it made valuable contributions to France's activities in the theatre. When used as a troop-transport, up to four fully equipped soldiers could be airlifted at a time. Additionally, a number of Alouette IIs were modified to become what has been argued by some to have been the world's first helicopter gunships; in this capacity, it would have been typically armed with Nord Aviation-built SS.10 or SS.11 anti-tank missiles. The nation of Rhodesia emerged as a prolific user of both the Alouette II and its enlarged sibling, the Alouette III. Early operations were flown with an emphasis on its use by the Army and British South Africa Police, including paramilitary and aerial reconnaissance operations. Throughout the 1960s, the type progressively spread into additional roles, including aerial supply, casualty evacuation, communications relays, and troop-transports. Rhodesian aerial operations would typically involve flying under relatively high and hot conditions, which reduced the efficiency of aircraft in general; however, the Alouette II proved to be both hardy and relatively resistant to battle damage. In order to extend the inadequate range of the type, fuel caches were strategically deployed across the country to be used for refuelling purposes. In order to improve performance, Rhodesia's Alouette II fleet was subject to extensive modifications, including changes to their refuelling apparatus, gun sights, cabin fittings, armouring, and armaments. Over time, the Rhodesian Security Forces developed an innovative deployment tactic of rapidly encircling and enveloping enemies, known as the Fireforce, for which the Alouette II served as a core component. The quick-reaction Fireforce battalions were centred at Centenary and Mount Darwin; emphasis was placed on locating both rotorcraft and troops as close to a current or anticipated theatre of operations as would be feasibly possible. By 1975, at which point production of the type was terminated, in excess of 1,300 Alouette IIs had been constructed. The rotorcraft was also in use in over 80 countries, including 47 separate armed forces. The Alouette II was produced and sold under licence by Brazil, Sweden, India and in the United States. While succeeded in some respects by the SA 315B Lama, which was itself a derivative of the Alouette II; the French Army ultimately replaced their Alouette II fleet with a newly developed observation and reconnaissance helicopter in the form of the Aérospatiale AS350 Écureuil. During July 2018, a single Alouette II was involved in the helicopter prison escape of the French gangster