Scout Restoration on display

The latest aircraft to roll out of our workshop after an extensive restoration project is our Falklands War veteran Scout AH1. XV139.

A genuine war veteran, XV139 was deployed to the South Atlantic onboard the Baltic Ferry, arriving to San Carlos on 1st June 1982 with 656 Squadron Army Air Corps. On the 9th June, while being flown by Sgt Roy on a tasking near Port Harriet, XV139 was fired upon by Argentine forces on the ground with a blowpipe missile, which narrowly missed the helicopter.

Previously stored on the museum site, the restoration of XV139 has seen the structure stripped to bare metal to allow a full inspection and rectification of any problems identified, the interior fully restored and a repainting its colours worn during the Falklands War. The nimbus engine and gearbox assembly have also been restored leaving XV139 looking almost like new.

XV139 now joins the museums Falklands War display ‘11 Weeks in 1982’, the largest permanent collection dedicated to the conflict in the UK, where it is displayed alongside aircraft from both sides of the conflict. 139’s tail boom is currently in the workshop reviving the finishing touches, and will be refitted to the cabin in due course.