File:Westland Wessex 60 ‘G-AVNE’.jpg

English: c/n WA.561

Built in 1964 and flew only for Bristow Helicopters. She was retired in 1981 and joined the museum in 1987 The Helicopter Museum Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, UK 2nd October 2020

The following information is from The Helicopter Museum website:-

“Westland built sixteen Wessex 60s, based on the RAF's HC.2 model, for Bristow Helicopters, between 1965 and 1975, to replace some of the Widgeons and Whirlwinds in their fleet, which serviced the expanding UK and overseas offshore oil and gas exploration sector. The seventh Westland Wessex Series 60 to be built, G-AVNE, a 16 passenger civil transport with twin 1350 shp Rolls-Royce Gnome H1200, Mk.660, turboshaft engines, was delivered to Bristow, at Redhill, in 1967. It was the first long-range Series 60 and, soon after delivery, was despatched to Sunderland, N.E. England, where it operated in support of one of the early offshore oil rigs, 'Glomar IV'. In 1970 G-AVNE was flown out, from the UK, to Kuantan, in Malaysia, and transferred to Bristow's Far East operations, serving successively in Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and then back in Malaysia, each time with appropriate re-registration. It returned to the UK in 1973. In 1974 G-AVNE was transferred to the Warri base in Nigeria, again to support offshore oil rigs and platforms. It was re-registered as 5N-AJL and remained in Nigeria until 1981 when, following a third and serious accident to a Wessex 60, it was withdrawn from service and returned, via Redhill, to the Westland factory in Weston-super-Mare.

In 1987, after three years in hangar storage at Hurn Airport near Bournemouth, G-AVNE was bought by The Helicopter Museum where it has been restored.”