Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Our People•WomenplayedanimportantpartinWestland’soriginsastheydidinmanyotherindustrialtradesatthistime.
• TheFirstWorldWarwasacatalystforwomen’srolesin the workplace, which signified part of the vastculturalshift thatwould takeplaceduring theearly20thcentury.
• Women workers manufactured munitions at theReckleford site and constructed aircraft at theWestlandAircraftWorks.
• Local skills, developed from Yeovil’s gloving andengineeringindustries,wereusedtobuildthewoodenframesandstitchthefabriccoveringsofWestland’searlyaircraft.
From Petters Ltd to Westland Aircraft Works • Established in Yeovil in 1865,JBPetter&Sonsexpandedtheirthriving ironmongery and en-gineering business on varioussitesinYeovil,producing1500agriculturaloilenginesperyearsoldworldwide.
• In1910PettersLtdwasfound-edandanew foundrywases-tablishedonasitewestofYeo-vil.
• JamesPetter’stwinsonsPerciv-alandErnesthadaflairforen-gineeringandwithBenJacobs,another talented engineer, de-signed an early car called the‘Horseless Carriage’ and alsodesignedexperimentalformsoftransportationincludingaflyingbicycle.
• In 1915 the Petter brothersmadethedecisiontooffertheircompany’s manufacturing re-sources to the Governmentto help thewar effort and theAdmiralty contracted them tobuildShort184seaplanesun-derlicence.
• Thus ‘WestlandAircraftWorks’wasofficiallyformedasabranchof Petters Ltd, beginning onehundred years of aviation his-tory.
Oil Engines & Other Products• WhilstPettersLtdhadcultivated theessentialskillsneeded
tolaunchWestlandAircraftWorks,theiragriculturaloilenginebusinesscontinuedtothrive.
• Petterengineswereusedtopoweragriculturalmachineryallovertheworld.
• The company also built products such as fireplaces, animalfeedcrushersandmechanicalcalculators.
• QueenVictoriahadtheNautilusGrateinstalledinfireplacesatOsborneHouseandBalmoralCastle.
• After various reorganisations and mergers, Petters Ltd stillmakesenginestodayundertheListerPettername.
• Aworkers’villagecalled‘Westland’(anamechosenbyMrsPercivalPetter)wasdesignedbutnevercompletedduetotheoutbreakoftheFirstWorldWar,uponwhichthesitebecametheWestlandAircraftWorks.
• SirErnestPetterlaterdescribedtheopeningofthesitein1915inaPettersNewsletter:‘...threemenwalkeddowntothecornerofafieldoutsideYeovilwheretherewasasmallfarmhut.Oneofthethree-theauthorofthislittlestory-openedthedoorofthehutandsolemnlysaid,“ThisistheWestlandAircraftWorks.’’’ Undoubtedly he had remembered the name Percival’swifehadchosenfortheproposedworkers’village.
• Thesiteexpandedasdifferenttypesofaircraftwerebuilt.AnewhangarwasbuilttoaccommodatetheconstructionofVickersVimybombers–atthetime,thebuildinghadthelargestunsupportedspaninBritain.
• Theairfieldwaspreparedin1918afterancientfarmlandhadbeenlevelled.
EVOLUTION OF THE WESTLAND SITE
The First Assembly Hall Under Construction
Short 166 Sopwith 1V Strutter Airco DH-4 Westland N.1BAirco DH-9 Airco DH-9A Vickers VimyShort 184
1910Work begins on future ‘Westland’ site.
1914First World War is declared.
1915Westland Aircraft Works founded.
1916First Westland-built aircraft delivered.
191714,000 Petter oil engines sold.
1918Over 1000 aircraft built in three years to support the war effort.
WORLD WAR I: THE BEGINNINGWESTLAND 1915-2015
Airco DH4
Westlandbuilt125ofthesewell-establishedfighterbomberaircraftunder licencefortheRoyalNavalAirServiceandtheRoyalFlyingCorps.
Sopwith 1½ Strutter
Westlandwascontracted in1917tobuild175ofthistwo-seatAircodaybomber.
Airco DH9A
400ofthesesingle-enginelightbomberswerebuiltbetween1917and1918byWestland, improvingonthedesignofearlierversions.
