No. 330 Squadron RNoAF
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No. 330 Squadron RNoAF ( no, 330 skvadron) is a
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
unit of the
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
(RNoAF) and is Norway's military
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
service. The squadron operates ten
Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...
helicopters based at six airbases along the coast. Headquartered at
Sola Air Station Sola Air Station ( no, Sola flystasjon) is a base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is located in Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. Rescue Helicopter Service is stationed at Sola along with Helicopter Squadron 330. Also located ...
, the
squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
has detachments at
Rygge Rygge was a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was merged into Moss, Norway, Moss municipality on January 1, 2020. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rygge. Ryg ...
,
Florø is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is N ...
,
Ørland Ørland is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. Ørland is located at the southwestern tip of the Fosen peninsula at the northern shore of the mouth of Trondheimsfjord where the Stjørnfjorden arm begins. ...
,
Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
and Banak. The unit's primary duty is
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
(SAR), with secondary duties consisting of
air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
and disaster relief. The squadron has its roots in the
No. 330 Squadron RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
, which conducted
maritime surveillance {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...
,
Arctic convoy The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
escort and
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was established on Iceland on 25 April 1941, where it operated
Northrop N-3PB The Northrop N-3PB Nomad was a single-engined American floatplane of the 1940s. Northrop developed the N-3PB as an export model based on the earlier Northrop A-17 design. A total of 24 were purchased by Norway, but were not delivered until a ...
and
Consolidated PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...
seaplanes. It relocated to
RAF Oban RAF Oban is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) flying boat base located at the northern end of the island of Kerrera, in Ardantrive Bay west of Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland during the Second World War. History Oban was surveyed by the RAF in th ...
in Scotland on 23 January 1943 and adopted
Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
s in the same role. It relocated to Sola in June 1945, where it operated mostly as an
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
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 Station Group Gardermoen (Norwegian: Gardermoen flystasjon) is located about 50 km north of Oslo, Norway. It is colocated with Norway's main airport, Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. 335 Squadron and 717 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force a ...
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 The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large, twin–radial engined amphibious aircraft, amphibious seaplane that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), primarily as a search and rescue (SA ...
. 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 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 ...
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 {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, the
Ministry of Justice and Public Security The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security ( no, Det kongelige justis- og beredskapsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide ...
and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Operationally the squadron is under the command of the
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Southern Norway The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Southern Norway or JRCC SN ( no, Hovedredningssentralen i Sør-Norge) is a rescue coordination center located in Sola which is responsible for coordinating major search and rescue (SAR) operations in 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 CHC Helikopter Service, previously CHC Norway, CHC Helikopter Service and Helikopter Service is the Norwegian division of CHC Helicopter Corporation. The airline was an independent company until 1999. It operates primarily to oil platforms on ...
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 Rescue swimmer is a designation given to rescue specialists, most commonly in the service of the military. Rescue swimmers usually are charged with the rescue, assessment, and rendering of medical aid to persons in distress in the sea, on the land ...
and an anaesthesiologist. Five of these are military personnel, while the anaesthesiologists work for the local
health trust Health trust or HF ( no, helseforetak) is a health Company, enterprise owned by one of the four regional health authority (Norway), regional health authorities in Norway, with responsibility for performing a geographic and/or specialist activities ...
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 room An on-call room, sometimes referred to as the doctors' mess, is a room in a hospital with either a couch or a bunkbed intended for staff to rest in while they are on call or due to be. In the European Community, the 2003 extension of the workin ...
s 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 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
. 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 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...
,
EC145 The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which ...
and
AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...
) 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 An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to: Biology and medicine * Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures * Incubator (egg), a de ...
; 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 The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is the Norwegian national civilian police agency. The service dates to the 13th century when the first sheriffs were appointed, and the current structure established in 2003. It c ...
,
aerial firefighting Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial sil ...
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 The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service ( no, Marinens flyvevesen) was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force. History The RNNAS was established on 1 June 1912,Official Norwegian Defence ...
ordered twelve N-3PBs on 12 March 1940. This was the first-ever order for
Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Spiri ...
