The Westland Lynx is a twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter built by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil for the British Army and Royal Navy. A modified Lynx set the absolute helicopter speed record of 400.87 km/h in 1986, and roughly 450 were built. Developed by Westland Helicopters.
The Westland Lynx is a twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter built by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil for the British Army and Royal Navy. Developed by Westland Helicopters.
Photo: Julian Herzog (julianherzog.com), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSee Specifications for full detail.
The Westland Lynx is a twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter built by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil for the British Army and Royal Navy. It began in the mid-1960s as the Westland WG.13, a replacement for the Scout and the Wasp, and about 450 were built. [1]
A modified Lynx set the absolute helicopter speed record of 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph) in 1986, a mark that was still unbroken in 2022. The Royal Navy decommissioned its Lynx in 2017 and the Army in 2018, and the AW159 Wildcat replaced them. [1]
Westland designed the WG.13 as a replacement for the Scout and Wasp. Under the Anglo-French helicopter agreement of February 1967, Sud Aviation took 30 percent of production, though the French Army cancelled its requirement in October 1969. The first flight was on 21 March 1971. [1]
The first production British Army Lynx flew on 11 February 1977, and the AH.1 entered Army Air Corps service in 1979. The Royal Navy HAS.2 followed in 1981, and the Brazilian Navy took the type into service in 1978 and the French Navy in 1979. [1]
The Lynx has a four-blade main rotor on a rigid titanium monobloc head, and its British Experimental Rotor Programme (BERP) blades improved main rotor efficiency and top speed. It is fully aerobatic and can perform loops and rolls. Early Lynx used two Rolls-Royce Gem engines of about 1,000 shp, and the Super Lynx 200 and 300 use LHTEC CTS800-4N engines of 1,362 shp each. [1]
The Army version carries eight troops or a 3,000 lb underslung load and can be armed with a 20 mm cannon, rocket pods or eight TOW missiles. Naval versions carry torpedoes, depth charges or four Sea Skua anti-ship missiles. The Army variant weighs 11,750 lb at takeoff and reaches 175 kn. [1]
In the Falklands War in 1982, HAS.2s maintained anti-submarine patrols. On 3 May a Lynx made the first combat firing of a Sea Skua, against the Argentine patrol boat ARA Alferez Sobral. Three Lynx were lost aboard HMS Coventry, HMS Ardent and SS Atlantic Conveyor. [1]
In the Gulf War in 1991, Royal Navy Lynx were central to the Battle of Bubiyan. By 2 February, 25 Sea Skuas had been launched and 18 hits confirmed, and twenty-four TOW-armed Army Lynx supported the ground advance. On 26 February, one destroyed two MTLB armoured personnel carriers and four T-55 tanks. [1]
On 11 August 1986 a modified Lynx, G-LYNX, flown by Trevor Egginton, set the FAI absolute helicopter speed record at 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph). It broke the record held by the Soviet A-10, a modified Mi-24, and it was still unbroken in January 2022. [1] [2]
G-LYNX is preserved at The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, alongside the Lynx-3 prototype ZE477. Westland's claim that the BERP blades gave about 35 percent more thrust before blade stall is disputed. [1]
The Royal Danish Navy retired its Lynx in 2011, the Royal Netherlands Navy in 2012 and the Royal Norwegian Air Force in December 2014. The Royal Navy decommissioned the type on 23 March 2017, the British Army retired it in 2018 and the French Navy followed on 4 September 2020. [1]
The AW159 Wildcat replaced the Lynx in British service but keeps only about 5 percent of its components. The deadliest Lynx crash was HAS.3GM XZ244, which broke apart near Mombasa on 14 May 1989 after a door detached, killing all nine aboard. An AH.9A crashed near Kandahar on 26 April 2014, killing five. [1]
The Westland Lynx has a top speed of 175 kn (201 mph / 324 km/h).
A total of 450 were built.
No, the Westland Lynx has been retired. It retired in 2018.
The Westland Lynx first flew on March 21st 1971.
The Westland Lynx has a range of 328 mi (528 km, 285 nmi).
Lynxes are preserved in several British museums, in the United States and in Norway.
The British Army and Royal Navy Lynx have retired, so any Lynx on Flightradar24 belongs to an export operator or a museum. Filter for type LYNX.
