--- title: "Westland Puma HC.1 — OnlyPlanes" description: "The Puma HC.1 was the Royal Air Force transport version of the Puma helicopter, used for decades of support missions." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "The Puma HC.1 was the Royal Air Force transport version of the Puma helicopter, used for decades of support missions." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/westland-puma-hc-1.webp" "og:title": "Westland Puma HC.1 — OnlyPlanes" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Military transport helicopters / Puma HC.1 # Westland Puma HC.1 The Puma HC.1 was the Royal Air Force transport version of the Puma helicopter, used for decades of support missions. ![Westland Puma HC.1 aircraft photograph](https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/westland-puma-hc-1.webp) Development ## History The Puma HC.1 was a British medium transport helicopter used by the Royal Air Force to support ground forces. It belongs to the international SA 330 family, but HC.1 identifies the early British service standard. The later Puma HC.2 underwent a substantial upgrade, so its equipment and performance must not automatically be assigned to the HC.1. The first Pumas arrived in the Royal Air Force in January 1971. RAF records show that 230 Squadron became combat ready with the Puma HC.1 in 1972. These dates illustrate the difference between receiving aircraft and making a unit operational: pilots, technicians, and commanders needed training, supplies, and procedures for working together. A transport helicopter's principal purpose is to move people and freight where ground travel is slow or impossible. Puma could support troops, contribute to evacuations, and undertake humanitarian assignments. Actual loading depended on the route, fuel, and landing conditions. A helicopter carrying passengers and one moving a heavy load face different limits even when both share the same designation. The Puma fleet served in varied regions and climates. RAF lists operations in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as humanitarian tasks. Not every episode belongs to the original HC.1: a portion of the family's long service involved modernized HC.2 aircraft. That distinction matters in a precise historical profile. Longevity depended on technical support. In transport aviation, the ability to launch on time and return safely matters more than a single maximum number in a handbook. Skilled pilots, ground crews, spare parts, and scheduled inspections are all necessary. Modernization kept a familiar platform useful but changed its equipment and operating procedures. In 2025 the RAF conducted Puma's farewell flight after more than five decades of service by the family. For an HC.1 page, that ending provides context rather than replacing the early version's history. Its significance lies in the development of British helicopter transport capability and the eventual transition from an original configuration to the upgraded HC.2. ```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-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"The Puma HC.1 was the Royal Air Force transport version of the Puma helicopter, used for decades of support missions.","name":"Westland Puma HC.1 | OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1"]}],"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-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1#article","@type":"Article","description":"The Puma HC.1 was the Royal Air Force transport version of the Puma helicopter, used for decades of support missions.","headline":"Westland Puma HC.1","inLanguage":"en-GB","thumbnailUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/westland-puma-hc-1.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-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-transport-helicopters/westland-puma-hc-1#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/westland-puma-hc-1.webp","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/westland-puma-hc-1.webp"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://onlyplanes.ru/sitemap.md) for all pages.