330 Squadron

No. 330 Squadron RNoAF ( no, 330 skvadron) is a helicopter unit of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) and is Norway's military search and rescue service. The squadron operates ten Westland Sea King helicopters based at six airbases along the coast. Headquartered at Sola Air Station, the squadron has detachments at Rygge, Florø, Ørland, Bodø and Banak. The unit's primary duty is search and rescue (SAR), with secondary duties consisting of air ambulance and disaster relief.

The squadron has its roots in the No. 330 Squadron RAF, which conducted maritime surveillance, Arctic convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare during the Second World War. It was established on Iceland on 25 April 1941, where it operated Northrop N-3PB and Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplanes. It relocated to RAF Oban in Scotland on 23 January 1943 and adopted Short Sunderland flying boats in the same role. It relocated to Sola in June 1945, where it operated mostly as an airline until December, when it was deactivated.

The unit was reactivated between 20 July 1953 and 5 July 1958 to operate the Republic F-84G Thunderjet fighters, first based at Gardermoen Air Station and from 1956 at Rygge. It was again reactivated from 1 March 1962 to 1 October 1968 to carry out maritime surveillance and anti-submarine operations from Sola, using the Grumman HU-16 Albatross. In its current role the squadron became operational in 1973, using ten, later twelve Sea Kings. These are due to be replaced with the AgustaWestland AW101 from 2020.

Operations

The 330 Squadron is part of the Rescue Helicopter Service of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is based at Sola Air Station, with detachments at Florø, Ørland, Bodø, Rygge and Banak. The unit's primary role is search and rescue. The squadron is funded through a cooperation between the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Operationally the squadron is under the command of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Southern Norway (JRCC SN) and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway (JRCC NN), respectively.Ministry of Justice and the Police: 9 Norway has signed agreements with Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the United Kingdom and Russia which under given circumstances may result in the 330 Squadron operating within these countries' territories.

The squadron operates twelve Westland Sea King helicopters. Two are located on each base at any given time,Ministry of Justice and the Police: 10 Up to two helicopters are on long-term maintenance at any time. At all bases at least one of the helicopters is on stand-by at any time. The Florø base is operated by the civilian contractor CHC Helikopter Service until the new SAR Queen helicopters are ready.

The helicopters are manned by two pilots, a systems operator, a navigator, a technician/lift operator, a rescue swimmer and an anaesthesiologist. Five of these are military personnel, while the anaesthesiologists work for the local health trust and are funded through them.

The Sea Kings fly a combined 4,500 hours per year. Half of these are used for missions, the remainder for training. Because the unit operates under military rules, it has a stricter training regime than civilian operators. It can also operate under more severe weather conditions. The bases have on-call rooms and a crew on duty at all times. The squadron aims as an average scrambling time of 15 minutes; this varies between 10 and 25 minutes depending on the time of day, the layout of the base and preparations.

The 330 Squadron is part of the National Air Ambulance Service. It carries out about 800 missions per year, or about ten percent of the total helicopter ambulance missions in Norway. The unit's helicopters are used when the ordinary helicopter ambulances (Eurocopter EC135, EC145 and AgustaWestland AW139) are unable to operate due to weather; missions in which a large cabin is needed such as due to the number of patients or an incubator; and in areas where the Sea Kings are closer and areas where there is no ordinary air ambulance service. Ambulance use must be permitted by the JRCCs.Ministry of Justice and the Police: 14

When not used for SAR missions, the Sea Kings may be used for auxiliary and transport missions within the armed forces, assisting the Norwegian Police Service, aerial firefighting and anti-pollution.

Bases

The following is a list of bases used by the 330 Sqn. It denotes the period they were in use, the medical provider, the number of missions and flight-hours in 2013.

History

Iceland

The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service ordered twelve N-3PBs on 12 March 1940. This was the first-ever order for Northrop Corporation. By the time the first aircraft was finished in December 1940, Germany had invaded Norway. The aircraft were therefore transferred to Little Norway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During late fall the Norwegian Nygaardsvold's Cabinet agreed with the Royal Air Force that the exiled Norwegian forces could use the Northrops to operate reconnaissance and escort services around Iceland.

The 330 (Norwegian) Squadron was activated on 25 April 1941 and based at RAF Reykjavik, also known as Corbett Camp, in the vicinity of Reykjavík on Iceland.Henriksen: 127 The squadron originally consisted of 128 men, all Norwegian. These had various backgrounds: 80 were trained at Little Norway; most of the rest were sailors from sunken ships or men brought in from Lofoten during the Operation Claymore raid. These lacked military training, forcing the squadron to establish a recruit school.Henriksen: 128 The base consisted of a dozen Nissen huts. The facilities were primitive and the soldiers forced to sleep on the muddy ground.

The squadron was under RAF Coastal Command in Reykjavík.Henriksen: 131 The eighteen Northrop N-3PB aircraft arrived by ship on 22 May. After final assembly they were operational on 23 June. The squadron was originally set to carry out Arctic convoy escorts. The squadron's A-flight and headquarters were located at Corbett Camp, the B-flight was located at Valhall in Akureyri and the C-flight at Camp Norse in Búðareyri. The latter two were established on 20 June and 14 September, respectively.

It was quickly established that the aircraft were poorly suited for their role. Due to the high latitude their compasses did not work properly, often leaving them without proper navigation. Two aircraft were subject to crashes after misnavigation. They participated in anti-submarine patrols and were part of the capture of '' U-570''. From late 1941 the missions changed focus and the squadron instead took up a role as an air ambulance in Iceland.

Both Norwegian and British authorities discussed converting the 330 Sqn to use the Lockheed Hudson, but the fighter role was instead placed on two new Norwegian squadrons, 331 and 332. No. 330 was instead issued the Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina in June 1942. However, they were unsuitable for Búðareyri and the Northrops were not needed in Reykjavík, so the squadron ended up with six each of the Catalina and the Northrop. An operating challenge was a lack of spare parts, but the Norwegians were helped both with parts and training by a nearby United States Air Force squadron.

The Catalinas retained the same roles as the Northrops: anti-submarine sweeping, patrol and convoy escort. The aircraft rotated between being based at Reykjavík and at Akureyri. They successfully hit '' U-592'' on 30 June and '' U-580'' on 25 August 1942.Henriksen: 179 In December the Norwegian authorities decided to relocate the 330 Sqn. The Akureyri base was immediately ordered to move its aircraft to Reykjavík. Operations of the Catalina had commenced in November and of the Northrops in December. The C-flight continued to operate out of Búðareyri until 11 June 1943. During its period on Iceland the squadron flew 4379 hours, of which 3524 with the Northrops and 855 with Catalinas. Twenty-one soldiers were killed.

Scotland

The A- and B-flights departed Iceland for RAF Oban in Scotland on 23 January 1943. This involved a switch to the Short Sunderland flying boat. These were expensive aircraft which the Norwegian government-in-exile could not afford. The RAF therefore agreed to lend the aircraft to the squadron, while operating costs were still paid for by the Norwegians. The squadron was set up with six Mk II and six Mk III, the latter having somewhat longer range. There were technical challenges with the Bristol Pegasus engines, which were underpowered and often stopped mid-air. The situation was often aggravated when the feathering malfunctioned.

The squadron became operative on 20 April 1943. Three days later a detachment was sent to RAF Scatsta in Shetland. The role continued as before, with submarine sweeping, patrol and reconnaissance, as well as meteorological surveys. They regularly patrolled the areas between Shetland past the Faeroe Islands to Iceland. Also active in the area was the Norwegian 333 Squadron and other RAF squadrons. The Sunderlands would on occasion partake in aerial combat with German fighters. Following the Allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, German submarines increasingly moved northwards and the 330 Sqn intensified its sweeping. From August the German tactics changed and the 330 Sqn's patrols moved steadily closer to Norway.

