Westland Lynx

what is it?

The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants. The Lynx went into operational usage in 1977 and was later adopted by the armed forces of over a dozen nations, primarily serving in the battlefield utility, anti-armour, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare roles.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 turboshaft engines · 12.8 m main rotor

base stats

• speed 324 km/htop speed
• range 528 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 8passengers
• size 5,330 kgmax take-off weight
• built 450made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 55 years ago, in 1971.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Rotor of 12.8 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.

turboshaft: A turbine that turns a shaft, usually a helicopter rotor.

spec sheet

first flight

1971-03-21

introduced

1978

retired

2017

status

still flying

number built

450

role

multi-purpose military helicopter

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

AgustaWestland, Aérospatiale, Westland Helicopters

engines

2× LHTEC CTS800-4N

crew

2

passengers

8

length

13.3 m

rotor diameter

12.8 m

height

3.7 m

max take-off weight

5,330 kg

top speed

324 km/h

range

528 km

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family