Originally Posted by
pr00ne
If there is such a critical shortage of SH assets in Afghanistan that we have to consider contracting civilian outfits and suggesting robbing the training community (hardly a practical option for reasons outlined by RobinXe), just how much of the SH force is currently deployed?
Chinook: 8 out of a 40 a/c fleet
Merlin: 6 out of a 22a/c fleet
Puma: 4 out of a 36 a/c fleet
SK4: 6 out of a 30a/c fleet
Add the 4 extra Pumas bought from South Africa and the 6 SK HAS6 converted to a Junglie role, 8 HC3 Chinooks sat in Wiltshire gathering dust and enquire as to where the Army Air Corps is in all this, and it does beg a few questions…………………………
It's always staggering to me that self-confessed intelligentsia can come up with figures like this. I can only comment on the mighty Wokka, so I'll put this to you. Of 40 aircraft, some will be in varying levels of 'depth' maintenance, from primary to major. Of the remaining, 8 will be in Afghanistan, some will be committed to the Hereford Hooligans in support of their various shenanigans, some will be at various stages of modification programmes to enhance it's capability, some will be at Boscombe on trials of mod programmes. The ones that are left are committed to training new crews, maintaining currency amongst the crews who aren't in Afghanistan, holding standby for National Emergencies and then you'll have the ones that are broken in various techie-type ways. So, where do you expect us to magic up some more? Yes, there are 8 at Boscombe, incapable of flying, with no crews able to operate them. Even if they were clear to fly, and had all the necessary modifications for operational flying, would we have the crews to fly them, or the engineers to fix them? The same could probably be applied to our brethren on the other rotary wings to which you refer.
To put all this into perspective, when the evacuation of Lebanon kicked off someone did some quick calculations:
The rest of the RAF had around 40 aircraft committed to operations, that's fixed-wing, fast jet etc.
RAF Odiham had 19 aircraft committed to operations.
The most basic mathematician should be able to see that 1/3 of the operationally committed aircraft were provided by one station, comprising less than 2000 personnel. In an Air Force numbering over 40000, 1/3 of the operational effort was shouldered by less than 5% of the manpower.
Your post is offensive to every one of those people. And you sir, by your own confession an ex-pilot and no longer serving, do not know of what you speak.
May I also add that the Chinook force alone has been on continuous deployed operations since around 1996 when the FRY detachment kicked off. Frankly, you should shut up.