Westland Wasp

The Westland Wasp was a British small first-generation, gas-turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. It came from the same P.531 program as the British Army Westland Scout and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saro Skeeter. It fulfilled the "MAnned Torpedo-Carrying Helicopter" (MATCH) requirement of the Royal Navy for a helicopter small enough to land on the deck of a frigate and carry a useful load of two homing torpedoes. [b]Specifications (Wasp HAS.1)[/b] General characteristics Crew: One pilot, one Aircrewman Capacity: up to four passengers Length: 40 ft 4 in (12.29 m) Rotor diameter: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) Height: 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) Disc area: 816 ft² (76 m² Empty weight: 3,452 lb (1,566 kg) Loaded weight: lb (kg) Max takeoff weight: 5,500 lb (2,495 kg) Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Nimbus 103 turboshaft, 1,050 shp (783 kW) Performance Maximum speed: 120 mph (193 km/h) Range: 303 miles (488 km) Service ceiling ft (m) Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s) Disc loading: 6.75 lb/ft² (33 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.19 hp/lb (0.31 kW/kg) Armament Naval: 2 x Mk 44 / 46 torpedoes or 2 x Mk 44 depth charges or WE.177 600lb Nuclear Depth Bomb. Attack: 4 x SS-11 replaced by 2 x AS.12 missiles. General: GPMG, 4.5 Flares, Smoke/flame floats.