The Saunders-Roe Skeeter was a two-seat training and scout helicopter produced by Saunders-Roe ("Saro") of Cowes and Southampton, in the United Kingdom. The Skeeter has the distinction of being the first helicopter to be used by the British Army Air Corps.
Initially designed around 1948 by the Cierva Autogiro Company, the Skeeter did not enter service until 1957. This long development period ensured that it was outdated before it even entered ser...
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The Saunders-Roe Skeeter was a two-seat training and scout helicopter produced by Saunders-Roe ("Saro") of Cowes and Southampton, in the United Kingdom. The Skeeter has the distinction of being the first helicopter to be used by the British Army Air Corps.
Initially designed around 1948 by the Cierva Autogiro Company, the Skeeter did not enter service until 1957. This long development period ensured that it was outdated before it even entered service. Plagued by ground resonance problems due to underpowered 145 hp engines, it was not until Saro, which had taken over Cierva in 1951, had put in a 200 hp Gipsy Major engine that any significant orders were procured, in 1956.
The British Army ordered 64 Skeeter 6's to be designated as the Skeeter AOP.12 (Air Observation Platform), and the Skeeter finally entered service in October 1956. With the merger of the helicopter activities of the British Bristol Aeroplane Company, Fairey and Saro with Westland Aircraft in 1960, plans to develop a...
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