The Westland Wessex was a turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58, developed under licence for the Royal Navy and later the RAF. The aircraft was used initially in 1962 as a troop carrier (the HC2), and shortly thereafter as the HAR2 in the search and rescue role. Moreover, two machines were converted to HCC4 standard for VVIP duties with the Queen’s Flight. As a measure of its longevity in service, the Wessex was one of the RAF’s main transport helicopters from 1962 until the final unit, No 84 Squadron, retired its aircraft at RAF Akrotiri in January 2003 a total of some 40 years.
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