Brit Army L1A1 in action- Helo ops, COOL pics!!

[tiblow]

These are the first posting of old British Army pics of my favorite unit the Royal Green Jackets - RGJ (others are mixed in), who are sadly no more having been aligned into a composite unit called the "Rifle Regt" now. All thats for another day. You'll see mostly L1A1's and some M16's (Armalites as they called them) in the pics. I'll be posting more soon, I just think the helo pics are neat! These helo-chopper ops pics are in various areas: No. Ireland-South Armagh, some in Burni, Cypress, Gibralter, and Borneo circa 1950's,60's, 70's.

The NI pics are of a tactic they used whereby they'd unexpectedly chopper into an area along a roadway and land and set up a hasty roadblock and trap IRA operatives and smugglers along a supply route or MSR....and BINGO grab'em off to the RUC!! The helo acted as a infil-exfil transport, an overhead C & C bird, a pursuit vehicle, and if needed a medivac bird.
enjoy

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Theres are mixed pics of various RGJ helo ops in Borneo, Burni, Cypress, Gibral., and NI etc., etc. And yes, they did have Huey's in the jungle area bases. How or why I'm not sure?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/tiblow/Borneo-37_jpg_jpg_jpg.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/tiblow/Borneo-016_jpg_jpg_jpg.jpg
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/tiblow/heli_insertion.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/tiblow/slide8a_jpg_jpg_jpg.jpg

[lew]

Cool pics. One question, though: What's the purpose of the opening on the front of the Wessex (that is a Wessex, right?)?

[tiblow]

Air intake for turbine engine

[lew]

Thanks.

[tiblow]

btt

[brownknees]

The Wessex is a Mk3, which was upgraded to a gas turbine power unit. Thje older Mk2 was an internal combustion engine (radial). The easiest way to tell them apart is the nose. The Mk2 had a round nose witout the bigger air intake & droopy looking nose.
The Whirlwind was similarly upgraded & with the same change in the nose profile.

The Mk 3's both also had a big, curved exhause on the left side which is another way of telling them apart.

[tiblow]

btt