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Old 5th Feb 2014, 09:34
  #76 (permalink)  
bueffalo
 
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Scout helicopter in NI/Falklands

While it is true that the army only had one designation for the Scout helicopter, (AH1) it is not true to say that any Scout could be used in both Utility and ATGW roles. ATGW Scouts could be operated as Utility aircraft, but Utility Scouts could not be operated in the ATGW role as they lacked the attachment points for the missile booms, attachment lugs for the AF 120 sight, apertures in the cabin floor to allow the passage of missile system wiring and only had one rotary inverter installed. (ATGW aircraft required two)

Utility Scouts could usually be identified by the lack of an aperture for the AF 120 sight in the canopy above the gunner's (LH) seat, such as in the photograph of "XP 900" (Which if you look closely enough you will see that it is actually XP 896) As to whether Falklands war Scouts were ever used in N.I., that is highly likely as all BAOR squadrons (i.e. ATGW squadrons) were rotated through N.I. on four month emergency tours, and aircraft are routinely transferred from one unit to another for a variety of reasons.

Finally, the SS 11 missile has a maximum effective range of 3,000 metres, not 6,000metres as was stated in another posting. The maximum range is dictated by the length of the command wires fed from a spool within the missile body.
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