Westland Whirlwind HAR 10 - RAF Museum, Hendon, London, UK
N 51° 35.845 W 000° 14.263
30U E 691311 N 5719878
This Westland Whirlwind HAR 10 is located in the "Historic Hangars" at the RAF Museum in Hendon, London. The aircraft dates from 1961.
Waymark Code: WMNJJD
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/24/2015
Views: 3
The RAF Museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm with admission being free. Car parking is available but there is a charge. The nearest underground station is Colindale about a 10-15 minute walk away or a number 303 bus passes both the tube station and museum. The co-ordinates posted are for the entrance to the "Milestones of Flight" hall/exhibition entrance.
The RAF Museum's website tells us about the Westland Whirlwind HAR 10:
Gas turbine powered Whirlwind HAR10 and HC10 helicopters were to form the backbone of the RAF's search and rescue and tactical transport helicopter force during the 1960s.
The new turboshaft engine was lighter and more powerful than the piston engine it superseded and offered improved performance and reliability. A total of sixty-eight new air-sea rescue HAR10 and transport HC10s were manufactured by Westland and a number of Whirlwind HAR2 and HAR4 piston-engined helicopters were subsequently re-engined.
The first RAF unit to employ the HAR10 was No.225 Squadron, Transport Command, which became operational with the aircraft on 4 November 1961. Used by the RAF in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East, the last squadron to be equipped with the aircraft Cyprus based No.84 Squadron converted to the Westland Wessex in March 1982.
This aircraft is the first production machine. The design was so successful that jet-engined Whirlwinds were in service for twenty-one years.
A history of this helicopter can be seen here.