21 March 1971 – maiden flight of Westland Lynx

On 21^st March 1971, the new British multi-purpose helicopter, designated Westland Lynx, performed its first flight.

Development process focused on creation of the new British rotorcraft, named WG.13 and intended for both civil and military sectors, began already in the mid-1960s. The helicopter had to succeed two earlier designs, known as Scout and Wasp, as well as was expected to be manufactured in cooperation with French company Sud Aviation / Aérospatiale.

At the beginning, military variants included naval helicopter for the Royal Navy and armed reconnaissance version for the French Army. However, following the French cancellation of the army variant, only the navy and army variants for British forces were further developed.

The new helicopter, now redesignated Westland Lynx, successfully completed its maiden flight in March of 1971. During its evaluation and test flights that followed shortly after, the rotorcraft set several world records in speed over a straight course and at closed circuit of 100 kilometres. What´s more, in 1986, a modified Lynx flown by John Trevor Egginton set a world speed record over a straight 15/25-kilometre course, reaching 400.87 kph. That record remains unbeaten and is recognized by the FAI as ´Absolute Record of class E (rotorcraft)´.

In 1977, the first Westland Lynx helicopters, designated AH.1, were delivered to the British Army Air Corps.

More information about the rotorcraft can be found in below listed articles from the Photo of the Week series: