Transit To Norway

Written By: Flt Lt Pete Legg

It had all the makings of a Top Gear race; Somerset to the Arctic Circle, 1800 miles and two methods of transport. Who will win?

For the two R2 units of the Commando Helicopter Force, their deployments to JHC’s Exercise

Clockwork in the Arctic Circle take a very different form. 845

NAS, operators of the Merlin

Mk4, start the long planning cycle involved in self-deploying to 69 degrees North months in advance; route planning, weight calculations, fuel bookings, diplomatic clearances, the list goes on. 847 NAS and their

Commando Wildcat AH1’s take a very different, yet equally challenging route. Their flight only takes thirty-five minutes; a quick hop to RAF Brize Norton.

But that is when the Aircrew’s role pauses and the engineers take charge. The AH1 (and in a maiden deployment for CHF, the

HMA2 radar equipped variant) get prepped for transit to RNoAF

Bardufoss via the RAF’s C-17

Globemaster. This process is well practiced, utilised when 847

NAS deployed two Commando

Wildcats to Lithuania in June 2021. This time, they will have to deploy four aircraft via two C-17s.

The challenge is on!

Race Day. Three Commando Merlin helicopters depart from RNAS Yeovilton on their epic journey North. The scheduled route; RAF Lossiemouth, Bergen, Trondheim, Bardufoss.

24 hours later. Two of four Commando Wildcats touch down at RAF Brize Norton and the engineering work begins.

After a successful first day transiting up the spine of the UK to North Scotland, the weather on day two for the Merlin formation proves tricky. An unforeseen night in Sumburgh, Shetland, means that the engineers of 847 NAS are gifted an additional 12 hours. Work is progressing well in Brize – just three hours in and the 847 engineers have already got two Commando Wildcats stripped, weighed, and ready for transit. But now their work ceases as they await the arrival of the two remaining aircraft.

845 NAS, callsign ‘Navy formation’, begin their Eastern transit across the North Sea, crossing into Norwegian airspace in quick time thanks to the prevailing westerly wind. But as they arrive in Bergen a mechanical issue with one of the Merlins share the apron at Bronnoysund with a small commercial airliner.

aircraft delays the formation and by the time it is fixed the crews elect to halt progress for the day. Meanwhile in Brize Norton the final two aircraft touch down and engineering transit preps are soon to begin. The Merlins may be nearly one thousand miles away, but the 450 kts cruising speed of the C-17 is about to make light work of that 1800 mile journey.

The Merlin crews get together. Despite the delays, time can be made up. A long day of flying up the Norwegian coastline will position them nicely for a short hop into Bardufoss the following day. An early departure from Bergen becomes an awesome flying day, dodging rain squalls and snow showers as the weather begins to assume Arctic characteristics. However, with each Northern mile the minutes of available daylight become fewer, and a prolonged refuel results in the crews having to stop short of their intended destination for the evening. With the snow falling, the engineers get to work fitting the Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) covers to prevent the snow freezing on the rotor blades.

The Merlin crews wake early for a brisk start in Brønnøysund, but the met-check doesn’t take long. As the crews draw their curtains they are greeted by total white out. A low pressure system sits above the small Norwegian

Engineers conduct dawn checks at Bronnoysund.

North Sea transit.

Transit into Bardufoss.

coastal airfield, and the chance of a clearance is slim to none. The covers remain firmly in place, the crews firmly grounded. Is that the distant hum of a C-17 overhead?

Day break. Looking outside and only one term springs to mind – Junglie weather. Low cloud and poor visibility mean the Merlin formation close up and begin to hop from island to island, assessing the weather every mile and looking for routes around the snow showers which are beating the coast from the West. One final push across a Fjord topped with low cloud and all of a sudden it’s like someone has turned off the weather – blue skies and not a cloud in sight. The three-ship formation from 845 NAS climbs to 1000 ft and sails towards Bardufoss, but what else is waiting on the tarmac?

The answer – snow! Despite 847’s efficiency, the weather, the decreasing daylight and the unscheduled maintenance, 845 NAS arrive to a clear dispersal. The C-17 touches down 24 hours later - an unforeseen delay from our comrades in light blue gifted the victory to 845! From touchdown in Bardufoss it takes the engineers just six hours to have the four Commando Wildcats ready for flight. An end to two journeys that tested the prowess of every trade within the Fleet Air Arm. Now the work really starts for CHF. Aircraft rebuilt, crews prepped, training underway. Cold Response 2022, ready.

Lt Andy Duffield RN - Pilot, 845 NAS Lt Lee Manley RN - Deputy Air Engineering Officer, 847 NAS Capt Dave Lewis RM - Pilot, 847 NAS Arrival at Bardufoss - Marshallers.

Arrival at Bardufoss - Marshallers.

Arrival at Bardufoss - Marshallers.