To celebrate the distinguished service history of the Gazelle helicopter, and mark its withdrawal from service at the end of this month, 5 Regt AAC will be conducting a final fly past through the UK, Tomorrow, Monday 23rd October 2023. The farewell flight will be departing from, stopping at or overflying, UK locations that have played an important role across the Gazelle’s service. At 11:30am tomorrow helicopters from the fleet will be doing a flypast of City Airport Manchester (Barton Aerodrome) before heading off to their next location at RAF Shawbury. This will most likely be the last time the public gets to see them in flight service before being decommissioned. Spectators and enthusiasts are urged to get their a little early to secure parking. The Aérospatiale/Westlands Gazelle entered service 6 July 1974 and has provided valiant service to UK Defence in the UK including Northern Ireland; Germany, Hong Kong, Falklands, Iraq, Kosovo, Canada, Kenya, Belize and Cyprus. The Gazelle has, at one time or another, served in every arm of the UK Armed Forces in training, reconnaissance, battlefield communication, direction of artillery fire, casualty evacuation and anti-tank roles. Regarding a successor to the Gazelle, An Army spokesperson said: “We operate a range of aircraft to meet our operational requirements and any replacement for Gazelle will be framed by the 2021 Defence Rotary Wing Strategy and evolving operational demands.” Regarding a successor to the Gazelle, An Army spokesperson said: “We operate a range of aircraft to meet our operational requirements and any replacement for Gazelle will be framed by the 2021 Defence Rotary Wing Strategy and evolving operational demands.” Photo: Army AirCorps
