Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation.
The Puma was developed as a new design during the mid-1960s in response to a French Army requirement for a medium-sized all-weather utility helicopter. Powered by a pair of Turbomeca Turmo turboshaft engines, it was designed to transport up to 16 seated soldiers, or a maximum of six litters with four attendants for casualty evacuation, along with carrying up to 2,500 kg of cargo either internally or using an external sling. The design of the Puma incorporated several innovations, including an automatic blade inspection system and relatively advanced anti-vibration measures integrated into the main gearbox and main rotor blades. It was also designed to be capable of operating at night, under inhospitable flying conditions and in climates from Arctic to desert. The Puma also has an intentionally high level of reserve power to permit effective flight even at its maximum weight with only a single operational engine.
On 15 April 1965, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; the first production standard Puma made its first flight during September 1968. Deliveries to the French Army commenced in early 1969; the type quickly proved itself to be a commercial success. Production of the Puma continued into the 1980s under Sud Aviation's successor company Aérospatiale. It was also license-produced in Romania as the IAR 330; two unlicensed derivatives, the Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter and Atlas Oryx utility helicopter, were built in South Africa. Several advanced derivatives have been developed, such as the AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar, and have been manufactured by Eurocopter and its successor company Airbus Helicopters since the early 1990s. These descendants of the Puma remain in production.
Significant operations include the Gulf War, the South African Border War, the Portuguese Colonial War, the Yugoslav Wars, the Lebanese Civil War, the Iraq War, and the Falklands War. Numerous operators have chosen to modernise their fleets, often adding more capabilities and new features, such as glass cockpits, Global Positioning System navigation, and defense measures. The type also saw popular use in the civilian field and has been operated by a number of civil operators. One of the largest civil operators of the Puma was Bristow Helicopters, which regularly used it for off shore operations over the North Sea.
Development
The SA 330 Puma was originally developed by Sud Aviation to meet a requirement of the French Army for a medium-sized all-weather helicopter capable of carrying up to 20 soldiers as well as various cargo-carrying duties. The choice was made to develop a new design for the helicopter, work began in 1963 with backing from the French government. The first of two Puma prototypes flew on 15 April 1965; six further pre-production models were also built, the last of which flew on 30 July 1968. During testing, one SA 330 was fitted with a large Fenestron; however, it was concluded that there were practical limits to how large a helicopter such a configuration would be suited to, and production examples of the Puma retained a conventional tail rotor instead. The first production SA 330 Puma flew in September 1968, with deliveries to the French Army starting in early 1969.In 1967, the Puma was selected by the Royal Air Force, who were impressed by the Puma's performance. It was given the designation Puma HC Mk 1. A significant joint manufacturing agreement was signed between Aerospatiale and Westland Helicopters of the UK. The close collaboration between the French and British firms would lead to purchases of Aérospatiale Gazelle by the UK and the Westland Lynx by France. Under this agreement, Westland manufactured a range of components and performed the assembly of Pumas ordered by the RAF.
The SA 330 was a success on the export market, numerous countries purchased military variants of the Puma to serve in their armed forces; the type was also popularly received in the civil market, finding common usage by operators for transport duties to off-shore oil platforms. Throughout most of the 1970s, the SA 330 Puma was the best selling transport helicopter being produced in Europe. By July 1978, over 50 Pumas had already been delivered to civil customers, and the worldwide fleet had accumulated in excess of 500,000 operational hours.
Romania entered into an arrangement with Aerospatiale to produce the Puma under license as the IAR 330, manufacturing at least 163 of the type for the Romanian armed forces, civil operators, and several export customers of their own. Indonesia also undertook domestic manufacturing of the SA 330. South Africa, a keen user of the type, performed their own major modification and production program conducted by the government-owned Atlas Aircraft Corporation to upgrade their own Pumas, the resulting aircraft was named Oryx. In the 1990s, Denel would also develop an attack helicopter for the South African Air Force based on the Puma, known as the Denel Rooivalk.
In 1974, Aerospatiale began development of improved Puma variants, aiming to produce a successor to the type; these efforts would cumulate in the AS332 Super Puma. The first prototype AS332 Super Puma took flight on 13 September 1978, featuring more powerful engines and a more aerodynamically efficient extended fuselage; by 1980, production of the AS332 Super Puma had overtaken that of the originating SA 330 Puma. Production of the SA 330 Puma by Aérospatiale ceased in 1987, by which time a total of 697 had been sold; production in Romania would continue into the 21st century.
