Well done Charlie and crew.
Queen gives RAF Chinook pilot the DFC for Afghan heroism
An RAF pilot whose helicopter was riddled with bullets and badly damaged as he dropped off troops in Afghanistan has been decorated by the Queen for his bravery returning to rescue them.
Flt Lt Charlie Lockyear, from Teignmouth, was presented with a Distinguished Flying Cross at Windsor Castle for his courage returning to the scene where his helicopter was shot up, so he could pick up troops left behind.
His Chinook helicopter was damaged and one of his crew wounded by intense Taliban fire as he came in to drop of his passengers during the mission in May 2013.
The fire was so heavy, he aborted the drop off and withdrew, but because the radio and intercom had been shot up, he was unaware some troops had already got off and were left behind in a firefight with the insurgents.
The 35-year-old made the decision to go back and get them.
Flt Lt Lockyear, of 18 (B) Squadron based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, said: "People were getting shot, rounds were going off.
“I thought: 'This is not the place to stay'. We sorted out the aircraft, things quietened down a little bit, then we did an assessment.
"It was a remarkably easy decision to make because you know you've got a small group of guys stuck in a field and you know for a fact they are under contact (with the enemy).
"The GPS was one of the systems that had gone down as well as engine instruments, flight instruments, radios, the autopilot – and we had to find them.
"They were camouflaged and they weren't waving because they were still in a firefight but we found them."
During the first approach, flying shrapnel had left Master Aircrew Bob Sunderland wounded in the groin, but as they returned to the landing site, he was able to lay down suppressing fire with the helicopter’s machine gun. MACR Sunderland was awarded a Mention in Dispatches for his actions.
Once the troops had been picked up and despite the damage to the helicopter, including bullet damage to the rotor blades, Flt Lt Lockyear guided the aircraft back to Camp Bastion’s hospital, where the injured were treated.