Wessex V Sea King
I had another search and found that the serial was XV699.
XV699 as 051 on 824NAS
Bent airframes
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/14713/
It appears that XV699 made an emergency landing during a rescue mission on 16th January 1974.
In high winds and mountainous seas, the Danish freighter ss Merc Entrerprise carrying a grain cargo, foundered south of Plymouth. Lands End Radio received the distress call and because it was beyond the range of the based Whirlwind HAR.9 SAR Flt, an ad hoc group of available Sea Kings were mobilised from RNAS Culdrose to meet the only recently established (1973) SAR commitment.
Apart from the gallant rescue of survivors and the tragic loss of life, a valuable lesson learned was the threat posed by salt ingestion into the Gnome engines, as both 89 55 and XV699 ended up making hazardous emergency landings, short of Culdrose
Apart from the gallant rescue of survivors and the tragic loss of life, a valuable lesson learned was the threat posed by salt ingestion into the Gnome engines, as both 89 55 and XV699 ended up making hazardous emergency landings, short of Culdrose
Just to correct any detective work here, the 051/XV699 ditching was off Ark Royal (R09) 19th March 1975 sometime early in the morning: about 01:00 IIRC. There is a short mention in 76fan posts here. I was over the top for a few hours with jerry G , and flew 051 only 2 days earlier when I had an engine fire and made a night SE recovery at the end of a 4:05 hour sortie 
And a little dit post recovery: the airframe was given a thorough fresh water wash, and major black boxes removed, dunked in fresh water then WD40. One fairly expensive box was brought out by a senior rate, who gave it to a nearby seaman with the instruction 'go and dunk this in the water, laddie'.
Laddie was back fairly quickly and asked where was the box: "I did what you said, Chief, and dunked it". Unfortunately the Caribbean wasn't quite what Chiefy had in mind
Laddie was back fairly quickly and asked where was the box: "I did what you said, Chief, and dunked it". Unfortunately the Caribbean wasn't quite what Chiefy had in mind
The Belvedere did valiant service with 26 Sqn in both Aden and North Borneo, much loved/hated by ground and aircrew alike. I seem to remember that the main cause of problems arose from either the gearbox or drive train. The designers of the Chinook learned a lot from the Belvedere and particularly how to get it right.
Apparently for a while afterwards it was not unknown for engine starts to be carried out perched on the cockpit sill, one leg and one leg on the spindly ladder, ready for a hasty exit.
A very interest five weeks of of hard work / hard play.
Just to correct any detective work here, the 051/XV699 ditching was off Ark Royal (R09) 19th March 1975 sometime early in the morning: about 01:00 IIRC. There is a short mention in 76fan posts here. I was over the top for a few hours with jerry G , and flew 051 only 2 days earlier when I had an engine fire and made a night SE recovery at the end of a 4:05 hour sortie
If by North Borneo you mean Kuching, that was a detachment from 66 Sqn, RAF Seletar.
Gentleman Aviator
Have come to this thread a little late, having been away on hols. A couple or three points on previous posts:
Sycamore collective: The collective (only one) was indeed central, but conventionally fore and aft. The throttle was "athwartships" kind of crossing the T at the end of the collective. Still required much manual dexterity from LHS.
Wessex 2/5 single engine performance: Not o much great engines as a a cr@ppy coupling gearbox. Single engine torque limit 2,700 ft lbs, train engine 3,200 ft lbs. You the math(s)
Belvedere life: My understanding is that the Belvedere airframe was lifed at 1500 hours due to (unforeseen) bending loads on the frame. Another procurement triumph: originally intended for the RN with an underslung (from 2 hooks) torpedo, but was too big for carrier lifts! Also accounts for the high undercarriage (and many sprained pongo ankles).
Sycamore collective: The collective (only one) was indeed central, but conventionally fore and aft. The throttle was "athwartships" kind of crossing the T at the end of the collective. Still required much manual dexterity from LHS.
Wessex 2/5 single engine performance: Not o much great engines as a a cr@ppy coupling gearbox. Single engine torque limit 2,700 ft lbs, train engine 3,200 ft lbs. You the math(s)
Belvedere life: My understanding is that the Belvedere airframe was lifed at 1500 hours due to (unforeseen) bending loads on the frame. Another procurement triumph: originally intended for the RN with an underslung (from 2 hooks) torpedo, but was too big for carrier lifts! Also accounts for the high undercarriage (and many sprained pongo ankles).
