--- title: "Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma — OnlyPlanes" description: "The SA 330 Puma is a French twin-engine transport helicopter developed to move personnel and cargo on tactical missions." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "The SA 330 Puma is a French twin-engine transport helicopter developed to move personnel and cargo on tactical missions." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/a-rospatiale-sa-330-puma.webp" "og:title": "Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma — OnlyPlanes" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Military helicopters / SA 330 # Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The SA 330 Puma is a French twin-engine transport helicopter developed to move personnel and cargo on tactical missions. ![Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma aircraft photograph](https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/a-rospatiale-sa-330-puma.webp) Development ## History The SA 330 Puma answered a French Army requirement for a medium tactical and logistical helicopter. Existing types did not meet all the demands, so Sud Aviation began a separate design. Two turboshaft engines and a roomy cabin allowed it to carry personnel, cargo, and equipment where an airplane could not land. Puma became the foundation for later family developments, but the early SA 330 should not be assigned the specifications of a Super Puma or a modern H215M. Airbus dates the program to 1963. The first prototype flew on 15 April 1965 and a production aircraft flew in 1968. Deliveries to the French Army began the following year. The project developed alongside Franco-British cooperation, and Westland built some aircraft in Britain under licence. This background explains Puma's use in both countries, although national equipment fits and service designations differed. Puma's central task is to bring people and their equipment closer to where they are needed. A mission may move a military unit, evacuate casualties, supply a remote site, or assist emergency services. Convenient loading, cabin access, and operation from temporary landing areas all matter to a transport helicopter. Payload, however, depends on fuel, temperature, altitude, and route length. Published seating figures cannot be treated as constants for every flight. Military operation calls for more than sufficient engine power. Crews plan routes, assess landing areas, distribute weight, and account for conditions on arrival. Ground teams prepare and inspect the aircraft after missions. Puma worked in different climates, creating different maintenance and equipment requirements. Versions for individual operators could carry their own communications, navigation, and protection systems. Long service prompted upgrades. Airbus describes the British Puma Mk2 program as a substantial modernization of earlier helicopters that introduced contemporary capabilities. Yet Puma Mk2 is a distinct operational standard, not a description of every SA 330. A careful reader separates the original French project, British versions, and the later Super Puma line that grew from the basic design. The SA 330 demonstrated the value of a medium transport helicopter able to support ground forces without an established airfield. Its story is one of lengthy development through national production and subsequent upgrades. An accurate profile identifies the version and operator before giving performance figures. Such figures belong to a particular configuration and set of conditions, not to every member of the extended Puma family. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"News, stories and rare images from the world of aviation","inLanguage":"en-GB","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"translationOfWork":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"The SA 330 Puma is a French twin-engine transport helicopter developed to move personnel and cargo on tactical missions.","name":"Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma | OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","logo":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"},"sameAs":["https://t.me/legkoenebo"]},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma#article","@type":"Article","description":"The SA 330 Puma is a French twin-engine transport helicopter developed to move personnel and cargo on tactical missions.","headline":"Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma","inLanguage":"en-GB","thumbnailUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/a-rospatiale-sa-330-puma.webp","author":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"image":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/aerospatiale-sa-330-puma#webpage"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"OnlyPlanes","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png"},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/a-rospatiale-sa-330-puma.webp","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/a-rospatiale-sa-330-puma.webp"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://onlyplanes.ru/sitemap.md) for all pages.