. By the time the first aircraft was finished in December 1940, Germany had invaded Norway. The aircraft were therefore transferred to
Little Norway Little Norway ( no, Lille Norge), officially (FTL, "Air Force Training Camp"), was a Norwegian Army Air Service/Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in southern Ontario during the Second World War. Origins When Nazi Germany attacked Norway o ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada. During late fall the Norwegian
Nygaardsvold's Cabinet __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile, Norwegian: ''Norsk eksilregjering'') was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority Governm ...
agreed with the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
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 Royal Air Force Station Reykjavik or more simply RAF Reykjavik is a former Royal Air Force station, at Reykjavík Airport, Iceland. Beginnings The station was built in 1940 by the British Army and used by the Royal Air Force from March 1941 a ...
, also known as Corbett Camp, in the vicinity of
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
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 Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...
during the
Operation Claymore Operation Claymore was a British commando raid on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands during the Second World War. The Lofoten Islands were an important centre for the production of fish oil and glycerine, used in the German war economy. The landing ...
raid. These lacked military training, forcing the squadron to establish a recruit school.Henriksen: 128 The base consisted of a dozen
Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...
s. The facilities were primitive and the soldiers forced to sleep on the muddy ground. The squadron was under
RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
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 The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
escorts. The squadron's A-flight and headquarters were located at Corbett Camp, the B-flight was located at Valhall in
Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...
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 U57 or U-57 may refer to: * German submarine ''U-57'', one of several German submarines * Utah State Route 57 {{Letter-NumberCombDisambig ...
''. 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 The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...
, but the fighter role was instead placed on two new Norwegian squadrons,
331 __NOTOC__ Year 331 (Roman numerals, CCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Bassus and Ablabius (or, less frequent ...
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 The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
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 RAF Oban is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) flying boat base located at the northern end of the island of Kerrera, in Ardantrive Bay west of Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland during the Second World War. History Oban was surveyed by the RAF in th ...
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 The Bristol Pegasus is a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aero engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from t ...
engines, which were underpowered and often stopped mid-air. The situation was often aggravated when the
feathering Feathering is a technique used in computer graphics software to smooth or blur the edges of a feature. The term is inherited from a technique of fine retouching using fine feathers. Paintbrush feathering Feathering is most commonly used on a ...
malfunctioned. The squadron became operative on 20 April 1943. Three days later a detachment was sent to
RAF Scatsta Scatsta Airport , was a commercial airport on the island of Mainland, Shetland in Scotland located north of Lerwick and southwest of Sullom Voe Terminal. It is owned by Shetland Island's Council and was operated by Serco on behalf of the a ...
in
Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...
. 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 The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betwee ...
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 Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
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 The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production began ...
. At the
End of World War II in Europe The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf H ...
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
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
s 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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(NATO) and as recipients of the
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
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 In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
, 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 Sola Air Station ( no, Sola flystasjon) is a base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is located in Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. Rescue Helicopter Service is stationed at Sola along with Helicopter Squadron 330. Also located ...
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 North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
, 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 boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
s were intended for maritime surveillance and transport to
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
,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 The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
and
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
. 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 Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
,
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
and
magnetic anomaly detector A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines (a mass of ferromagnetic material crea ...
. 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 Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate Command of NATO's Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war with the Soviet Union, AFNORTH would assume supreme command of all Allie ...
determined that they needed full anti-submarine capabilities and opted to replace the flying boats with the
Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.
. Norway lacked the dedicated SAR service that Denmark had. This became evident in 1966, when the Norwegian ferry ''Skagerrak'' sank off the Danish coast in September 1966. Everyone on board was saved, but it was questioned whether this would have been the case if the incident had occurred in Norwegian waters. The task was given to the Ministry of Justice, who as a temporary solution from 1968 to 1973 signed an agreement with
Helikopter Service CHC Helikopter Service, previously CHC Norway, CHC Helikopter Service and Helikopter Service is the Norwegian division of CHC Helicopter Corporation. The airline was an independent company until 1999. It operates primarily to oil platforms on ...
to operate two
Sikorsky S-61 The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The commercial version of the Sea King w ...
out of Sola and Bodø. Both a private operation with civilian aircraft, a military operation and a joint civilian and military operation were considered. A single operator built with a fast roll-out would give the lowest investments.NOU: 23 The Air Force was interested in operating this service to replace its own rescue service, to gain political goodwill and to add to the anti-submarine capability. The latter was rejected by the politicians. The Westland Sea King was chosen over the S-61 due to a better
offset agreement Offsets are compensatory trade agreements, reciprocal trade agreements, between an exporting foreign company, or possibly a government acting as intermediary, and an importing entity. Offset agreements often involve trade in military goods and ser ...
.
