| WG.13 Lynx / Super Lynx | |
|---|---|
 A British Army Lynx in 2013 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Multi-purpose military helicopter |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Westland Helicopters AgustaWestland[citation needed] |
| Status | In service |
| Primary users | British Army (historical)
|
| Number built | 450 (as of 2009)[1] |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1978 |
| First flight | 21 March 1971 |
| Retired |
|
| Developed into | |
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants. The Lynx went into operational usage in 1977 and was later adopted by the armed forces of over a dozen nations, primarily serving in the battlefield utility, anti-armour, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare roles.
The Lynx is a fully aerobatic helicopter with the ability to perform loops and rolls.[2] In 1986, a specially modified Lynx set the current Fédération Aéronautique Internationale's official airspeed record for helicopters (category excludes compound helicopters) at 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph),[3][4] which remains unbroken as of January 2022.[5][6]
Several land and naval variants of the Lynx have been produced along with some major derivatives. The Westland 30 was produced as a civil utility helicopter; it was not a commercial success and only a small number were built during the 1980s. In the 21st century, a modernised variant of the Lynx was designed as a multi-role combat helicopter, designated as the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat; the Wildcat is intended to replace existing Lynx helicopters.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
gib 140was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Larry, Jeram-Croft (2017). Royal Navy Lynx. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1473862517. OCLC 989712456. [page needed]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FAI_Absolutewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "AgustaWestland G-Lynx helicopter to be recognised for maintaining world speed record since 1986." Western Gazette, 24 September 2014. (archived version)
- ^ "Event held to mark helicopter speed record being set" Archived 3 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. BBC, 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Record 11659: John Trevor Egginton". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2022.