Westland WG.44 - WG.47 1980s stealth helicopter projects

[Mike Pryce]

EXCLUSIVE – 1980s UK secret stealth attack helicopter project revealed - Royal Aeronautical Society

How the UK had a stealth attack helicopter design project almost a decade before the US RAH-66 Comanche. A former Leonardo Helicopters Chief Engineer, Jeremy Graham FRAeS reveals archive details of this never-before publicised Westland Helicopters low observable chopper proposal from the 1980s.

www.aerosociety.com

 

[mrmalaya]

That is really interesting and helps with a context for UK LO research in the 1980s too.

I had the opportunity to ask some questions of the Wildcat acceptance team when they visited my place of work a few years ago. When I asked about the RCS reduction measures on the fuselage, all I got was a collective shrug and a "I suppose so".

Not sure what else I expected.

 

[hesham]

Amazing find my dear Harrier.

 

[TsrJoe]

Agusta Westland A.129 development 'TONAL' ... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.985533001615855&type=3

 

[Mike Pryce]

https://hushkit.net/2018/01/18/britains-secret-stealth-helicopter-other-exotic-westland-projects/

 

[fightingirish]

Update:
Hush-Kit - Further details emerge on Britain’s secret stealth helicopter

 

[hesham]

Amazing find my dears Harrier and Rolf,

specially the WG.38.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

WG.45 and WG.47 pics via https://hushkit.net/2018/01/19/further-details-emerge-on-britainss-secret-stealth-helicopter/ and https://hushkit.net/2018/01/18/britains-secret-stealth-helicopter-other-exotic-westland-projects/

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

WG.47 canopy is odd - I can't quite understand it from this picture.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

WG.44 is from 1982, which puts it 5 years after the Westland/VFW-Fokker P.277 project:

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/207

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

LAH (mentioned as a predecessor to WG.45) was TONAL. This mockup is interesting to compare:

 

[GTX]

WG.47 canopy is odd - I can't quite understand it from this picture.

I wonder if it is some form of retractable canopy?

 

[Orionblamblam]

WG.47 canopy is odd - I can't quite understand it from this picture.

I wonder if it is some form of retractable canopy?

That's sure what it looks like. They pop up for "safe" flying, fold down when stealth and low silhouette are required.

 

[shedofdread]

Re the WG47 canopy, perhaps this could explain the odd appearance - "the cockpit transparencies were angled outward to eliminate optical glint to the horizon"?

 

[Hood]

Any thoughts on what the under-nose trainable quad-tube launcher on the model of the WG.44 is?
Is it meant to be trainable defensive AAM armament or a small-calibre air-ground rocket?

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

They look like MANPADS type missiles to me.

 

[youROKer]

Any thoughts on what the under-nose trainable quad-tube launcher on the model of the WG.44 is?
Is it meant to be trainable defensive AAM armament or a small-calibre air-ground rocket?

I think this design should be related to this patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US4785710A

 

[TomS]

They look like MANPADS type missiles to me.

Specifically Air-To-Air Stinger. You can see the strongback between the two missiles. I don't think it's related to that patent.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

They look like MANPADS type missiles to me.

Specifically Air-To-Air Stinger. You can see the strongback between the two missiles. I don't think it's related to that patent.

It looked like Stinger to me but honestly MANPADS are pretty similar and the model pretty rudimentary, so I wasn't going to declare the type.

 

[Avimimus]

Wasn't the U.K. also interested in a turret launched HVM during this period?

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Starstreak? Air-to-air Starstreak for the AH-64 is not yet in service in 2018.

 

[starviking]

Starstreak hits the requirement and development timeframe right for these machines, and I'm sure Shorts would have just as interested in getting their missile on any new attack helicopter back then, as they were for the US Army in the mid-90s.

 

[Hood]

Could be Starstreak, although it is a fatter missile than Stinger (130mm versus 70mm) and if you look at land-based launchers the tubes are much wider in diameter.

