The Joint Helicopter Support Squadron (JHSS) is a joint organisation of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, located at

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...

in Oxfordshire.

History

RAF Chinook Carrying Army Land Rover MOD 45155113

Following the introduction of the Boeing Chinook HC.1, the unit was formed in July 1982 during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territori ...

as the Joint Helicopter Support Unit (JHSU). Personnel were drawn from the

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

and

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

(both now amalgamated into the

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engin ...

) plus the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

and the Royal Air Force. After the war the unit was officially formed at

RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . ...

in Hampshire and

RAF Gütersloh Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was constr ...

in Germany. In September 2009, the unit became the Joint Helicopter Support Squadron (JHSS) following its merger with the RAF's Mobile Air Operations Team (MAOT). During 2016 the squadron moved from RAF Odiham to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

Role and operations

The squadron is tasked with providing a ground support capability to Joint Helicopter Command's support helicopter force, including specialist skills in under-slung load operations and preparation of landing sites. It has two teams on very high readiness which are able to contribute to contingent operations at short notice, such as natural disaster relief.

References

External links

* {{Royal Logistic Corps Military units and formations of the British Army Squadrons of the Royal Air Force Helicopter units and formations 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1982