car was a brand new model belonging to the local Simca's representative! I didn't miss the occasion to tell him that he probably had triggered the release button! The design of the hook was subsequently revised ..."

Aerospatiale Photo # 87467, Gérard HENRY's collection.

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Gérard HENRY at the controls of an Alouette III during a demonstration tour in Germany 1974. It is worth noting the particular pillars on the sliding door windows.

Sud-Aviation Photo# 10409, Gérard HENRY's collection.

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Pilot Claude AUBÉ performing a rolling take-off with an Alouette III in Mexico.

Jean-Marie POTELLE's collection.

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Armament installed on a Lama.

Sud-Aviation # 72188 and 72189 photos, Gérard HENRY's collection.

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