 

[starviking]

The first HVM pics I can find in the Flight Archive are from mid-86, with mention of the program starting as a one-year project definition study in 1984, so they could just be placeholders seeing that Hushkit states the WG44 started in 1982.

Ref: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1986/1986%20-%203528.html?search=starstreak%20thunderbolt

 

[fightingirish]

Here the front cover of the latest AEROSPACE magazine - March 2018:

* Out of the shadows – A secret project reveals how Westland Helicopters developed a design for a UK stealth helicopter in the 1980s.

Link: https://www.aerosociety.com/news/in-the-latest-aerospace-magazine-march-2018/

 

[SteveO]

Very interesting. Looks like the one on that cover has a twin tail rotor and the front canopy for the gunner(?) is sized for the head only.

 

[hesham]

Nice find my dear Rolf.

 

[Schneiderman]

Very interesting. Looks like the one on that cover has a twin tail rotor and the front canopy for the gunner(?) is sized for the head only.

Its the pilots cockpit and yes, it is just for his head.

 

[Silencer1]

Its the pilots cockpit and yes, it is just for his head.

Protection - first, comfort - last
Reminds me Henschel Hs-129 cockpit. with its' quite limited space for pilot's head.

P.S. I think, that actual picture of Westland project has been inverted to the cover' image. So, I propose my version - here tires are black.

 

[TsrJoe]

WG.47

 

[hesham]

WG.47

Wow.

 

[SteveO]

Thanks TsrJoe! I wonder why they left these with a fixed undercarriage? Cheaper obviously but why go stealth and leave bits hanging out?!!

 

[TsrJoe]

US6308914B1 - Apparatus for the suppression of infra red emissions from an engine - Google Patents

An apparatus for the suppression of infra red emissions from an engine includes a suppressor body through which pass exhaust gases from the engine, the suppressor body having an inlet means for air which is mixed within the suppressor body with the hot exhaust gases to cool the exhaust gases...

patents.google.com

 

[sienar]

WG.47

After inverting the first image and recovering the highlights

 

[hesham]

WG.47

After inverting the first image and recovering the highlights

Nice

 

[Colonial-Marine]

The tail rotor configuration is interesting. For battle damage redundancy or increased controlability?

 

[Hood]

Yes, Westland were quite keen on twin tail rotors for battle damage redundancy.

 

[Silencer1]

Yes, Westland were quite keen on twin tail rotors for battle damage redundancy.

This also decreased fuselage rear part length, and overall dimensions.

 

[yasotay]

Yes, Westland were quite keen on twin tail rotors for battle damage redundancy.

This also decreased fuselage rear part length, and overall dimensions.

Hmmm.... complexity and acoustics would be up. Don't think you could reduce the rotational speed of the tail rotors to reduce TR noise propagation, because it would have to be dual speed transmission to the TR if you lost one. That would mean even more complexity.

 

[turboshaft]

Here are the additional images from the Aerospace feature (all images are © Leonardo MW). Captions as follows:

1) Model of the WG44 design. Weapons were carried internally, except for an undernose lightweight rocket pack, for use against air threats – namely the Mi-24 ‘Hind’.
2) Three view of the WG 45 concept – showing a design visually reminiscent of the Lynx.
3) The WG 44 next to the Westland Lynx.
4) & 5) The WG47b in its most developed form with twin tailrotors, anti-glint canopies and BERP blades.
6) The WG 47a with conventional stepped canopies and single tail rotor.
7) The WG 47b featured an innovative reverse slope canopy to reduce tell-tale glint.
8) Model of the final configuration of the WG 47b stealth attack helicopter that was studied by Westland as a private confidential proposal for the UK MoD requirements. Note twin tail rotors and reverse sloped canopies.
9) A wind-tunnel model of WG 47a fitted with the twin tail rotor configuration but with a conventional stepped, tandem canopy.