#1236 Sea King HU5
Purchased products will not feature the Squadron Prints watermark
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1236 - Sea King HU.Mk5, ZA130, Gannet SAR Flight, HMS Gannet, Prestwick International Airport.
HMS Gannet was established at Prestwick International Airport in 1972 when the site was chosen for its excellent weather record and communications. Since establishment it has hosted 4 Naval Air Squadrons: 814, 819, 824 and 826 NAS. In November 2001 HMS Gannet was drawn down in size and 819 NAS was decommissioned, the SAR Flight which had operated under the command of 819 NAS was then commissioned as Gannet SAR Flight. Throughout the period that Royal Navy helicopters have been stationed at Prestwick they have contributed to SAR coverage in Western Scotland/Northern Ireland and England and were most noticeably involved in the Piper Alpha Disaster (July 1988), the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing (December 1988) and the Glasgow Air Tours crash (September 1999), rescue of sailors from the stricken submarine HMCS Chicoutimi (October 2004), the running aground of the Riverdance Ferry (January 2008) and the Glencoe avalanche (January 2013). In 1997 they received the Wilkinson Sword of Peace for services to the local community and in 2008 received the Firmin Sword of Peace for conducting 357 rescues in 2007 making the Flight the busiest UK wide SAR unit since records began in 1983. In 2012 they received the Fleet Air Arm Centenary Sword for the successful completion of a challenging mountain rescue from Beinn Sgulaird in December 2011. Gannet SAR Flight Sea Kings still fly from Prestwick International Airport and are an independent Unit directed by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at Kinloss Barracks. They operate three Sea King HU Mk5 (NVG) with five crews and maintain a 15 minute ready state 0800-2200 and 45 minute by night and also conduct Fleet tasking in support of the Northern region assets. Gannet SAR Flight is consistently one of the busiest SAR units in some of the most challenging terrain in the UK.