RAF Merlins lift and shift UK equipment in Iraq
24 Jun 09
Helping the Joint Force Logistic Component pack up the UK's equipment from southern Iraq are three Merlin helicopters flown by RAF crew with support elements from the Army, Navy and RAF.
Aircraft loadmasters, Sergeants Mike Griffiths and Kate Willoughby, from RAF Benson, returning to base
[Picture: Cpl D Browne RAF, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
As the lift and shift capability for the British forces still in Iraq packing up the six years of accumulated equipment, the three Merlins, operated by Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq) [JHF(I)], are the movement and logistic workhorses of choice to ensure the drawdown of forces from Iraq in good order.
Pilot Flight Lieutenant Mike Barclay spoke about some of the difficulties of their tasks:
"One of the biggest challenges here is the weather. It can be fine 'gin clear' at take off but in less than five minutes the wind can whip up the sand into a ferocious storm, making a landing impossible. We have to be ready to make some swift decisions when that happens."
Captain Ned Brown, an Army pilot who is Operations Officer for the Joint Helicopter Force, added:
"The Merlin is a fantastic helicopter, but like any helicopter the heat presents its own challenges. We cannot lift the same payload we can in the UK for example, this means careful planning and co-ordination is a constant feature of our activity."
Squadron Leader Graem* Corfield, a senior officer in JHF(I), believes the HC3 Merlin, which came into service with the RAF in late 2001, has coped well with work in Iraq.
Aircrew attending the pre-flight briefing in the Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq) operations room, given by Flight Lieutenant Andrew Hodge
[Picture: Cpl D Browne RAF, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
The engineer said:
"This has been a big opportunity for Merlin. We weren't ready to fully exploit the capabilities of the Merlin in 2003 for the initial Iraq operation but it has been deployed here for more than five years now and it's become the airframe of choice for many forces - it's the transit van of the battlefield.
"Merlin can do any task we ask of it out here. It can lift a lot of stuff, but it's a small target in the air and it's well-protected. It's been very reliable too."
The bulk of the 75 personnel currently serving in JHF(I) are from 1419 Flight RAF - personnel from 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron and technicians from the Merlin Force Engineering Squadron based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.
Junior Technician Alison Riley said:
"It's always challenging being on deployment but we pull together and make the most of it. We do have quite a problem with sand, which is why we have to wash it off regularly and use new covers for the cabs."
Junior Technician Alison Riley carries out a compressor wash on a Merlin helicopter after its engine has been flushed through to remove sand
[Picture: Cpl D Browne RAF, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
The squadrons rotate so aircrew deploy on eight-week detachments every two to three months. Some have done eight tours in Iraq since 2005.
Aircraft spend up to nine months in Iraq and Kuwait before they are swapped and flown home.
The Officer Commanding 1419 Flight, Squadron Leader Mark Biggadike, said:
"The guys enjoy it because it's what they joined up for. And even after eight tours there have been a lot of different situations in Iraq - no two tours have been the same."
British forces finished combat operations in Iraq earlier this year and are currently bringing their personnel, kit and equipment home to be out of Iraq by 31 July 2009.
The drawdown is being completed by a specialist logistic formation, the Joint Force Logistic Component.
* This spelling is correct.