The Yorkshire-based company completed restoration of the Gazelle in September 2024. Gazelle AH1 XZ343 first flew at Yeovil, Somerset, on January 13, 1978, and was delivered to the Army Air Corps (AAC) on February 7. It served with 661 Squadron, the Advanced Rotary-Wing Squadron, 663 Squadron, 12 Flight and 652 Squadron, 661 Squadron once more and finally 665 Squadron.

The helicopter was one of 26 of its kind from Nos 654, 659 and 661 Squadrons that were deployed to Saudi Arabia in late 1990 as part of Operation Granby, the British deployment of assets to the Gulf following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. At that point XZ343 was coded ‘U’ with 661 Squadron. All of the Gazelles deployed were painted in the ‘Desert Pink’ scheme and along with Kuwaiti and French examples received ‘invasion stripes’ on the boom as an identification aid, as the Gazelle was also flown by the Iraqis. AAC Gazelles and Lynx AH7s were deployed to various sites across the desert in support of 1 (British) Armoured Division. Gazelles were tasked with scouting for targets for the Lynx AH7s, which were armed with the TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) missiles. The Gazelles were equipped with the Gazelle Observation Aid (GOA), a stabilised monocular optical sight mounted above the cockpit, to help them locate Iraqi targets.

Gazelle XZ343 was delivered to RAF Shawbury in Shropshire for storage on April 3, 2006. There it would remain for 14 years, before being declared non-effective stock in February 2020; it was one of six Gazelles roaded out that September, going to Fleetlands in Hampshire to become a source of spare parts. In 2022, it was sold as surplus equipment by the Ministry of Defence, before being acquired by Jet Art Aviation. Following its recent restoration, the company has put XZ343 up for sale.

July 6, 2024, was the 50th anniversary of the Gazelle entering British military service. The Gazelle was part of a three-helicopter deal with the French in February 1967, in which the British acquired the French-designed SA342 Gazelle and SA330 Puma, while France would purchase the Westland Lynx. A total of 282 Gazelles were bought for the AAC as well as the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm, plus 48 Puma HC1s for the RAF, while France received 42 Lynx anti-submarine helicopters.

The AAC variant of the Gazelle was the AH1, while the HT2 and HT3 were rotary-wing trainer versions for the Navy and RAF, respectively, while a small number served as HCC4s communications aircraft. The final examples left service in March 2024.