Sécurité Civile Sud Aviation SA 316 Alouette III - GHSC Base Chamonix / Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace

The SA.319 Alouette III is a light single-engine multi-role helicopter manufactured by Sud Aviation, later Aérospatiale. Including the licensed productions in India and Switzerland, more than 2,000 "skylarks", the translation of "Alouette" from French, have been produced since 1959. Even today, numerous examples are still in military and civilian use due to their simple and robust construction as well as their easy handling characteristics. The Alouette III with the registration F-ZBAN began its career in the French Air Force in the year 1963. Later in 1981, after serving at twelve different bases, she joined the fleet of the Groupement Hélicoptère de la Sécurité Civile (GHSC) in Chamonix. Ultimiately in 2009, she was retired and handed over to the Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget near Paris. In total, this Alouette logged 13,600 flight hours in its 28 years of service, completing 9,200 hours for the GHSC alone, rescuing more than 10,000 people.