Features

The 2000th Operation

It took place on Friday 23rd June 2006 when the helicopter rescued a man from a fire off the coast of Suffolk.

The Sealand fire, 2006

Sealand, which is the former gunnery tower about ten miles off the coast at Felixstowe, caught fire at around midday.

A security guard was trapped on board and was suffering from the effects of breathing in smoke.  The chopper winched the man to safety and took him to Ipswich Hospital.

The Future

Wattisham Air Search and Rescue will be handed over to a private company after 2012 as part of a new government shake-up.

The Ministry of Defence and the coastguard insist it will result in a faster response to emergencies on land and sea and there are no plans -- for the moment -- to close helicopter bases.

Over the next six years the operation will be "partially privatised" with an outside company eventually contracted to operate, maintain and manage all the helicopters and crews.  

I went up in the Sea King at the invitation of the RAF.  You can listen to my BBC Radio Suffolk report and look at pictures of the flight using the links on the right-hand side of this page >>>>>