Westland’s prospects for the 21st century improved greatly with the joint development (with Italian company Agusta) of the EH 101, later to become the AW101 Merlin, the fourth pre-production example of which is seen here in 1993. The Merlin will continue to serve with the Royal Navy until the end of the 2020s.

A line-up of Westland’s wares at the SBAC show at Farnborough in September 1984, including WG.30 G-EFIS (c/n 014), a pair of Lynx 3s and one of two Sea Kings exhibited at the show. By this time Westland was already in financial difficulty.

The BAe Nimrod AEW.3 was conceived as a homegrown airborne early warning system similar to Boeing’s E-3 AWACS, modified from standard Nimrod MR.1s. The first production version, XV285, seen here, first flew in March 1982. Only 11 examples were built and the project was cancelled in favour of the E-3 in December 1986.

Although the prospect of licence-building Sikorsky’s UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter was seen as a major attraction as part of a potential Westland/Sikorsky merger, in the event only two examples of the WS.70 Black Hawk, as the UK version was designated, were built; the first, ZG468, seen here, ultimately went to Bahrain.

The WG.30 - later referred to as the Westland 30 - was a development of the company’s Lynx military helicopter, with which it shared 85 per cent of its components, incorporating a more capacious cabin for predominantly civil operations. The prototype, G-BGHF, seen here, made the type’s maiden flight on April 10, 1979, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The Westland WG.30 underwent trials as a battlefield helicopter, but progressed no further.

A military variant of the WG.30 was developed by Westland as a potential utility helicopter for the Army, which saw the type as offering similar capability to the RAF’s Pumas (which provided the Army with airlift capability on the battlefield) but with an attractive servicing compatibility with its own Lynx support helicopters. It did not proceed, however.