HMS ''Gannet'' is a forward operating base of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
's
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
located at
Glasgow Prestwick Airport
Glasgow Prestwick Airport () is an international airport serving the west of Scotland, situated northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and southwest of Glasgow. It is the less busy of the two airports serving the western part of ...
,
South Ayrshire in Scotland.
The facility was previously also known as Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Prestwick before it was downsized in 2001. It hosted the only Fleet Air Arm Search and Rescue (SAR) Flight in Scotland (HMS ''Gannet'' SAR Flight). The SAR Flight was decommissioned in March 2016, leaving the base to operate as a forward operating base and support to UK military.
History
Establishment
The ninth and present HMS ''Gannet'' was established in 1971 at Prestwick Airport in
Ayrshire. Over the years Prestwick has hosted three Naval Air Squadrons:
814 NAS,
824 NAS and
819 NAS. 819 NAS operated three flights (A, B and Search and Rescue Flight) as well as a headquarters element. A and B Flights traditionally served aboard both UK and allied support ships and deployed on numerous exercises and longer deployments such as Naval Task Group 2000. When 819 NAS was decommissioned in November 2001, after 30 years in residence, the SAR Flight and 819 HQ elements became HMS Gannet Search and Rescue Flight with their first Commanding Officer, Lt Cdr A Watts.
RNAS Prestwick designation was added in January 1994.
HMS ''Gannet'' Search and Rescue Flight
The
SAR flight was the last flight based at RNAS Prestwick.
It operated two from three
Sea King HU5 helicopters in the military and civilian
search and rescue role across Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland. The crews covered an area from
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...
in the north, the
Isle of Man
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, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
and the
Lake District to the south, east to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, the
Firth of Forth and the Borders, west to
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and extended west of Ireland over the north Atlantic, giving an operational area of approx. 98,000 square miles.
Personnel at the base consisted of fifteen officers, eleven ratings, twenty-eight civil servants and fifty civilian staff. The primary role was one of military search and rescue, with secondary roles in civilian Search and Rescue. Gannet also provides an important medical evacuation service to the many island communities and remote areas of Scotland. To perform these roles, one of the helicopters was on 15-minutes notice to fly during the day, and 45-minutes during the night, with a duty crew on call for 24-hours. This duty was maintained for 365-days of the year, with a second standby aircraft ready to assist should the emergency demand it.
In 1998, ''Gannet'' was awarded the
Wilkinson Sword of Peace for services to the local communities.
Consistently one of the busiest SAR units in the UK, 2009 saw the SAR Flight break a new record when they were tasked to 447 call outs. This figure equated to 20% of the UK’s total military SAR call outs in that year. In 2011, the Flight was the busiest SAR unit for the fifth year in succession. In 2010, with 379 call outs.
and 2011 with 298 call-outs and 240 people rescued.During 2008 to 2011, the SAR flight featured regularly on the
Channel 5 documentary series ''
Highland Emergency'' and BBC's "
Countryside Rescue". When SAR duties were carried out by 819 NAS, the SAR aircraft and aircrew were filmed as part of the BBC drama series "
Rockface
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs a ...
" and TV series "
Thousand Acres of Sky."
In 2012, there were again 298 call-outs resulting in the rescue of 285 people.
In 2014, the flight was tasked to 299 call-outs. This number made them the second busiest in the UK.
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
was the busiest with 329 jobs.
In 2015, the final year of dedicated military SAR in the UK, the flight was again the busiest SAR unit with 313 rescues, with its running total being higher at the time of the other units decommissioning earlier. It also won the Prince Philip Helicopter Rescue Award in 2015 and 2016.
As of 1 January 2016, at 9am, they were replaced by civilians from Bristow Helicopters and HM Coastguard.
The flight was disbanded on 5 February 2016.
RN SAR 60
As one of only two commissioned units of the ten that have operated within the Royal Navy in the dedicated search and rescue role, in 2013, Gannet SAR Flight was a core part of year-long celebrations to recognise
60 years of RN Helicopter Search and Rescue. Events took place throughout the country and media all year, with the RN SAR Force raising £60,000 for charity.
Transfer of SAR function to HM Coastguard
With effect from 1 January 2016, the SAR function which had been performed by the Gannet SAR Flight was transferred to
Bristow Helicopters, acting on behalf of
Her Majesty's Coastguard
His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the ...
, part of the UK's
Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The Coastguard are housed in a purpose-built hangar nearby. HMS ''Gannet's'' status was reviewed in 2015, with a strong case for "Defence of the Clyde" operations being relocated to Northern Ireland as proposed by DIO. A strong case was put forward defending Gannet including its existing infrastructure, better climate and access to the Clyde being led by the Commanding Officer at the time. It now remains open serving as a Forward Operating Base, primarily as in "Defence of the Clyde" and supporting various detachments and major exercises such as Joint Warrior. The Last Commanding Officer, Lt Cdr C E Fuller RN, was not replaced with the command and control element now being served from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall and a small staff in situ to run day-to-day operations.
Units
A number of units were here at some point:
Role and operations
![ZH841-501 EH101 Merlin Royal Navy (21161819629)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/ZH841-501_EH101_Merlin_Royal_Navy_%2821161819629%29.jpg)
HMS ''Gannet'' is a forward operating base used by detachments of Royal Navy
Merlin HM2
The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...
helicopters which are deployed from
RNAS Culdrose
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serv ...
as and when required. The anti-submarine warfare helicopters support the biannual
Joint Warrior exercises and the
Submarine Command Course, provide a helicopter capability to the navy's smaller vessels during operational sea training and offer protection to
Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines as the arrive and depart their home port at
Faslane.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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*
External links
Royal Navy — HMS Gannet Search and Rescue FlightRoyal Navy SAR 60 websitePhotographing North
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gannet
1971 establishments in Scotland
Royal Navy bases in Scotland
Royal Navy shore establishments
South Ayrshire
Aviation in Scotland
Prestwick