On 28th February 1959, prototype of Alouette III (English: lark) rotorcraft performed its maiden flight.
The helicopter was developed from an earlier design, created in the early 1950s by Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est (SNCASE, commonly known as just Sud-Est). The first rotorcraft from the family was designated SE.3120 Alouette and successfully flown for the first time in July of 1951, but despite of that, the helicopter never entered serial production.
Four years later, the Sud-Est company presented a derivative of the initial design, known as SE.3130 Alouette II. The helicopter performed its first flight in March of 1955 and was approved for serial production.
Shortly after the first flight of the Alouette II, the Sud Aviation company began works on larger and more powerful variant of the rotorcraft. The prototype, designated SE.3160, performed its maiden flight on 28th February 1959.
In June of 1959, the prototype of Alouette III was introduced to public during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. In the same month, the helicopter proved its exceptional performance. Flown by company test pilot Jean Boulet and carrying two passengers, the SE.3130 landed at an altitude of over 4,000 metres in the Mont Blanc area. Next year, Boulet took the Alouette III even higher, successfully achieving an altitude of more than 6,000 metres in the Himalayas.
More information about the rotorcraft and its operational history can be found in our article from Photo of the Week series – Sud Aviation/Aérospatiale SA-316B Alouette III.