ThisheavybomberwasinservicewiththeRAFatthe end of the FirstWorldWar and after. A totalof25ofthesefamous,largetwin-enginedaircraftwerebuiltatYeovil.
Vickers Vimy
THE PETTER BROTHERS OFFERED TO DEVOTE THEIR ENTIRE CAPABILITY TO THE WAR EFFORT, AND WERE PROMPTLY AWARDED A CONTRACT FROM THE ADMIRALTY TO PRODUCE SHORT TYPE 184 SEAPLANES.
Westland’s first aircraft, Short 184 Seaplane
• DesignedbyShortBrothersLtdasa torpedo-carryingseaplane,theShort184wasthefirstaircrafttobebuiltatWestlandAircraftWorks.
• The aircraft’s structure was typical of theperiod;awire-braced,woodenbox framewiththefuselageandwingscoveredinfabric.
• ProductionoftheShort184beganinJuly1915.Westland employees visited Short BrothersLtdinordertoproducetheirownconstructiondrawings.
• The first aircraftwas completed inDecember1915anddeliveredonthe1stJanuary1916.
• ItwasdismantledandtakenbyhorseandcarttoYeovilJunctionfromwhereitwentbyrailtotheRiverHamblefortesting.
Westland N.1B
ThiswasthefirstWestland-designedaircraft,laterabandonedwith theadoptionofwheeledaircraftforshipborneoperation.
Our People
Westland Turns to Civil Enterprises…• Thedemandformilitaryaircraftsharplydecreasedafterthewar,soWestlandbegantodesigncivilaircraft.
• Flyingwasstilladangerousactivity,asthewarhadhastenedaircraftdevelopmentbynecessity.Designersandengineerscouldnow focuson improving thesafetyandairworthinessof theiraircraft.
• Civil luxurywas sought after in the aircraft of the interwar period, advancing the designs ofenclosedcockpits,passengercabinsandpushingaircrafttolooksleeker,flyhigherandgofaster.
Pianolas & Other Products •Westlandalsomanufacturedproductssuchasmilkchurns,pianolasandlightbulbs,diversifyingtheir product range during the uncertaininterwaryearsandusingtheirengineeringskillbase to stay in businesswhenaircraft orderswerescarce.
• From1935WestlandAircraftLtdtookoverworkshopspreviouslyoccupiedbyPettersLtd.
• Anewboilerhouseandwingshopwereconstructed,theWingDopingShopwasmodernisedandtheRibDepartmentexpanded.
• Themainassemblyhallwasbuiltin1938toaccommodatetheconstructionofLysandersandWhirlwindfighters.ItisstillinusetodayasBuilding115,knownastheIn-ServiceSupport&FlightFacility.
EVOLUTION OF THE WESTLAND SITE
Arthur Davenport, Harald Penrose and Robert Bruce photographed prior to the 1933 Mount Everest Expedition
UNKNOWN TO THE EXPEDITION LEADER, PILOTS CLYDESDALE AND MCINTYRE FLEW A SECOND MISSION TO RETAKE PHOTOGRAPHS LOST DUE TO A FAULTY CAMERA
The Pilots
Captain Arthur Stuart Keep, MC 1891 – 1952• Arthur Keep joinedWestland in 1919as an Air MinistryTest Pilot afterservice in theBritish Army andRoyalFlyingCorps.
• In 1920 Keeppiloted the six-seat Limousinein an Air Ministrycompetitionforcivilaircraft.During theflightheenteredthecabintosmokeandtalkwiththepassengers,alarmingthem,butthestabilityoftheaircraftenabled theflight tocontinueandfirstprizewaswon.
• Tragically, Keep lost both legs in the 1924crashof thecantilever-wingedDreadnought,thoughhis lifewassavedbycompanynurseSisterThomas.The incident ledtoWestlandinstalling a more powerful wind tunnel toimproveaerodynamicaccuracy.
• Keep later became Works Manager andensured Westland came through the leaninterwaryears.
Westland PterodactylWestland Widgeon
558of thesebiplaneswerebuiltpredominantly for the RAF. Thelarge orders heralded an era ofprosperity for Westland and sawthecompanythroughthedifficultinterwarperiod.
Westland Wapiti
The Pterodactyl was a uniquelytailless monoplane with adistinctive wing shape. Anexample of a Pterodactyl 1A isnow preserved in the ScienceMuseuminLondon.
