The Westland Wasp first flew in 1958, as the Saro P.531, & entered service as the Westland Wasp HAS.Mk 1 in October 1962. It was a highly specialised helicopter, used in the shipborne ASW & general utility roles. Unfortunately, the Wasp had difficulty in the ASW role, not being able to carry ASW equipment at the same time as weapons; this meant that the Wasp had to rely on its parent ship to provide it with information on where to drop its homing torpedoes. The Wasp was well equipped for bad-weather operation, with auto-stabilisation, a radar altimeter, UHF radio & EW equipment. Although the Wasp had no radar, it could fire the AS.12 wire-guided missile (visually) over ranges up to 5 miles (8km). Wasps were active in the Falklands, although most had been replaced by the Lynx. There, they flew 912 combat sorties, mostly in the reconnaissance & utility roles, although Wasps from No.829 Squadron engaged the submarine Santa Fe, & holed its conning tower with an AS.12 ASM. The Wasp was exported to the Australian, Brazilian, Malaysian & South African navies.
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