Hummingfrog: you talk some complete and utter bollocks.
At 10am on the morning of Sunday 23rd June 1985, I was duty SAR for an RN SeaKing which launched 40 minutes after the Air India Jumbo disappeared off radar. Our a/c was the 1st on scene to meet a calm sea of 200+ dead bodies and debris scattered over 6 miles of sea. The RAF were to turn up over an hour later.
What on earth are you talking about, re: surge. There will be 22 SAR cabs FFS available to "surge" if the national wheel falls off. And believe me matey, all 19 SeaKings available at any one time (on paper) will NEVER ever be able to launch en mass. Many are broke or being repaired...................