This was the first parasol-wingmonoplanebuiltbyWestland,andproved popular amongst affluentprivateowners,achievingsuccessonthesportingscene.
First Over Everest
• In1933aWestlandaircraftbecamethefirsttoflyoverMountEverest.
• TheHoustonMountEverestExpeditionaimedtoprovethataBritishaircraftwithaBritishcrewcouldflyoverthehighestpointonearthandusetheopportunitytocontributetoscientificknowledge by photographing inaccessibleanddangerousterrain.
• Twoaircraft,PV.3Houston-WestlandandPV.6Houston-Wallace,wereessentiallyextensivelymodified Wapitis, altered to cope with thesevereconditions.
• The Expedition consisted of Auxiliary AirForce pilots Douglas Douglas-Hamilton,LordClydesdaleandFlightLieutenantDavidMcIntyre,withobserversColonelLVSBlackerandSRBonnett (cinematographerwith theGaumontBritishNews).
• The first flight successfully achieved thesummit anda secondflight, against orders,achievedtheExpedition’sscientificgoals.
The Manager
Robert Bruce, OBE 1869 - 1948• AsaLieutenantintheRoyalNavyVolunteerReserve (RNVR) with experience of aircraftmanufacture, Bruce was serving as anAdmiralty inspector at Sopwith AviationCompany when Percy Petter personallyrequestedhisreleasetotakeuptheroleofManageratWestlandAircraftWorks.
• Bruce designed and oversawmany originalaircraftduringhistimeatWestland.
• Bruce continued as a consultant for someyears after retiring asManagingDirector in1934.
The Designer
Arthur Davenport, FRAeS 1891 – 1976• DavenportwasrecruitedfromPettersLtdasChiefDraughtsman.
• He was sent to Sheerness to learn how tomake the Short 184 by producing his owndrawingsandwasappointedChiefDesignerin1919.
• Davenport led the collaborationwithCiervaduring the 1930s, producing the C.29 andCL-20 autogiros, which contributed to thetransitiontorotarywingaircraft.
• The Times called this ‘a magnificent pieceof insubordination’ but Clydesdale andMcIntyrewerereprimandedbytheRoyalAirForcefortheirbreachofconduct.TheywerethenawardedtheAirForceCross.
Harald Penrose, OBE 1904 – 1996• JoinedWestlandasaManagement Trainee,learningtoflywiththeRAFVolunteerReserves.
• PenrosewasappointedChiefTestPilotin1931andheldthepositionuntil1953throughthetransitionfrombiplanetojet.
• HereceivedanOBEin1946forhiswartimetest-flying.
• Penrose died in 1996, having completed5,500flyinghourson309aircrafttypes.
1933A Westland aircraft is the first to fly over Mount Everest.
1923As early as 1923, Westland Aircraft Works was approached by Cierva to collaborate on a rotary wing design.
1935Westland Aircraft Ltd was formed, breaking away from Petters Ltd.
1938Main Assembly Hall is built to construct Whirlwind fighters and Lysanders.
Westland Wallace
Westland Witch
Westland Pterodactyl 1A & 1B
Westland Wapiti
Westland Westbury
Westland Wizard
Westland Yeovil
Westland Dreadnought
Westland Woodpigeon
Westland Widgeon
Westland Walrus
Westland Pterodactyl V
Westland F7/30
Parnell Hendy Heck
Westland Limousine 4 Seat
Westland Limousine 6 Seat
Westland PV-7
Westland-Houston PV-3
Westland Pterodactyl IV
Westland F.29/27 C.O.W. Gun Fighter
Westland F20/27 Interceptor
Westland IV Westland Wessex
Westland Whirlwind
Westland Lysander
Westland Wagtail
Westland Weasel
Petters Ltd and Westland Aircraft Works
The aircraft was named Houston-Westland to honour Lady Lucy Houston who financed the expedition
THE INTERWAR AND EXPERIMENTAL AGEWESTLAND 1915-2015
Pressurised Cockpit• CapitalisingonthedesignexpertisecreatedtosupportthedevelopmentoftheWelkin,ahighaltitudefighter,WestlandfoundedNormalairin1946tosupplyspecialistoxygenandpressurisationequipmenttotheinternationalaerospaceindustry.
