30 NAVY NEWS, JULY 2007
I
F SOMEONE tells
you they have a
photograph of all the
men and machines of
WITH all the attention lavished
815 Naval Air Squadron
on their Commando Helicopter
proudly hanging on the
Force counterparts by Navy
wall, nod politely.
News in recent months, the
Nod politely because they are
men and women of 815 Naval
lying. You will never fi nd all its Air Squadron – Europe’s largest
men and machines together, for
helicopter formation – were
they never are.
“There is,” its Commanding
feeling a little in the shade.
Offi cer Cdr Alun Jones says
RICHARD HARGREAVES visited
succinctly, “always someone the squadron at its Yeovilton home
out there.”
to entice it out of the shadows.
Indeed there is. On any given
day in any given year, there’s a
Lynx of 815 airborne in foreign
skies.
The Yeovilton-based unit is
the backbone of all destroyer
operations, all Type 22 and
several Type 23 frigates,
Antarctic survey work by HMS
Endurance and counter-drug
operations by RFA Wave Ruler.
I use the word ‘backbone’
deliberately.
That Lynx strapped to the
fl ight deck is no luxury addition
to the warship’s arsenal.
In fact, arguably, it’s the most
important weapon aboard.
It’s certainly the most used.
Sea Dart hasn’t been fi red in
anger in 15 years. The 4.5in main
gun hasn’t pummeled targets
ashore since Iraq, yet a ship’s
helicopter is airborne pretty
much daily on deployment.
Scattering 815 to the
four corners of the earth
– there are typically ten
fl ights away with their
associated ships at any
one time – disguises the
fact that this is the biggest
helicopter squadron not
merely in the UK (much
to the RAF’s chagrin), but
also all of Europe too.
“You could say I run the 815
‘franchise’ and I have ‘outlets’
in the Gulf, Mediterranean,
Caribbean, South Atlantic and
so on,” explains Cdr Alun Jones,
815’s Commanding Offi cer.
“Each one of those ‘outlets’
has the 815 standard to live up
to.”
Each one of those ‘outlets’
– from 200 Flight (HMS
Gloucester) to 239 (HMS
Cornwall) – comprises a ten-
man (and woman) team.
There is a pilot, an observer,
plus a fl ight controller, plus
seven maintainers, ranging
g84g72g69
from a senior rating who’s the
chief engineer to an air engineer
technician who also doubles as
a winchman.
So, while the fl ights are away,
what do those left behind at
Yeovilton do?
They improve tactics, they
train – there’s always new kit to
get to grips with – they provide
technical support, they give that
fi nal front-line edge to fl ights
about to deploy to ships.
In an average month the Lynx
at headquarters clock up around
240 hours between them.
But there’s also a less
formal aspect to the work of
headquarters: that of ensuring
that this far-fl ung family feels
loved and supported wherever it
is, at whatever time of day.
Nothing in military life
quite compares with a ship’s
homecoming, the banners
waving, the mini Union Flags
fl uttering, the Royal Marines
Band thumping out Heart of
Oak, the tears, the hugs.
Often missing from this
nautical jamboree are the fl ight
crew, who have invariably
disembarked as their ship
g32g66g76g65g83g84g69g68
sauntered up the Channel
or through the Western
Approaches.
At 815, they make a point of
holding a reception in the foyer,
inviting the families, handing out
glasses of champagne, in short
making everyone feel welcome.
“It’s important to remember
that we’re out there, a small 815 in numbers
cadre doing a great job, but
there’s also a lot of support from 316 ratings
back home,” says Lt Cdr ‘Bins’ 75 offi cers
Brayson, one of 815’s most 35 Lynx
experienced pilots. 26 fl ights
“You can come into the crew 18 frigates and destroyers
room and see people you’ve not to support, plus one
seen for a year and catch up Antarctic survey ship
with some fantastic stories.” (two helicopters) and
Fantastic stories such as three RFA Wave Ruler
months aboard HMS Bulwark 10 crew on a ship’s fl ight
last year. 9 different variants of
When the assault ship needed Lynx Mk3 and Mk8
aerial support for her Gulf 4 operational readiness
g67g85g78g72g65
deployment last year, 815 Lynx fl ights
were selected.
Continued on page 32marina
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