3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron, Royal Marines, was formed in 1968 in Singapore by the amalgamation of three Commando Air Troops and the Brigade Flight. The squadron moved to Plymouth in 1971 and the two remaining UK Commando Air Troops became part of it. Apart from during the Falklands War, when the whole squadron was involved, it operated mostly on individual flight detachments. 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron became 847 Naval Air Squadron in 1995.


Formation

3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines (3 BAS) was formed on 12 August 1968, at
Sembawang Air Base The Sembawang Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Sembawang, in the northern part of Singapore. The base motto is ''Swift and Resolute''. Before Singapore's independence from the United Kingdom ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. At the time, it was equipped with 14 Westland (Agusta-Bell) Sioux AH.1 helicopters with six
Westland Scout The Westland Scout is a light helicopter developed by Westland Helicopters. Developed from the Saro P.531, it served as a land-based general purpose military helicopter, sharing a common ancestor and numerous components with the naval-orientat ...
s envisaged. It was the amalgamation of the Brigade Flight and the Air Troops of 40 Commando, 42 Commando and 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery (29 Cdo RA). Prior to its formation, it was understood that all non-RM support, such as
REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full ...
personnel, would be
Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...
trained. In 1971,
3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel f ...
was withdrawn from Singapore. 3 BAS established itself at Coypool,
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
on 19 July 1971. 41 Commando and 45 Commando Air Troops were merged into 3 BAS in 1971 and it was reorganised into one anti-tank flight and two utility flights, both equipped with Scouts, plus four reconnaissance flights of Sioux. It was organised into five flights, one for each of the Commando Groups and a fifth for the Commando Brigade HQ. Each flight was named after the battle honour of its affiliated Commando, namely Dieppe Flight for 40 Commando, Kangaw Flight for 42 Commando, Salerno Flight for 41 Commando and Montforterbeek Flight for 45 Commando. The Brigade HQ Flight was named Brunei Flight to commemorate the first time the "Commando Gunners" (29 Cdo RA) went into action to support the Brigade. The Sioux were replaced with 12 Westland Gazelle AH.1s in 1974/5, and in 1982 (after returning from the Falklands), four TOW-armed
Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...
es replaced the Scouts when the Squadron moved to RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron).Two further Lynx AH1 joined the Squadron some time later. 3 BAS saw service in a variety of environments including Belize, the Falkland Islands, Kurdistan, Northern Ireland and Norway.


Falklands War 1982

The squadron of six Scout and nine Gazelle helicopters went to the Falklands, commanded by Major Peter Cameron RM, who was awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
. Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFCs) were awarded to Lieutenant R J Nunn (posthumously) and Captain J P Niblet RM. The squadron was involved in every major ground battle during the campaign in a variety of roles; reconnaissance, liaison, the movement of ammunition to the front line, and the recovery of casualties from forward positions. Its helicopters flew a total of 2,110 hours in just over three weeks reflecting a remarkable rate of serviceability and flying. On 21 May 1982, landings started under the codename
Operation Sutton Operation Sutton was the code name for the British landings on the shores of San Carlos Water, at Ajax Bay and Port San Carlos, near San Carlos on East Falkland. Landings During the night, 3 Commando Brigade along with attached units of ...
. That day, flying armed escort to a Sea King helicopter heading towards Port San Carlos, Sergeants Andy Evans RM and Eddy Candlish in Gazelle XX411 came under fire and had to ditch in
San Carlos Water San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound. Name Despite its Spanish language, Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San C ...
. Lieutenant Ken D Francis RM and Lance Corporal Brett Giffin in Gazelle XX402 set off to search for them, but were hit by ground fire from a heavy machine gun and killed instantly, their aircraft crashing on a hillside. Only Candlish survived. (The bodies were recovered to SS Canberra; when that ship was ordered to leave the Falklands and head for South Georgia, Evans, Francis and Giffin were buried at sea in a special service attended by many on board.) The remaining Gazelle XX412 (of the three deployed with 'C' Flight) also came under heavy small arms fire in the area, but managed to avoid casualties and return for inspection and repairs. The REME technicians were able to repair the damage, whilst under constant air attack by Argentinian 'Skyhawk' and 'Mirage' ground attack jets, and returned the aircraft for operational use. Gazelle XX412 continued to be fully operational for the remainder of the conflict. On 28 May during the
Battle of Goose Green The Battle of Goose Green () was fought from 28 to 29 May 1982 by United Kingdom, British and Argentina, Argentine forces during the Falklands War. Located on East Falkland's central isthmus, the settlement of Goose Green was the site of a tac ...
, as Lieutenant Colonel H. Jones lay dying, his men radioed for urgent casualty evacuation. However, the Scout helicopter sent to evacuate Jones was shot down by an Argentine FMA IA 58 Pucara ground attack aircraft. Pilot Lieutenant Richard Nunn RM was killed (and posthumously received the DFC); aircrewman Sergeant Belcher RM was badly wounded in both legs. On 14 June during the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, an Argentine pack howitzer battery, dug in to the west of Stanley Racecourse, was firing at the Scots Guards as they approached Mount Tumbledown. As these guns were out of range of the
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
antitank guided weapons of nearby 2 Para, their second in command, Major Chris Keeble, contacted Capt J G Greenhalgh of 656 Sqn AAC on the radio and requested a helicopter armed action (HELARM) using
SS.11 The SS.11 is a French manual command to line of sight Wire-guided missile, wire-guided Anti-tank guided missile, anti-tank missile manufactured by Nord Aviation. It is also available in the air-to-ground version, AS.11, which featured a stabil ...
missiles to attack them. As he was engaged in ammunition re-supply, his Scout was not fitted with missile booms (to reduce weight and increase the aircraft lift capability). Greenhalgh then returned to Estancia House, where his aircraft was refueled, fitted out, and armed with four missiles in 20 minutes with the rotors still turning. An 'orders group' was then held with the crews of two Scouts of 3 CBAS and Captain Greenhalgh took off on a reconnaissance mission, while the other aircraft were fitted out and readied. Within 20 minutes, he had located the target and carried out a detailed reconnaissance of the area. He fired two missiles at the enemy positions and then returned to a pre-arranged rendezvous to meet up and guide in the other two Scouts. The three aircraft, positioned apart, then fired a total of ten missiles (nine missiles hit, one failed) from the ridge overlooking the Argentine positions away and succeeded in hitting the howitzers, nearby bunkers, an ammunition dump and the command post. The Argentine troops returned mortar fire, a round landing directly in front of Greenhalgh's Scout.


1995 transfer to Royal Navy

847 Naval Air Squadron was reformed at
RNAS Yeovilton Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, commonly referred to as WAFU central, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airbase of the Royal Navy, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases, the ...
with
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
aircrews and
REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full ...
engineers on 1 September 1995, from 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron, as a tactical support unit for the Royal Marines Commandos with Lynx AH.7 and Gazelle AH.1 helicopters.


References


Publications

* * * * * *


Reports

* * *


Websites

* * * * * {{refend Royal Marine formations and units Naval aviation units and formations of the United Kingdom Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Falklands War Military units and formations established in 1968 Military units and formations disestablished in 1995