Westland Whirlwind HAR.9 (XN258)
NAHR category - Noteworthy
Aircraft History
The first prototype British Whirlwind HAR.1 flew in August 1953, with the 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-40 Wasp, and it entered service shortly afterwards. They served in non-combat roles, including search and rescue and communications functions. The HAR.3 had a larger 700 hp Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone 7 engine. It was not until 1955 that the HAR.5 flew for the first time with a British power plant, the Alvis Leonides Major. The HAS.7 become the first British helicopter designed for anti-submarine work in the front-line when it entered service in 1956. It was equipped with radar and dipping ASDIC for submarine detection and designed to be equipped with a torpedo, but could not carry both simultaneously. In this version the engine was a 750 hp (560 kW) Alvis Leonides Major 755/1 and had a hovering ceiling at 9,400 ft and a range of 334 miles at 86 mph.
Later in their lives, some HAR.9s were converted to use the Rolls-Royce Gnome turbine engine.
From its start with the Navy, the Whirlwind came to be used by the British Army and RAF. More than 400 Whirlwinds were built, of which nearly 100 were exported to foreign customers.
Above text courtesy of Wikipedia
XN258 History
XN258 first flew on 29th August 1959 and delivered to the Royal Navy on 18th September 1959. It was originally built as a piston engined HAS.7 version, but was upgraded to become one of 16 HAR.9 re-engined with the Rolls Royce Gnome turboshaft engine in 1966. Throughout its service career it operated from both HMS Hermes and Endurance in addition to spending considerable time on search and rescue duties from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. After retiring from active service in 1976 it spent some time on display at Helston Aeropark, Cornwall before it was acquired by the museum in 1993. We understand that this is the only Whirlwind HAR.9 available for public viewing?
XN258 during restoration (Oct-07)
Photo credited to Andy Court