Aerospatiale Gazelle

The Aérospatiale Gazelle (company designations SA 340, SA 341 and SA 342) is a five-seat helicopter developed and initially produced by the French aircraft company Sud Aviation, and later by Aérospatiale. It is the first helicopter to feature a fenestron tail instead of a conventional tail rotor, as well as being the first helicopter to be adapted for single-pilot operations under instrument flight rules.

The Gazelle was developed during the 1960s as a successor to the Alouette II as well as to meet a French Army requirement for a new lightweight observation helicopter. Both France and the United Kingdom worked on the project via a joint production and development agreement with Westland Aircraft. The Gazelle is considerably larger than the preceding Alouette series, yet is still powered by a single Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine. Innovations in the design of the Gazelle, aside from the fenestron, included an emphasis on minimal maintenance requirements from the onset of development and the use of a semi-rigid composite rotor system, the latter having required considerable development time. On 7 April 1967, the Gazelle performed its maiden flight.

The first operational Gazelles were introduced in 1971. Initially, manufacturing lines for the type were established in both France and Britain. Later on, it was also manufactured under license by SOKO in Yugoslavia and the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) in Egypt. Multiple armed variants, orientated towards roles such as anti-tank gunship (SA 342M), light support (SA 341F), and anti-air variants were promptly produced for various services of the French armed forces. The Gazelle was flown by all branches of the British armed forces—the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy (including in support of the Royal Marines) and the British Army in a variety of roles. The Gazelle has been procured and operated by a wide range of export customers. While it has been typically operated in a military capacity to perform light transport, scouting, and light attack missions, the Gazelle has also seen use with civil operators as well.

During its lengthy service life, the Gazelle has participated in numerous conflicts around the world, including by Syria during the 1982 Lebanon War, by Rwanda during the Rwandan Civil War in the 1990s, and by numerous participants on both sides of the 1991 Gulf War. By the twenty-first century, many operators were in the process of replacing the Gazelle with newer rotorcraft; in French service, the Gazelle has been supplanted as an attack helicopter by the larger and more modern Eurocopter Tiger, but remained active for some time in the scout helicopter role. Numerous operators have elected to upgrade their rotorcraft for continued service, the type still being in use with multiple countries.