• Thefactorywascamouflagedbypaintingwindowsanddoorsonthebuildingsandputtingchimneypotsontheroofs.Falsehedgeswerepaintedontheairfieldwithoiltomakethesiteappearasthoughitwasaresidential,ruralarea.Thisaimedtoconfuseenemybombers,andthus thesiteavoidedanymajorbombdamageduringthewar.
EVOLUTION OF THE WESTLAND SITETHE LYSANDER WAS THE LARGEST AND LONGEST RUNNING PRODUCTION PROGRAMME FOR ANY FIXED WING WESTLAND DESIGNED AIRCRAFT
WORLD WAR II: WARTIME PRODUCTIONWESTLAND 1915-2015
Our PeopleThe Home Guard
Westland’s Wartime Production• DuringWorldWarII,Westlandanditsdispersalsiteswerewhollyconcernedwithaircraftproduction,unlikethepreviouswar inwhichmunitionshadalsobeenmanufactured.
• The Supermarine factory at Southampton wasdestroyedbytheLuftwaffein1940,cripplingproductionof theSpitfire.Westlandbecameamajorcentre forSpitfireandSeafiremanufactureandrepair,withover2000oftheseaircraftpassingalongtheproductionlinesandmanymorebeingrepaired.
• Themajorityofstaffeffortfocusedontheproductionand development of the Seafire, although workcontinuedontheWestlandWhirlwind,LysanderandWelkin.
The Westland Lysander: Vive la Résistance!
The Aircraft of World War II
• TheWestland Lysander was perhapsmost famous for its short take-off andlandingcapabilities,whichwereputtousebyNos.138,161and357SpecialDutiesSquadrons.TheSpecialOperationsExecutiveusedtheLysanderforthehighriskdropandretrievalofagentsorstrandedAlliedaircrewinFrance.
• TheFrenchRésistancewouldmakeaprearrangedsignal to theLysander if itwassafetoland.
• OperationswereconductednearafullmoonwiththeLysanderspaintedmattblack.
• Westland Whirlwind: Developed asBritain’s first heavily-armed fighter,the Whirlwind was designed formaximum speed, efficiency andmanoeuvrability.The‘PrideofYeovil’was a Westland Whirlwind fighter,paid for by the people of Yeovil ina scheme similar to that of warbonds.SerialnumberP7056,itsawservicewiththeRAFin263and137Squadrons.
• Supermarine Spitfire: Westlandproduced685oftheseiconicaircraftafter the Supermarine factory wasbombed.
• Supermarine Seafire: The navalvariant of the Spitfire. Westlandbecame the prime contractor withdesignauthorityforallSeafireswithMerlinengines,andalsothedesignof the wing-folding mechanism.1372oftheseaircraftwerebuiltbyWestland.
• Westland Wyvern: Design of thelast fixedwing aircraft byWestlandstarted in April 1944. With contra-rotatingpropellers,theWyvernwasacarrier-basedaircraftdesignedasastrikefighter.ItservedwiththeRoyalNavyuntil1958.
Westland Welkin
Westland Wyvern
Fairey Barracuda
The Whirlwind was a twinengine fighter with minimalfrontal area, a slenderfuselage and streamlinednacelles for maximumspeed, efficiency andmanoeuvrability.
Westland Whirlwind
Spitfire
• The first Westland-built Spitfireflew in July 1941 and productioncontinuedaspartofthecompany’smainwartimeactivity.
As the war progressed,attacks from high altitudebombers became a majorproblem To combat thisSpecification F 4/40 wasdrawn up calling for asuitable fighter, capable ofoperatingupto40,000ft.
ThiswasthelastfixedwingaeroplanetobeproducedbyWestlandbeforethetransitiontoRotorcraft.
Westland was expected to take a major role in theproductionofBarracudas,howeverthetotalwasreducedfrom an initial order of 250 to 18 as the Spitfire andSeafireproductionlinestookpriority.
• WestlandsubsequentlybecamethemaincontractorforthemodificationoftheSpitfireforuseatsea,takingdesign responsibility for wing foldandarrestergear.
Seafire
W.E.W. ‘Teddy’ Petter, CBE 1908 - 1968
• Teddy Petter, the son of SirErnest,wasappointedTechnicalDirectorin1935.
