8 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// AUGUST 2018 #United Kingdom
Operation ‘Kiwi Clean’
A ROYAL Air Force
Chinook helped in the
recent effort to smarten up
the ‘Bulford Kiwi’ historic
chalk monument above
the town of Bulford, on
Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
On June 29, Chinook
HC6A ZH891 and its
crew lifted 100 tonnes
of chalk up Beacon Hilland deposited it on
the carving. The kiwi
was created by New
Zealand troops in 1919
while camped at Bulford
awaiting transport home
after World War One.
The Chinook made six
lifts in almost 30°C (86°F)
heat. The bags were
received by ‘hookers’and the chalk spread
by personnel from the
3rd (UK) Division Signal
Regiment and civilian
volunteers under a
project organised by the
Defence Infrastructure
Organisation (DIO).
Afterwards the RAF team
met the New Zealand
High CommissionerSir Jerry Mateparae,
who had watched the
re-chalking exercise.
The ‘Bulford Kiwi’
recently became a
scheduled monument,
meaning it is recognised
as a nationally important
archaeological site and
is now protected from
destruction or change.Crown CopyrightAAC
continues to
fl y Defenders
and Islanders
PREVIOUSLY
ANNOUNCED plans to
transfer the Army Air
Corps’ (AAC’s) Defenders
and Islanders to the
RAF (see Defenders and
Islanders transferred to
RAF, June, p9) have been
postponed. The Ministry
of Defence had been due
to officially transfer control
and operation of the
aircraft from the AAC’s 5
Regiment/651 Squadron at
Joint Helicopter Command
Flying Station Aldergrove,
Northern Ireland, on April 1.
This proposal was
reportedly dropped due to
insufficient RAF personnel
available to take over
operation the aircraft:
three Islander AL1s, four
Defender AL1s and four
Defender AL2s. As a
result, all nine continue to
remain under army control
and are still operated by
651 Squadron. It’s unclear
if they will eventually join
the RAF. Dave AllportWildcat works
alongside
Apache
THE BRITISH Army
has revealed details of
co-operative operations
by Army Air Corps (AAC)
Wildcat AH1 and Apache
AH1 helicopters. During
a recent exercise at
Aberporth, Wales, an AAC
Wildcat laser-designated
a target for Apache attack
helicopters, which then
engaged it using two Hellfire
missiles and without using
their own laser designators.
The Wildcats flew a 350nm
(648km) round trip from
Royal Naval Air Station
Yeovilton, Somerset, to
Aberporth to help prove
the newly established
Attack Reconnaissance
Team (ART) concept.
Tw o Hellfires were launched
from separate Apaches
from 4 Regiment Army Air
Corps, based at Wattisham,
Suffolk. The missiles
followed the Wildcat laser
to a target mounted on a
barge around 6 miles (9.6km)
out to sea. Both missiles
hit their designated target.
The AAC Wildcats were
from 659 Squadron, 1
Regiment Army Air Corps,
based at RNAS Yeovilton
as part of the Aviation
Reconnaissance Force.RAF A400M
carries Gazelle
THE RAF A400M Atlas C
carried a Gazelle helicopter
for the first time in another
milestone for the type. An
image published on social
media on May 31 by No 24
Squadron, the Air Mobility
Operational Conversion
Unit, showed an Army Air
Corps Gazelle AH1 loaded
inside an RAF Atlas.
The Gazelle was one
of five that support the
British Army Training Unit
Suffield (BATUS) and
are based at Canadian
Forces Base Suffield,
Alberta, Canada, where
they are operated by 29
(BATUS) Flight. The BATUS
helicopters are regularly
rotated back to the UK foroverhaul, usually being
airfreighted from Calgary
International Airport to RAF
Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.
From there, they travel by
road to the StandardAero
Aviation Holdings (formerly
Vector Aerospace) facility
at Fleetlands, Hampshire,
where the work is
undertaken. The latest
changeover involved an
A400M returning newly
overhauled Gazelle
ZB677 to BATUS, while
ZA736 was brought back
from Canada for similar
work. Dave Allport
Right: A BATUS Gazelle AH
in the hold of an RAF A400M
for the fi rst time. RAF/No 24
Squadron