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | 175 kn (201 mph / 324 km/h) |
|---|---|
| RangeRange — How far an aircraft can fly without refuelling. Quoted figures vary with payload, speed and reserves - see also ferry range and combat radius. Glossary → | 328 mi |
| Airframe & Weight | |
| Main Rotor Diameter | 42 ft |
| Length | 50 ft overall; 43 ft 9 in including the tail rotor |
| Height | 12 ft 0.5 in |
| WeightMTOW — Maximum Take-Off Weight - the heaviest an aircraft is certified to be at the start of its take-off run, including fuel, crew, payload and the aircraft itself. Glossary → | empty: 7,225 lb; MTOW: 11,750 lb |
| Rotor Blades | 4 main |
| Power & Payload | |
| Engines | 2 x LHTEC CTS800-4N turboshafts, 1,362 shp (1,016 kW) each for takeoff, or 2 x Rolls-Royce Gem 42-1, about 1,000 shp (746 kW) each |
| ArmamentArmament — The weapons an aircraft can carry: guns, missiles, bombs and rockets, whether mounted internally, on wing hardpoints, or in bomb bays. Glossary → | Naval: two torpedoes, four Sea Skua missiles or two depth charges. Attack: a 20 mm Oerlikon cannon, two 70 mm rocket pods and up to eight TOW anti-tank missiles. General: a 7.62 mm GPMG (AH.7, AH.9) or a 0.50 in heavy machine gun (HAS.3, HMA.8, AH.9A). |
| Crew | 2 to 3 |
| CapacityPayload — Everything an aircraft is carrying that isn't the aircraft or its fuel: passengers, cargo, or weapons. Payload and fuel usually trade off against each other. Glossary → | 8 troops, or a 3,000 lb underslung load |
| Program & Service | |
| Manufacturer | Westland Helicopters |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| First Flight | March 21st 1971 |
| Service Entry | 1979 |
| Retired | 2018 |
| Number Built | 450 |
| Unit Cost | Not publicly disclosed - no per-aircraft price was found in the sources checked |
| Combat Losses | Three Lynx were lost in the Falklands War, aboard HMS Coventry, HMS Ardent and SS Atlantic Conveyor. Later losses include a British Army AH.7 shot down by a MANPADS missile over Basra on 6 May 2006, killing five. |
7 notable events involving the Lynx, 1982 to 2014. 21 deaths are recorded across the 5 of these with a figure listed. Curated rather than exhaustive.
A Royal Navy Lynx fired a Sea Skua missile at the Argentine patrol boat ARA Alferez Sobral, the first combat firing of the missile.
A modified Lynx, G-LYNX, flown by Trevor Egginton, set the FAI absolute helicopter speed record at 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph).
The helicopter broke apart after a door detached, killing all nine aboard. As of 2004 it was the deadliest Lynx crash.
An IRA mortar brought down the AH.7. The crew survived.
A British Army Lynx crashed near Gornji Vakuf, Bosnia, killing two.
A MANPADS missile shot down the AH.7 over Basra, killing five.
The AH.9A crashed near Kandahar, killing five.
| Army Lynx AH.1 / AH.5 / AH.7 / AH.9 / AH.9A | The British Army versions. 113 AH.1s were built, and the first production example flew on 11 February 1977. The AH.1 entered Army Air Corps service in 1979, and the AH.9A was the final Army version. The Army retired the type in 2018 with the disbandment of 657 Squadron AAC. |
| Navy Lynx HAS.2 / HAS.3 / HMA.8 | The Royal Navy versions. 60 HAS.2s were built, entering service in 1981, followed by the HAS.3, of which 30 were new and 53 were converted. The HMA.8 was based on the Super Lynx. The Navy decommissioned the type on 23 March 2017. |
| Super Lynx Mk.88 / Mk.88A / Mk.99 / Mk.99A | Export versions with newer engines. Germany's navy ordered 19 Mk.88s, then seven new Mk.88As and 17 conversions. South Korea bought 12 Mk.99s and 13 Mk.99As. The Super Lynx 200 and 300 used LHTEC CTS800-4N engines. |
| French Navy Mk.2(FN) / Mk.4(FN) | French naval versions: 26 Mk.2(FN) and 14 Mk.4(FN). The French Navy began operating the Lynx in 1979 and formally retired it on 4 September 2020. |
| Lynx-3 and AW159 Wildcat | One Lynx-3 prototype flew in 1984, and ZE477 survives at The Helicopter Museum. The AW159 Wildcat replaced the Lynx in British service and keeps only about 5 percent of its components. |
Lynxes are preserved in several British museums, in the United States and in Norway.
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