Specifications compared
| Variant compared | Sea King HAS.5 | Wessex HC.2 |
|---|---|---|
| First flight | 7 May 1969 (Westland Sea King) | 20 Jun 1958 (type) |
| Entered service | Aug 1969 (Royal Navy) | 1961 (Royal Navy, HAS.1) |
| Max speed | 112 kn (129 mph) max cruise at sea level | 132 mph (212 km/h) |
| Engine | 2 × Rolls-Royce Gnome H.1400, 1,660 shp each | 2 × coupled Gnome H.1200, limited to 1,550 shp combined |
| Armament | 4 × homing torpedoes or depth charges | Usually unarmed; machine guns and rockets could be fitted |
| Number built | c. 330 by Westland (all versions) | 382 |
| Crew | 2–4 | 2 pilots plus crewman |
The Wessex
The Wessex was Westland's development of the piston-engined Sikorsky S-58. Westland replaced the piston engine with a turbine, which cut vibration and noise and increased payload. Early versions had one Napier Gazelle; later ones a pair of Gnomes.
It flew on 20 June 1958, and the Navy took the anti-submarine HAS.1 into service in 1961. Commando, RAF transport and royal versions followed. The Queen's Flight used the HCC.4.
Commando Wessex crews operating in the jungle gave the Commando Helicopter Force its lasting nickname, the Junglies.
The Sea King
In June 1966 the Royal Navy ordered 60 Sikorsky SH-3D Sea Kings from Westland to replace the Wessex in the anti-submarine role. Production aircraft reached the Navy from August 1969.
Westland's Sea King differed considerably from the American one. It had Rolls-Royce Gnome engines, British anti-submarine equipment and a computerised flight control system.
It grew into a family: the RAF's yellow HAR3 rescue helicopter from 1978, the HC4 Commando transport and the airborne early warning ASaC7.
In action
Around 55 Wessex HU.5s fought in the Falklands in 1982, carrying troops, supplies and special forces. Nine Wessex were lost. Two crashed on the Fortuna Glacier on South Georgia in a snowstorm, and six went down with the Atlantic Conveyor.
Sea Kings also served in the Falklands, and later in the Gulf, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1996 RAF Sea King HAR3As replaced the last Wessex in the rescue role.
The record
Westland built 382 Wessex between 1958 and 1970. The last in British service retired in 2003. About 330 Westland Sea Kings were built, for Britain and export. The Navy's anti-submarine Sea Kings gave way to the Merlin in 2003. The last British Sea Kings retired in September 2018, after almost half a century.
Westland's Sea King work also led to the British Experimental Rotor Programme. Its blades later helped a Lynx set the helicopter speed record.
Where to see a Sea King and a Wessex
The Helicopter Museum at Weston-super-Mare holds seven Wessex, including Queen's Flight XV733, with a Sea King HAS.6. The Fleet Air Arm Museum shows four Sea Kings and five Wessex, and seven more gazetteer museums hold both.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands AeroparkDerby, Leicestershire | £5 | 35 | East Midlands Aeropark: a Vulcan, Nimrod R1 and Buccaneer parked on grassy mounds overlooking EMA's runway — half museum, half premier… |
| Fleet Air Arm MuseumYeovil, Somerset | £21 | 97 | Concorde 002 (G-BSST), the first British-assembled Concorde, which made her maiden flight from Filton in 1969 and now headlines a hall of… |
| IWM DuxfordCambridge, Cambridgeshire | £29 | 146 | Concorde 101 (G-AXDN), the pre-production development aircraft and the fastest Concorde of them all at Mach 2.23 — plus an SR-71A… |
| MorayviaForres, Moray | £8 | 35 | Nimrod XV244 (complete, and the crew who operated her sometimes give the tours) alongside a Sea King in RAF SAR yellow — the machine that… |
| Royal Air Force Museum LondonLondon, Greater London | Free | 88 | Avro Lancaster R5868 'S-Sugar' — 137 operations, the RAF's highest-scoring surviving heavy — under the same roof as a Vulcan, a… |
| South Wales Aviation MuseumBarry, Vale of Glamorgan | £10 | 73 | The resident Harrier and a growing VC10/Tornado-era collection, most with steps and open canopies. Kids exit wearing thousand-yard grins. |
| South Yorkshire Aircraft MuseumDoncaster, South Yorkshire | £7.50 | 109 | Doncaster's South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum sprawls across the old RAF Doncaster site: dozens of airframes and helicopters, strong… |
| The Helicopter MuseumWeston-super-Mare, Somerset | £15 | 108 | G-LYNX, the modified Westland Lynx that took the absolute helicopter world speed record (249.09 mph) in 1986 and holds it still; parked… |
| Ulster Aviation Society (Maze Long Kesh)Lisburn, County Antrim | By appointment | 63 | The Shorts family — SC.1 vertical take-off research aircraft included — plus a Buccaneer, Phantom, Wildcat, and a newly arrived AV-8… |
Frequently asked
What replaced the Wessex?
The Sea King replaced it in the anti-submarine role from 1969. Sea King HAR3As replaced the last search-and-rescue Wessex in 1996.
When did the Sea King retire from British service?
The last Royal Navy Sea Kings, airborne early warning ASaC7s, retired in September 2018.
Where can I see a Sea King and a Wessex together?
Nine gazetteer museums hold both. They include The Helicopter Museum, the Fleet Air Arm Museum, IWM Duxford and the Royal Air Force Museum London.