Bristol BELVEDERE HC.1

In 1948, Bristol began the development of a tandem rotor helicopter for troop or cargo transport, medical evacuation and different tactical missions. Unfortunately, the works were very difficult and slow, but in 1952 the “Bristol 173” was presented. This model used numerous components of the Bristol 171 Sycamore helicopter but did not enter into production. Later, Bristol built three airframes of the Type 191 helicopter program, designed for naval missions, but the model was not successful in this role and was canceled. However, this model served as the basis for a larger and better-performing helicopter, the Type 192 or Belvedere. The Belvedere flew for the first time in July 1958 and the series helicopters carried equipment that allowed night operations. The first helicopters entered service with the RAF in September 1961, and from the beginning the limitations of this model were evident, but it is true that despite them, they performed well in harsh conditions in Aden, Borneo, Malaysia or Saudi Arabia. They had a rather short useful life, because their airframes was only designed to fly about 1,600 hours, so they were all retired in 1969.

BELVEDERE HC.1 gallery and more info