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
approved the purchase of ten helicopters in 1970, to be stationed at four bases, Sola, Ørland, Bodø and Banak. This would allow any location along the coast to be reached within 90 minutes.Arheim: 88 The
Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
and
Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. The ...
was covered by Bell UH-1s of the 720 Squadron at Rygge. The 330 Sqn was assigned the SAR task and was headquartered at Bodø Main Air Station, with a
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
at each location. The A-flight was at Bodø, the B-flight at Banak, the C-flight at Ørland and the D-flight at Sola. Of ten aircraft, two were stationed at each base and two were at any given time in for overhaul. The flights were re-designated as detachments from 1980. The squadron was officially reactivated on 25 April 1973. The flights at Sola and Bodø were operative 1 May and the other two on 1 August.Duvsete : 356 The first major was on 7 April 1974, when the Banak flight saved 13 lives off the trawler ''Longvabakk'' in
Oksfjorden , , or is a small fjord inlet in Nordreisa Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The name is sometimes anglicized as ''Oks Fjord''. At the innermost part of the fjord, lies the village of Oksfjordhamn. The European route E06 Euro ...
. Especially among the first officers the SAR service was not what they had imagined when joining the air force and many applied to the
Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...
. This caused new first officers to be ordered to the 300 Sqn, which reinforced the problems, resulting in high turnover. The Sea Kings were designed to be maritime helicopters, but were increasingly used for terrestrial SAR missions, and on occasion
aerial firefighting Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial sil ...
. Throughout the 1970s the number of air ambulance missions increased dramatically, hitting 242 in 1977. On 30 April 1977 one helicopter disappeared off the coast of Sola. A replacement helicopter was delivered in January 1978. Three helicopters participated in the most extensive operation following the sinking of ''Alexander L. Kielland'' on 27 March 1980. On 22 April 1982 another helicopter crashed, this time without fatalities, when hitting a power line in
Sirdal Sirdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the northwestern part of the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tonstad. Other villages in Sirdal include Bjørnest ...
. Another such incident occurred on 10 November 1986 near
Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
, this time with one fatality. In 1988 another helicopter crashed at Tyinvann in 1988, without fatalities and with the aircraft being repaired. During the late 1980s the helicopters were often grounded due to lack of spare parts, which on 6 July 1988 hindered the unit form participating in aiding the sinking ''
Piper Alpha Piper Alpha was an oil platform located in the North Sea approximately north-east of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Limited (OPCAL) and began production in 1976, initially as an oil-only platform but la ...
'' oil platform. The
National Air Ambulance Service National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
was inaugurated in 1988 and the 330 Sqn became part of this. This involved the acquisition of eight smaller ambulance helicopters—later increased to twelve—which could relieve the Sea Kings. Meanwhile, the air ambulance role of the Sea Kings were increased with the inclusions of an anaesthesiologist on board. This would also aid in SAR missions, where the rescued could be severely injured. The task of providing the anaesthesiologist was placed with the
county municipality County municipality is a designation for an administrative territorial entity in Norway and in Canada. See also *County *Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-gov ...
. The accident in 1988 reduced the fleet to eight. This spurred the Ministry of Justice to
wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
the services of the commercial companies Helikopter Service and
Mørefly Mørefly A/S was an airline and general aviation company which operated between 1955 and 1995. Based in Ålesund and later Giske, Norway, it was involved in a wide range of operations, the most dominant being air ambulance services and helicopter ...
, respectively operating S-61 and
Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter developed and initially produced by the French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactu ...
. These were placed at
Ålesund Airport, Vigra Ålesund Airport ( nn, Ålesund lufthamn, ), or alternatively Ålesund Vigra Airport, is an international airport serving the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the island of Vigra in Giske Municipality and f ...
from 1 November 1988 to 31 January 1989, at
Sandefjord Airport, Torp Sandefjord Airport, Torp ( no, Sandefjord lufthavn, Torp; ) is an international airport located northeast of Sandefjord, Norway and south of Oslo. The airport features a runway aligned 18/36. Torp partially serves as a regional airport for Ves ...
from 1 February 1989 to 31 December 1990, and from 1 January to 31 July 1991 at Sola. The Sea Kings had two accidents in 1990 and 1991, respectively, after which the helicopters needed to be renovated. A new Mk 43B was delivered in August 1992, followed by the renovated aircraft from the 1990 crash. The main difference was new
avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
. The squadron then, one by one, upgraded the avionics on the entire fleet, a job completed in 1996. The role of the SAR service was evaluated in 1992 and it ended up with Parliament approving the purchase of two more helicopters, bringing the total to twelve. The two new helicopters were delivered in 1995. With the additional helicopters, the 330 Sqn could open a new base, at
Ålesund Airport, Vigra Ålesund Airport ( nn, Ålesund lufthamn, ), or alternatively Ålesund Vigra Airport, is an international airport serving the town of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the island of Vigra in Giske Municipality and f ...
