The Gazelle was originally conceived as an enhanced Alouette, but by the end of its development had emerged as a completely new helicopter. The Gazelle made its first flight on the 7th of April 1967, & had an advanced rotor system, streamlined contours & a 'fenestron' anti-torque rotor embedded in a low-drag installation within the fin.

The first production SA 341 flew on the 6th of August 1971, & production was shared between Aérospatiale & Westland as part of the Anglo-French Helicopter Agreement of 1967. The Gazelle serves with all three UK armed services; as the AH.Mk1 with the Army, HT.Mk2 with the Royal Navy, & HT.Mk3 with the RAF. These were modified specially for use with each service, the AH.Mk1 having Doppler radar, auto-chart display, a roof sight & provision for TOW missiles, & the two HT variants having a stability-augmentation system & the naval version having a rescue hoist.

The Gazelle is powered by the 600shp (448 kW) Astazou IIIN turboshaft in Army Air Corps, RAF & Fleet Air Arm service, & by the Astazou IIIC in ALAT (French Army light aviation) service. The Gazelle is designed to perform in the utility & light transport role, but most of the Gazelle's 14 military customers have also had the option of fitting TOW missiles to the helicopter installed as well. Over 1,000 Gazelles had been built by 1983.

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