During the period in Scotland the squadron flew 12,000 hours, carrying out 655 sweeps and patrols, 50 convoy escorts and 22 search and rescue missions. Five submarines were attacked, sinking one and badly damaging another. No ships escorted by the 330 Sqn were sunk. Six Sunderlands were lost during the war, both due to engine failure and due to enemy action. All but one resulted in loss of life.

In April 1945 the Mk II and III Sunderlands were replaced with Mk V, which had more reliable Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp. At the End of World War II in Europe in May 1945, the 330 Sqn had eleven operational Sunderlands. While the fighter squadrons were without work, the amount of work for the 330 and 333 Sqn intensified. There was a massive need for air transport, both from the United Kingdom to Norway and within Norway. Both squadrons were transferred to Norway in June, with the 330 Sqn being based at the water aerodrome at Sola Air Station. These were used on a daily coastal route from there to Bergen Airport, Sandviken and Trondheim,Duvsete : 21 often onwards to Tromsø Airport, Skattøra.Arheim: 86 Both squadrons were soon operating more as airlines than as military units.

Command of the squad was given to the newly formed Royal Norwegian Air Force on 21 November 1945, when RAF withdrew from Norway. The 330 Sqn was officially deactivated on 15 December 1945. The aircraft were still owned by the RAF, but were not returned until early 1946. Most of the personnel transferred to 333, which had just been relocated to Sola.

Thunderjet

Following Norway's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and as recipients of the Marshall Plan aid, Norway took delivery of its first of 206 Republic F-84 Thunderjets on 10 September 1951, in what would become a delivery of 206 airframes. Six squadrons would in the end be set up to operate the aircraft. As the deliveries advanced, the 330 Squadron was reactivated on 20 July 1953 and stationed at Gardermoen. Half the crew were recruited from other F-84G squadrons, the rest were freshly trained. The first aircraft was acquired on 22 August and by November all had been taken into use. After completing its tactical and bombing training at Lista Air Station in March 1954, the squadron was declared operative.

The squadron had between 22 and 27 airframes while operating the Thunderjets. It was originally set to provide interception, but from 1 November 1954 it was remissioned to become an operational training unit. All F-84G check-outs were carried out in the 330 Sqn, and the instructor pilots received twice the flight hours as their colleagues in other squadrons. Between the training courses the squadron practised bombing at Sola Air Station and participated in exercises. The 330 Sqn moved to Rygge Air Station on 28 August 1956. Following the retirement of the F-84G and the introduction of the North American F-86F Sabre, the 330 Sqn was deactivated on 5 July 1958.Arheim: 87

Albatross

The 333 Sqn had continued to operate the Catalinas through the 1950s, although they by the end of the decade were all but modern. The Norwegian authorities agreed to receive eighteen Grumman HU-16B-ASW Albatrosses through the Marshall Plan. These flying boats were intended for maritime surveillance and transport to Svalbard,Duvsete : 319 as well as submarine sweeping.Duvsete : 321 330 and 333 Sqn would receive nine airframes each. Combined they would provide 8,100 flight-hours annual, up from 2,400 with the Catalinas. Training was carried out by the United States Coast Guard and Air Force.

The 300 Sqn's first Albatross landed in February 1962 and the unit was activated at Sola Air Station on 1 March. Delivery of the final aircraft took place in late 1963. The 330 Sqn was designated the operational training unit and all check-outs took place at Sola for both squadrons. From late 1962 a detachment was established at Bardufoss Air Station with one aircraft and one crew. The 330 Sqn was declared operative from 15 July 1963. The detachment was a strain on the unit's moral and its commanded asked his subordinates to withdraw it and replace it with a mobilized unit. The resources used to support the detachment made the 330 Sqn almost unable to provide sweeping operations.

The Albatrosses improved the sweeping capacity and introduced news technology such as sonar, radar and magnetic anomaly detector. Norway did not have capacity to sweep its waters and instead focused on the surveillance. This allowed both British and American forces to carry out such tasks. Despite the leap in technology, the Albatrosses were soon declared obsolete. Allied Forces Northern Europe determined that they needed full anti-submarine capabilities and opted to replace the flying boats with the Lockheed P-3 Orion

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