Dauphin Question

Trebor176

I may be totally wrong, but was there a Dauphin perhaps with the Air Corp that carried a different livery to the others? As a kid, I could swear I saw one on a few occasions that seemed to have a partial blue livery, but maybe it was my mind playing tricks. It was definitely a Dauphin, though. It's just something that came back to me in the last couple of days. I may be asking a stupid question, because living fairly near to Baldonnel, I was quite familiar with these beautiful helicopters. It was just one particular one seemed different from others.

knucklehead6

Trebor176 wrote: »

I may be totally wrong, but was there a Dauphin perhaps with the Air Corp that carried a different livery to the others? As a kid, I could swear I saw one on a few occasions that seemed to have a partial blue livery, but maybe it was my mind playing tricks. It was definitely a Dauphin, though. It's just something that came back to me in the last couple of days. I may be asking a stupid question, because living fairly near to Baldonnel, I was quite familiar with these beautiful helicopters. It was just one particular one seemed different from others.

i don't remember any of them being a different colour scheme. Maybe post his over in the Military forum too?

Franticfrank

Are you sure it was a Dauphin? Perhaps it was a random civilian aircraft you saw? Or it could have been the short lived Puma?

BeardySi

Well the Puma definitely wasn't blue....

Can't recall ever having seen a blue Irish dauphin, though some googling shows the Royal Navy operated blue Dauphins, maybe it was a visitor?

Trebor176

I'm pretty certain it was a Dauphin. At least from what I can remember, it sounded like one. But, I can try the Military forum too. I wasn't born when the Puma was here, but that is certainly something I would have loved to have seen. I think there was white in this livery too, as well as the blue. It may have been a visitor, possibly one that was over on different occasions. Thanks anyway lads.

Oscar Bravo

It wasn't the Gazelle you are thinking of? tail number 237.

Oscar Bravo

photo

Peregrine

Pretty sure all 5 Dauphins(244 to 248) were in white and orange. There were only 5, right?


Sorry to hijack but does anyone know anything about this logo on the IAC Dauphins' doors?

westdub

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

Pretty sure all 5 Dauphins(244 to 248) were in white and orange. There were only 5, right?


Sorry to hijack but does anyone know anything about this logo on the IAC Dauphins' doors?

Thats correct, all 5 Dauphin's had the same colour scheme...

The logo on the door was SAR Squadrons "St. Brendan the Navigator" Badge....

johnsds

westdub wrote: »

Thats correct, all 5 Dauphin's had the same colour scheme...

The logo on the door was SAR Squadrons "St. Brendan the Navigator" Badge....

St Brendan The Navigator badge was worn on all Dauphin2's in Irish Air Corps service as it was the badge of 301 Squadron ( which was their SAR Badge ) "SAR Squadron", No.3 Operations Wing formerly known as Helicopter Wing.

2 of the Dauphin helicopter fleet were navalised variants with deck harpoons and crash proof fuel tanks for operations from L.E. EithneP31.

Duffer2010

I can remember well as a kid going to Air Spectacular 89' in Baldonnel. One of the Dauphin's lead two Gazelles in a three ship formation. They trailed Green, White and Orange smoke-was nice to see. A lot more effort went into the Airshows in those days. I lived not a million miles away from Casement, the distinctive thing about the Dauphin, I found was, that as it approached from the distance, there was a deep almost purring sound, which changed to high pitched whine as it hit overhead. Quite a common thing with today's helicopters, but unusual at the time compared to the Alouettes particularly.
Another memory from 97' a Dauphin holding over my road as he waited for the Silver Swallows to complete a practice display over the field. Maybe I'm getting old/nostalgic I think these aircraft had more appeal than today's PC 9's Aw139's etc.

Trebor176

Oscar Bravo wrote: »

It wasn't the Gazelle you are thinking of? tail number 237.

I'm still convinced it was a Dauphin. I must have imagined the other livery or something. Looking at photographs, I can't find any in Dublin that were in a different livery, other than the five Air Corps ones. .

westdub

There are/were a few private Dauphins around...Perhaps you saw one of these and thought it was a Air Corps one...

http://www.worldairpics.com/photo/1028631/M/Aerospatiale-SA365N-Dauphin-II/EI-DUF/Dauphin-2-Aviation-Ltd/?&sid=9612262513&sp=29

http://www.worldairpics.com/photo/1044381/M/Aerospatiale-SA365DN2-Dauphin-II/G-CGGD/Multiflight/?&sid=9612262513&sp=0

http://www.worldairpics.com/photo/1027119/M/Eurocopter-SA365N-Dauphin-3/EI-GJL/Larry-J-Goodman/?&sid=9612262513&sp=33

Trebor176

I apologise for not replying sooner, but I haven't been online much in the last few days or so. Thank you for those pictures, but none seem to match the livery that I can picture. This is going back a number of years, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but it's just something that came to mind again recently. I can only conclude that it was possibly a private helicopter. Thanks anyway lads

johnsds

That SAR Squadron badge is still in active use.