• Hedesigned twoofWestland’smost famous aircraft, theLysanderandtheWhirlwind.
• He also went on to lead thedesign team of the EnglishElectricCanberrawhenhe tookupthepostofChiefEngineerwiththatcompany.HealsowentontodesigntheEnglishElectricLightning,asupersonicjetfighterwhichwasthefirstaircraftinRAFServicecapableofsustainedsupersonicflight.
• WestlandhaditsowncompanyoftheHomeGuardwithin the3rd (Yeovil)SomersetBattalion.
• Made up from volunteer employees, the ‘LocalDefence Volunteers’ were given uniforms andweapons.Theypatrolledthelocalareaforsignsofenemyactivityandprotectedtheairfield.
• On 6th June 1944, D-Day, the Westland HomeGuard were ordered to turn up to work in fullbattle dress. Employeesmust have been slightlyconcernedtoseehandgrenadesandlightmachinegunsbroughtintotheoffices!
1938The Whirlwind fighter was the first RAF aircraft armed with cannon.
1940The first contract was received for 300 Spitfires.
19411652 Lysanders had been built, totalling the largest production figure of a single Westland aircraft.
King George VI visited the Westland factory to inspect production.
1942The Westland Welkin is put into production, designed to fight at high altitude with a pressurised cockpit.
1944Design began on the Wyvern, Westland’s last fixed-wing aircraft.
1945May 7th is declared VE Day.
Westland Lysander
German Reconnaissance image of Yeovil taken in 1940
Westland Whirlwind Westland Welkin Westland WyvernSupermarine Spitfire Supermarine Seafire
DURING PEAK PRODUCTION 20 AIRCRAFT A WEEK WERE BEING PRODUCED.
Our People
‘The Westland Affair’ 1984 – 1986• ‘The Westland Affair’ madeheadlinesinthe1980swhenthecompany experienced financialdifficulties.
• Despite assurances from theGovernment that Westland wasan importantcompany,nopublicfunds were made available.An injection of capital from theprivate sector was essential forWestland’ssurvival.
• The Westland Board favoured a bid from UnitedTechnologies (SikorskyDivision)andFiatwhichwassupported by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.However, Secretary of State for Defence MichaelHeseltinewantedWestlandtomergewithaEuropeanconsortium.
• WestlandacceptedtheUnitedTechnologiesandFiatbid and the financial reconstruction which followedsecuredWestland’sfutureasamanufacturer.However,the Westland Affair had permanently fractured theCabinet.
Sir Eric Mensforth• During the mid and late 1950s, Mensforthestablished helicopter development and productiononacontinuous,substantialscaleinBritain.Hewasa significant contributor toWestland’s change fromfixedtorotarywingaircraft.
BERP Blades• TheBritishExperimentalRotorProgramme(BERP) isacollaborationbetweenthe
companyandtheUKGovernmentresearchestablishments.• BERPIprovidedthecompositeSeaKingmainrotorbladewhichwasthefirstmass
producedcompositebladedesignedandbuiltintheUK.• TheBERPIIandIIIprogrammesdevelopedthebladethatisafamiliaranddistinctive
featureofbothLynxandEH101.Thisbladewasfitted toLynx for thesuccessfulcampaigntocapturetheabsoluteworldspeedrecordforhelicopters.
• BERPIVprovidesafurtherenhancementtohoverperformanceandhasbeenthebladeofchoiceforusebytheRAFMerlinfleetinhotandhighoperations.
• AfterWorldWarIIthefactorywasworkingtocapacity.ThemainassemblyareawasBuilding115AandBuilding134A(theVimyHangar)wasalsothemainengineeringofficearea.