. The goal was to increase the coverage in
Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...
and
Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...
, situated midway between Ørland and Sola. By 1998 the government instead determined that the extra helicopters should be based in
Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...
and moved the base to Rygge Air Station. The new base became operational on 22 March 1999.Hjelle: 133 This relieved the 720 Sqn for their SAR task, for which they neither had suitable aircraft nor the necessary preparedness. From 2002 the anaesthesiologist became the responsibility of the respective
health trust Health trust or HF ( no, helseforetak) is a health Company, enterprise owned by one of the four regional health authority (Norway), regional health authorities in Norway, with responsibility for performing a geographic and/or specialist activities ...
. From 2004 the funding was changed and the 330 Sqn is paid for through the Ministry of Justice and the Police. From the start the service had a reaction time, from alarm to airborne, of 60 minutes. Sola was the first base to receive an
on-call room An on-call room, sometimes referred to as the doctors' mess, is a room in a hospital with either a couch or a bunkbed intended for staff to rest in while they are on call or due to be. In the European Community, the 2003 extension of the workin ...
, allowing the response time to be lowered to 15 minutes. This proved successful and was introduced at Banak in 2006, Bodø in 2007, and Ørland and Rygge in 2008. A sixth base was opened at
Florø Airport Florø Airport ( nn, Florø lufthamn, ) is a regional airport serving the town of Florø in Kinn Municipality, in the west central part of Vestland county, Norway. It is situated on the southern shore of the island of Florelandet, adjacent to t ...
in 2009. The 330 Squadron was featured in an eight-episode television documentary series of the same name, broadcast by the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...
in 2009.


AW101

The replacement of the Sea Kings was first discussed in a ''
Norwegian Official Report A Norwegian Official Report ( no, Norges offentlige utredninger, NOU) is a report published by a panel or committee appointed by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the sup ...
'' in 1997. In competition with the
AgustaWestland AW101 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 ...
, the
Eurocopter AS532 Cougar The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by France. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its civil ...
and the
Sikorsky S-92 The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1 ...
, Norway ordered fourteen
NHIndustries NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...
helicopters in 2001 to meet the needs of the
Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...
. Options would be places for a future ten SAR helicopters and fifteen troop transports. By operating only one class of helicopters, the Air Force hoped to cut costs. The Ministry of Justice canceled the options in 2007 and instead initiated a new procurement process. This resulted in a project organization being established, Norwegian All Weather Search and Rescue Helicopter (NAWSARH). The procurement was in cooperation with Icelandic authorities.Ministry of Justice and the Police: 7 The project prequalified four models, NH90, AW101, EC-725 and S-92. On 8 November 2013 the project announced that it had selected AgustaWestland as the provider. The contract is for sixteen units with an option for a further six. The first helicopter were delivered in 2017. AW101 will replace Sea King base for base, with Sola Air base declared operative with the new helicopters September 1st 2020. At the same time it was revealed that AW101 in Norwegian service will be named ''SAR Queen''. Ørland Air base was the next to be operative in May 2021. The last Sea King is planned to be retired by 2023.


Fleet

The following is a list of the fleet composition of the 330 Sqd. The quantity (qty) specifies the peak number of simultaneously operated aircraft.


Personnel

* Nils Arveschoug * Christian Roy Kaldager * Stefan Kutzsche * Oluf Reed Olsen *
Einar Sverre Pedersen Einar Sverre Pedersen (29 January 1919 – 26 January 2008) was a Norwegian aviator. He was born in Trondheim to architect Sverre Pedersen and Edith Gretchen Børseth, and was a nephew of industrialist Harald Pedersen and pedagogue Marie P ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:330 Squadron Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons Royal Norwegian Air Force squadrons Air ambulance services in Norway 330 Military units and formations established in 1941 1941 establishments in the United Kingdom 1941 establishments in Norway Organisations based in Sola