A was the first Wessex 5 we got in the IFTU & then it went into 848 Squadron. For unknown reasons it was 10 knots slower than the others & carried 100 lbs less. For that reason it was given to our CO, Lt Cdr Geoff Andrews to fly, so he couldn't go faster than us in formation! Some 2 years later in Singapore a civilian salesman selling a vibration gadget, forgotten its name, picked up the fault which Westlands couldn't, our engineers fixed what the gadget said & low & behold A gained 10 knots & 100 lb payload! The basic weight was well below 10000 lbs, don't remember the figure, the max weight was 13500 lbs, no overload allowed. It could easily pick up a 4000 lb Lamdrover & have plenty of fuel.
In Borneo the Wessex was often overloaded because of the confrontation problems & flown faster than vne. 2 rotor blades lost pockets which Westlands said was constant over weight flying! I'm sure we didn't! A great helicopter loved by the squadron! Don't know how to add photos!
