Westland
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Manufacturer details
Westland - Westland Helicopters Limited (an AgustaWestland company)
Lysander Road, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 2YB
e-mail: info@whl.co.uk
Web: AgustaWestland.com
History
Westland Aircraft Ltd (later expanded to Westland Group plc) was formed July 1935, taking over the aircraft branch of Petters Ltd (known previously as Westland Aircraft Works) that had designed/built aircraft since 1915. The company entered the helicopter industry having acquired the licence to build the US Sikorsky S-51 as the Dragonfly in 1947.
GKN shareholding in the Westland Group progressively increased until overall control was achieved on 18 April 1994. The merger of GKN's helicopter interests and those of Italy's Finmeccanica were finalised on 26 July 2000 with the announcement of AgustaWestland. This was declared fully operational on 12 February 2001.
Westland Helicopters Ltd includes GKN Westland Industrial Products Ltd at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and has a 50 per cent interest in Aerosystems International Ltd at Yeovil (aerospace software, a partnership with BAE Systems) and EH Industries Ltd. The latter was formed as a partnership with Agusta of Italy for the development and manufacturing of the EH-101 Merlin helicopter, the last of which for the UK armed forces was completed in late 2002. In addition to the UK Merlins, Westland is building 14 for Denmark and 12 for Portugal.
Under a June 1989 agreement with former McDonnell Douglas, Westland obtained the co-production rights for the AH-64 Apache. This was selected for the British Army Air Corps in July 1995. Westland is the prime contractor to the UK MoD. Production is undertaken in newly built 5,200 m2(56,000 sq ft) assembly hall at Yeovil, which opened 14 January 1999.
Aviation Training International (ATI) is a joint venture company formed with Boeing on 3 August 1998 to provide air, ground and maintenance crews for British Army Apaches under a £650 million, 30 year contract. It began operations 29 July 1999 at Sherborne HQ and will be opening branches at Middle Wallop, Dishforth and Wattisham , plus an engineering school at Arborfield.
Aircraft Types
Fixed Wing
- Westland IV
- Lysander
- Wagtail
- Wallace
- Walrus
- Wapiti
- Weasel
- Welkin
- Wessex (first use of name)
- Westbury
- Whirlwind (first use of name)
- Widgeon (first use of name)
- Wyvern
Rotorcraft
- Lynx
- Scout
- Wasp
- W-30
- EH-101 Merlin - together with Agusta as European Helicopter Industries (EHI)
Licence (Rotorcraft)
- Westland-Sikorsky WS.51 Dragonfly & Westland Widgeon
- Westland-Sikorsky WS.55 Whirlwind (second use of name)
- Westland-Sikorsky WS.58 Wessex (second use of name)
- Westland-Sikorsky WS.61 Sea King
- Westland-Sikorsky WS.70 Blackhawk
- Westland-Bell 47 Sioux
- Westland WAH-64 Apache
- Puma
- Gazelle
