Wessex HAS 3.

[MightyGem]

Saw an "odd shaped" Wessex on TV recently, and id'd it as a HAS 3. What was in the nose extension, and what was the "probe" for?
http://www.nelsam.org.uk/images/XM833.jpg

[76fan]

I guess the engine intake shield was to prevent FOD/snow/salt spray? The earlier Mk 3's (certainly prior to 1972) didn't have the shield, just as the SeaKing Mk 1's didn't have an intake shield for the engines either. The phallic device is the pitot/static head, the Wessex HAS 3 had a good AFCS for automatic transitions to and from the overwater hover. Other Mks of Wessex had the pitot tube above and behind the pilot's window.

[Saintsman]

The probe is a machine gun.

Used for straffing submarines on the surface apparently.

[pr00ne]

Nah! It's a Death Ray...

[sycamore]

Agree with 76fan..the probe was sometimes called the `OMD`(old maid`s delight),same as on the Belvedere.
The `shield` was developed as a result of our icing trials in Canada..
The duplex AFCS was very good and even allowed the `O` down the back to fly the aircraft around his sonar patterns hands-off...
Sadly it wasn`t fitted to the Sea-King.

[MightyGem]

Thanks, guys. I did wonder about the pitot, but it looked a bit long and chunky.

[NutLoose]

Other Mks of Wessex had the pitot tube above and behind the pilot's window.

Which allowed you to go sniff, sniff, what's that burning smell, as you realise the pitot heat has been left on and you are welding the cover to the tube :)

[NickB]

Always wondered why the Wessex 3 was painted yellow on top surfaces - hardly good camouflage?

A chap that used to live down the road I grew up in was one of the last pilots to fly 'Humphrey' before it's retirement in 1982. The last Wessex 3 to fly I believe?

[peterperfect]

The overbite in the WxIII nose also contained two HP air bottles for internal/airborne start capability but was a tricky exercise to avoid overtemp at low NG. Invariably we would use a palouse LP/high volume air start unit, or carry a couple of portable HP bottles if planning to shut down ashore. Loved flying the Wessex, it was an aircraft you mounted, rather than simply "got in" !

[76fan]

The earlier 3's without the shield also had two HP air bottles for internal starts; they were situated inside the intake grill.

As sycamore said, the AFCS 30 system was a dream compared to the old Wessex 1 FCS 3 system, and the duplex system made it better than that in the later SeaKing 1. It was a pity that the Wessex 3 only had one engine and was very short on fuel and therefore endurance (but then who enjoyed four hour SeaKing dunking sorties?).

NickB, as regards the yellow topside I don't recall any ASW aircrew being concerned about whether they needed camouflage before the Falklands .... but before that if a couple of Buccaneers at very low level were heading towards you whilst you were sitting in a 30 or 40 ft ASW hover then the yellow could be viewed as a distinct asset!

[NickB]

76fan - thanks, that is a very good point!

[Legalapproach]

Machine gun, Nah! It's a Death Ray...

They're winding you up, it's the hand crank starting handle

[NutLoose]

What I want to know is how did they get the big ICBM just behind the transmission decking to fire up between the rotors.

[ValMORNA]

The rotors went into 'Duck-paddle' mode, flapping vertically until the ICBM was clear permitting normal service to be resumed. Not a lot of people know that.

[Fareastdriver]

The ICBM firing is synchronised with the main rotor. It needs to leave it's casing at 1,000 ft./sec to pass between two blades at normal Rrpm.

It is launched at 500 ft./sec. It goes up at 500ft./sec; the Wessex goes down at 500ft./sec.