page_title: Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: Galego: AS 365N-3 sobrevoando o aeroporto de Santiago de Compostela.
context_page_description: The Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, also formerly known as the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin 2, is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It was originally developed and manufactured by French firm Aérospatiale, which was merged into the multinational Eurocopter company during the 1990s. Since entering production in 1975, the type has been in continuous production for more than 40 years. The intended successor to the Dauphin is the Airbus Helicopters H160, which is yet to enter operational service as of January 2020.
  The Dauphin 2 shares many similarities with the Aérospatiale SA 360, a commercially unsuccessful single-engine helicopter; however the twin-engine Dauphin 2 did meet with customer demand and has been operated by a wide variety of civil and military operators. Since the type's introduction in the 1970s, several major variations and specialised versions of the Dauphin 2 have been developed and entered production, including the military-oriented Eurocopter Panther, the air-sea rescue HH/MH-65 Dolphin, the Chinese-manufactured Harbin Z-9 and the modernised Eurocopter EC155.
context_section_description: In February 1980, the first series production Dauphin was used to break three separate speed-related world records in separate journeys between Battersea, London, United Kingdom and Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France. In 1985, a new model of the Dauphin, the AS365 F, became the first rotorcraft in the world to fly with flight instruments being displayed in electronic displays, which replaced the traditional instrumentation; this variant was first procured by the Irish Air Corps for SAR operations.
  The French Navy operated the Dauphin, in addition to the dedicated military-orientated Panther variant, to conduct various missions such as the Dauphin Service Public  which involves various duties from seaborne SAR, maritime monitoring, and responding to distress calls. French Navy Dauphins are commonly deployed on board the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle as well as onboard other vessels of the French Navy and allies; they are fitted with a haul-down Harpoon in order to ease shipboard landings in rough weather.
  In November 2011, the French Navy began operational use of a newer model of the Dauphin, the Dauphin N3+, as a replacement for aging Eurocopter AS332 Super Pumas stationed in French Polynesia; the primary missions being SAR and MEDIVAC duties in this region.
  By 1980, a total of 265 AS360/361/365 Dauphins had been delivered, 88% of these deliveries were to foreign customers in a total of 23 different nations. Amongst the biggest early customers for the type was Saudi Arabia, which ordered 24 Dauphins, and Angola, with an order for 17 Dauphins. The largest civil customers of the type has been Indian operator Pawan Hans, who by 2003 had a fleet of 19 Dauphins (nearly two-thirds of their total rotary fleet) and were in the process of procuring another 11 Dauphins to allow older aircraft to be phased out; they have been frequently used to support offshore oil extraction activities.
  In February 1991, it was announced that the 500th Dauphin had been delivered to Bond Helicopters, who at that time operated a total of 15 of the type, with additional Dauphins on order. By 1991, the Dauphin was being operated by 138 customers across 44 nations. In December 2006, Eurocopter president Fabrice Brégier stated that between 30 and 40 Dauphins were being delivered each year. By 2011, more than 1,000 AS365/366/565 versions had been produced; Pawan Hans took delivery of the 1,000th Dauphin produced in April 2011, at which point the type was reportedly in service with over 300 operators worldwide.
  Prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics, five AS 356N3 Dauphins were procured for the Hellenic Coast Guard for harbor surveillance purposes. Between 2009 and 2012, the Army Air Corps of the United Kingdom took delivery of five Dauphins, these were assigned to No. 658 Squadron AAC to replace four AgustaWestland A109 helicopters being used to support Special Air Service (SAS) operations.
  As of 2014, the AS365 N variant of the Dauphin holds the world speed record for a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) course, set at 372 km/h (231 mph) in 1991.
caption: Dauphin AS365 N3, 2014
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