Design
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a twin-engine helicopter principally intended for personnel transport and logistic support duties. As a troop carrier, up to 16 soldiers can be accommodated on foldable seats, while in a casualty evacuation configuration, the same cabin can hold up to six litters and four additional personnel. The Puma can also perform cargo transport duties, either via the external carriage of underslung payloads on a dedicated cargo hook or using the internal cabin space; up to a maximum weight of 2500 kg of cargo can be carried at a time. Civilian Pumas feature a variety of cabin layouts, typically intended for various forms of passenger transport, including VIPs. In a search and rescue capacity, a hoist is commonly installed, often mounted on the starboard fuselage.A pair of roof-mounted Turbomeca Turmo turboshaft engines power the Puma's four-blade main rotor. The rotors are driven via a five reduction stage transmission at a typical speed of 265 rpm. The design of the transmission featured several unique and uncommon innovations for the time, such as single-part manufacturing of the rotor shaft and the anti-vibration measures integrated into the main gearbox and main rotor blades. The Puma also featured an automatic blade inspection system, which guarded against and alerted crews to fatigue cracking in the rotor blades. It is furnished with a pair of hydraulic systems that intentionally operate independently of one another, one system powering only the aircraft's flight controls while the other serves the autopilot, undercarriage, and rotor brake, as well as the flight controls.
In terms of flight performance, the Puma was designed to be capable of high speeds, exhibit great maneuverability, and possess favourable hot-and-high performance; the engines have an intentionally high level of reserve power to enable a Puma to fly effectively even at maximum weight with only one functioning engine and proceed with its mission if circumstances require. The cockpit is provisioned with conventional dual controls for both a pilot and copilot, a third seat is provided in the cockpit for a reserve crew member or commander. The Puma features a SFIM-Newmark Type 127 electro-hydraulic autopilot; the autopilot is capable of roll and pitch stabilization, the load hook operator can also directly perform corrective adjustments of the helicopter's position from their station via the autopilot.
The Puma is readily air-transportable by tactical airlifters, such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules; the main rotor, landing gear, and tailboom are all detachable to lower space requirements. Ease of maintenance was one of the objectives pursued in the Puma's design; many of the components and systems that would require routine inspection were positioned to be visible from ground level, use of life-limited components was minimised, and key areas of the mechanical systems were designed to be readily accessed. The Puma is also capable of operating at nighttime, in inhospitable flying conditions, or in a wide range of climates from Arctic to desert environments.
Although not included during the original production run, numerous operators of Pumas have installed additional features and modern equipment over the rotorcraft's service life. The RAF have equipped their Puma fleet with Global Positioning System navigation equipment, along with an assortment of self-defense measures including infrared countermeasures and automatic flares/chaff dispensers, and night vision goggles for night-time flights. The French Army Light Aviation have modernised their Pumas to meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards, this involved the addition of new digital systems, including mission command and control systems, such as the Sitalat data link. Third-party companies such as South Africa's Thunder City have provided life extension and modernisation programmes for the Puma, some operators have opted to refurbish their fleets with glass cockpits.
Operational history
Argentina
During the Falklands War/Guerra de Malvinas of 1982, five SA 330 Pumas of the Argentine Army and one of the Argentine Coast Guard were deployed to the theatre; these could either operate from the decks of Navy vessels as well as performing missions across the breadth of the islands; all were lost in the ensuing conflict. On 3 April, while landing Argentine troops as part of the capture of South Georgia, a Puma was badly damaged by small arms fire from British ground forces and crashed into terrain shortly after. On 9 May, a single Puma was destroyed by a Sea Dart anti-aircraft missile launched from.On 23 May, a pair of Royal Navy Sea Harriers intercepted three Argentine Pumas in the middle of a supply mission to Port Howard; during the subsequent engagement one Puma was destroyed by colliding with the terrain and a second was disabled and subsequently destroyed by cannon fire from the Sea Harriers, the third Puma escaped. On 30 May, a Puma was lost in the vicinity of Mount Kent under unclear circumstances, possibly due to friendly fire; an article in the Argentine newssite MercoPress reported that, on that same day, a Puma had been brought down by a Stinger missile fired by the SAS ground forces, near Mount Kent. Six National Gendarmerie Special Forces were killed and eight more wounded in the downing.