Bristol Belvedere HC.1 - Explored!
The Bristol Belvedere is a British twin-engine (Napier Gazelle), tandem-rotor military helicopter. It was designed for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and casualty evacuation. The Belvedere was Britain's only tandem-rotor helicopter to enter production, and one of the few not built by Piasecki or Boeing; 26 were built. The extended forward undercarriage is a consequence of an earlier cancelled naval design which required room for fitting torpedoes under the airframe; this requirement was not corrected when the RAF variant was ordered.
With its large reserve of power, the Belvedere was able to carry up to 2.7 tonnes of freight. Bulky loads could be underslung. As a troop transport it could carry 18 fully-armed troops, or, in the casevac role, 12 stretcher cases.
It was operated by the RAF from 1961 to 1969, participating in a variety of operations involving withdrawal from Empire. Belvederes based in Aden (now in southern Yemen) operated in 1963 against rebels in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and in support of Army Radfan operations in southern Arabia.
Those helicopters were transferred to Singapore by Navy commando carrier in 1965 and provided support to Army operations in Brunei during the Confrontation with Indonesia. In this campaign they received the nickname 'Flying Longhouse' after the distinctive native huts in the area.
The requirement for them in Singapore ended, resulting in a commando carrier returning the helicopters to the UK in 1969, pretty much straight into retirement.
Bristol Belvedere HC.1 - Explored!
The Bristol Belvedere is a British twin-engine (Napier Gazelle), tandem-rotor military helicopter. It was designed for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and casualty evacuation. The Belvedere was Britain's only tandem-rotor helicopter to enter production, and one of the few not built by Piasecki or Boeing; 26 were built. The extended forward undercarriage is a consequence of an earlier cancelled naval design which required room for fitting torpedoes under the airframe; this requirement was not corrected when the RAF variant was ordered.
With its large reserve of power, the Belvedere was able to carry up to 2.7 tonnes of freight. Bulky loads could be underslung. As a troop transport it could carry 18 fully-armed troops, or, in the casevac role, 12 stretcher cases.
It was operated by the RAF from 1961 to 1969, participating in a variety of operations involving withdrawal from Empire. Belvederes based in Aden (now in southern Yemen) operated in 1963 against rebels in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and in support of Army Radfan operations in southern Arabia.
Those helicopters were transferred to Singapore by Navy commando carrier in 1965 and provided support to Army operations in Brunei during the Confrontation with Indonesia. In this campaign they received the nickname 'Flying Longhouse' after the distinctive native huts in the area.
The requirement for them in Singapore ended, resulting in a commando carrier returning the helicopters to the UK in 1969, pretty much straight into retirement.