The Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.

The SA 330 Puma was originally developed by Sud Aviation to meet a requirement of the French Army for a medium-sized all-weather helicopter. The helicopter also had to be capable of operating by day and night as well as in a wide variety of climates.

In 1967, the Puma was also selected by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and given the designation Puma HC Mk 1. As a result of this decision, the SA 330 was included in a joint production agreement between Aerospatiale and Westland Helicopters of the UK, which also resulted in the purchase of Aerospatiale Gazelle by the United Kingdom and the Westland Lynx by France. This resulted in Westland building components for the Puma, and assembling the RAF's Pumas.

The first of two Puma prototypes flew on April 15th, 1965. Six pre-production models were also built, the last of which flew on July 30th, 1968. The first production SA 330 Puma flew in September 1968, with deliveries to the French Army starting in early 1969.

Production of the SA 330 Puma by Aerospatiale ceased in 1987, by which time a total of 697 had been sold. The Puma was then replaced by an upgraded and improved version, the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Rotorspan: 11 inches

Release Date: June 2013

Historical Account: "Mission Critical" - The Puma HC-1 is a twin engine medium sized transport and utility helicopter, filling a useful gap between the smaller Lynx and larger Chinook and Merlin fleets. Despite entering service in the early 1970s, the Pumas have not gone through the same various stages of development as other similar machines such as the Lynx, instead retaining their original designation of HC Mk.1. Along with the rest of the RAFs Puma fleet at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, 230 Squadron has operated the Puma HC Mk.1 since the early 1970s.

Flying extensively over Northern Ireland, as well as brief detachments to the Balkans, 230 Squadron left the province in 2009 to move to its new home at RAF Benson. While in Northern Ireland the Pumas gave excellent service proving to be a reliable and capable transport helicopter.

Today, the Pumas assist in training exercises in the UK, but are at a state of readiness to depart to any theatre where they are needed. 230 Squadrons emblem features a tiger, commemorating their service in Malaya, resulting in some interesting tiger motifs and schemes being applied to their aircraft.