The Westland Scout is a light helicopter developed by Westland Helicopters. Developed from the Saro P.531, it served as a land-based general purpose military helicopter, sharing a common ancestor and numerous components with the naval-orientated Westland Wasp helicopter. The type's primary operator was the Army Air Corps of the British Army, which operated it in several conflict zones including Northern Ireland and the Falklands War. The Westland Wasp was a small 1960s British turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter. It fulfilled the requirement of the Royal Navy for a helicopter small enough to land on the deck of a frigate and carry a useful load of two homing torpedoes. The turbine powered P.531 began life as an on-paper design in 1957 and in some ways drew upon the knowledge gained in the development of the company’s earlier Skeeter piston engined helicopter. Unlike the Skeeter however, the P.531 was a five-seater helicopter as opposed to a two-seater. For details of each of these helicopters at the following links. Westland Scout , Westland Wasp, Saunders-Roe P.531. The specifications below are for the Scout. Westland Scout Westland Wasp Saunders-Roe P.531
