bp Forties Field SAR
I was lucky enough to be one of the bp staff to be selected for winch-man training at the very outset of the Forties SAR unit and remained with them through to 1988. The initial contract for SAR support was with Bristow’s and the aircraft used was the S61N. The rational being that there was more often than not a crew change flight either on it’s way out to or on it’s way back from the Forties field. Forties Bravo and Delta were the SAR ‘bases’ where the SAR equipment (including winch), winch-op (a Bristow’s man) and the bp winch-man resided.
It was not till much later on that the contract went to Bond and the SAR aircraft became the Aeroespacial Dauphin.