• Withproductionnow focusedonhelicopters, the company’sofficesandboardroomwere located in Building 114 and new design offices werecompletedby1960.Building107A,whichnowhouses theAW159 line,wasknownasExperimentalEngineering.WestlandopenedLondon’sfirstHeliportin1959
EVOLUTION OF THE WESTLAND SITE
Westland site in 1946
1934Westland experimented with a rotary wing concept in co-operation with Cierva
1948Work begins on future Westland site
1960British Aircraft industry was rationalised
WESTLAND ACQUIRED BRISTOL HELICOPTERS, FAIREY AVIATION AND SAUNDERS-ROE TO BECOME WESTLAND HELICOPTERS WHEN THE BRITISH AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY WAS RATIONALISED
Cierva CL-20Cierva C-29 WestlandWessexWestland Dragonfly WestlandWestminsterWestlandWhirlwind WestlandWidgeon Westland Scout Westland WaspSaunders Roe Skeeter Bristol BelvedereBristol Sycamore FaireyRotodyne
1986G-Lynx takes World Speed Record
1967Westland build Sea King under licence from Sikorsky
1970Anglo-French Helicopter Collaboration
Westland 30WestlandLynxHASMk2/3WestlandLynxAHMk1Westland Gazelle Westland Lynx-3 Westland W30 300Westland PumaWestland Sea King
• AnenthusedteamofapprenticeswasformedtostarttherestorationofG-LYNXtocoincidewiththe25thAnniversaryofsettingtherecordandthe40thanniversaryoftheLynxprototype’sfirstflight.
• On8July2011,therestoredG-LYNXwasunveiledtothecompanyworkforceatYeovilataspecialemployeeevent.
• Thefinaltouchwasthecarefullypositionedcigaretteandadjacentmatchonthecentreconsole inhonourof testpilotTrevorEggington.
The G-LYNX Restoration
FROM FIXED WING TO HELICOPTERSWestland Enters the Helicopter Industry• In 1946 the Westland Boardmade the decision to focusentirelyonhelicopters.
• That bold decision was nottaken lightly. Much researchwasundertakenintotherotarywingfieldbyPenrose,Davenportand Managing Director EricMensforth.
• Westland initially producedSikorsky designs underlicence,benefitingfromtheUStechnological lead instead offollowing the fledgling industryin Britain, but soon developedin-house design expertisedue to the anglicisation andmodificationofUSdesigns.
• Later, the British aerospaceindustry was encouraged torationalise by Governmentpolicy and Westland acquiredthe aircraft manufacturinginterestsof FaireyAviation Ltdand thehelicopterdivisionsofthe Bristol Aeroplane Co andSaunders-Roe.
Sir Eric Mensforth
Westland WS-70 Black HawkWestland G-LYNX
19621961The first Anglo-Italian collaboration
Westland Helicopters Ltd formed
Westland-Agusta/Bell 47G (Sioux)
WESTLAND 1915-2015
Westland Dragonfly
Westland-Agusta-Bell 47 Sioux
Famousforitsroleinsearchandrescue,the iconic Sea King was developedfrom the Sikorsky design in responsetotheneedforalong-rangesubmarinehunter/killeraircraft.
Westland Sea King
The first Westland helicopter wasanglicised from the American SikorskyS-51design.Itfirstflewon5thOctober1948,pilotedbyAlanBristow.
• The Lynx was developed as part of an Anglo-Frenchagreement with Aérospatiale. This collaboration alsoproduced theGazelle and Pumahelicopters, but designauthorityfortheLynxrestedsolelywithWestland.
• In1986aspeciallymodifiedLynx,serialG-LYNX,tooktheHelicopterWorld Speed Record with a speed of 249.10mph/400.87km/h.Thisrecordremainsunbrokendespiteseveralattempts.
TheLynxfirstflewin1971.Themaritimevariantwasdesignedfromtheoutsettooperatefromsmallships.Ithasbecomeone of the world’s most recognisedhelicopters.
Westland produced 250 of theseaircraft, under licence from Agusta,for theBritishArmy,RAFanda fewforciviliancustomers.
Westland Lynx
COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH COMPANY AEROSPATIALE, TO PRODUCE THREE NEW DESIGNS: PUMA, GAZELLE AND LYNX.
G-LYNX Takes the World Speed Record
Our PeopleAWASA
• AWASA: The AgustaWestlandApprentice&StudentAssociationismadeupfromtheapprentices,undergraduatesandgraduatesinYeovil. Every year AWASA raisessignificant funds for charitablecauses in humorous andimaginativeways.
Everything we do, we do with Passion...•WestlandmergedwithItaliancompanyAgustain2001.AspartoftheFinmeccanicaGroupsince2004,AgustaWestlandisagloballeaderinrotorcraft.
• FromPettersLtdtoAgustaWestland;fromhand-drawnblueprintsto3DCATIAdesign;ourcentenaryyearcelebratesahistoryofinnovation.
• WithtenindustrialplantsinfourcountriesandCustomerSupportCentresonfivecontinents,AgustaWestlandhasatrulyinternationaloutlook.
Project Zero• Thisinnovativeall-electrictiltrotortechnologydemonstratorisacollaborativeproject ledbyAgustaWestland,otherFinmeccanicacompaniesandinternationalpartners.Thetechnologiesdevelopedbyeachpartner are being fed into different industrialsectors,addingvalue toeach.ProjectZerohas won numerous awards for innovationincludingtheRAeSTeamGoldMedalfor2014.
• The Yeovil site continues to be AgustaWestland’s main UK base ofoperations,100yearsonfromitsinceptionastheWestlandAircraftWorks.
• AllMinistryofDefencestaffwererelocatedtothenewlychristenedCentenaryHouse in October 2014, marking one hundred years of partnership.DesignatedBuilding100 inhonourofWestland’scentenaryyear, ithasstunningviewsacrosstheairfield.
• AFinmeccanicamarkwaslaidintothegroundoutsideBuilding231.Largeenoughtobevisiblefromtheair,themarkispartofboththeFinmeccanicaandAgustaWestlandlogosandisareminderofouruniquejointheritage.
EVOLUTION OF THE WESTLAND SITE
Westland site in 2012
LEADING THE FUTUREWESTLAND 1915-2015
Four Countries, One Team:
• Over 13,000 AgustaWestland employees are spread across the UK, Italy,PolandandtheUS.
The AW Family of new generation helicopters share common design philosophiesincludingsafety,thecockpit,maintenanceandproductsupport.Theseallowpilotsandmaintainerstotransitionmorequicklyfromoneaircrafttypetoanother.TheAW189isthefirstcivilaircrafttobebuiltonsiteinYeovilsince1987.
AW101
AW609 TiltRotor
AW Family: The AW139, AW169 and AW189
• An AW139 performed a spectacular feat when it flewthroughTowerBridge,enroutetodeliveringtheQueenbyparachutetotheLondon2012Olympicsopeningceremony.An AW101 dropped the celebratory confetti during theentranceoftheathletes.
Anewtwin-enginehelicopter,builtupontheheritageoftheLynx,theAW159isAgustaWestland’sfirstfullydigitallydesigned helicopter. The first aircraft to be handedover in 2015 was an AW159 to the UK Ministryof Defence. Designated an AW159 Wildcat,thismarked an incrediblemilestone of onehundred years of partnership betweenWestlandandtheMinistryofDefence.
TheAW609combinestheversatilityofahelicopterwiththespeedofaturbo-propaircraft. It istheworld’sfirstcommercialtiltrotor and performed demonstrationflights topotentialcustomers in2014. Itisontracktoreceivecivilcertificationin2017.
AW159
London 2012 Olympics
19871987 First flight of the EH101
1994GKN launched a successful take-over of Westland
2012AgustaWestland feature in Olympic Openening Ceremony
2010Decision to develop Civil rotorcraft activities at Yeovil
2001AgustaWestland is formed
Significant acceleration of the development of new products to exploit market opportunities
2015
Westland Lynx Mk8 Westland Lynx Mk9 AgustaWestland Lynx Mk9AEH Industries EH101 AgustaWestland Merlin RN AgustaWestland Merlin RAF Westland WAH-64 Apache AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat AgustaWestland AW189
2004Fimmeccanica acquire GKN’s 50% stake in AgustaWestland
• Sought after for their cutting edge technology, style andversatility, the AW101 and AW159 Wildcat featured inSKYFALL,the23rdJamesBondadventure.
TheAW101isthelatestgenerationhelicopter evolved from thecollaboration between Westlandand Agusta in the 1980s whichproducedtheEH101.Aworldleaderinitsclass,itiscurrentlyinservicein diverse roles from SAR to VVIPTransport with customers aroundtheworld.
AgustaWestland Super Lynx 300
AgustaWestland has the right to modify any data contained herein at any time. The information and figures contained in this document are not binding and do not constitute any offer or agreement with AgustaWestland. They cannot be used, disseminated or reproduced without the prior written consent of AgustaWestland.
G14-2065
You can alsofollow us on:
Visit agustawestland.com