Gazelle bases in U.K.

[md 600 driver]

Hi all for a project I am doing for the 50th aniversary of the gazelle helicopter I am looking to compile a list of bases the gazelle has had in the U.K.

If you could furnish as much info as allowed such as regiment , army navy raf marines ect , dates there , base name /location ect
steve

[chopper2004]

Hi Steve,

Off hand -

Royal Air Force -

RAF Shawbury - 2 FTS with Gazelle 1976 till 1997 timeframe having came from RAF Tern Hill

RAF Odiham - assigned to Special Forces Flight (part of 7 Sqn)

Royal Marines

3 Brigade Air Squadron - first at Coypool and Salerno Flight at RAF Luqa in Malta 3 BAS moved to RNAS Yeovilton after Coypool in the 80s ( i think) then in the late 90s reformed into 847 NAS

Royal Navy

RNAS Culdrose - 705 NAS for training of pilots and crewmen again till late 90s when PFI and DHFS

Army Air Corps -

In the UK, Middle Wallop, Netheravon, Wattisham, RAF Leuchars, Dishforth (?),

former British Army Of the Rhine - bases Soest, Detmold, RAF Wildenrath, Minden, RAF Gatow,

Nicosia (?) - UN Flight, and resident AAC flight

Belize -

Canada - Suffield Flight - BATUS

cheers

[Dan Gerous]

32 Sqn at Northolt also operated a few.

[Avionker]

AAC had them in Aldergrove as well, sorry don't remember the unit.

[Refuellerman]

AAC had them in Aldergrove as well, sorry don't remember the unit.

665 squadron jhc aldergrove northern Ireland

[taxydual]

And 3 Flight AAC at RAF Topcliffe.

[Stitchbitch]

1 AAC Gutersloh & 12 Flt Bruggen.

[Pontius]

1 AAC Gutersloh & 12 Flt Bruggen

Two of the best known UK bases :}

[BossEyed]

Boscombe Down (ETPS)

[Cows getting bigger]

665 squadron jhc aldergrove northern Ireland

Still there, I believe.

[Lynxman]

Still there, I believe.
Part of 5 Regiment AAC.

[Lynxman]

Boscombe Down (ETPS)
Owned by QinetiQ as MRCOA and operated by the Air Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC) mainly for Empire Test Pilots' School use.

[622]

RNAY Fleetlands used to have one.

[Stitchbitch]

Pontius ...added for completeness :)

[Blacksheep]

32 Sqn at Northolt also operated a few.Only one during my time, but it was the personal transport for CDS - XW855 is in the Hendon Museum now. Then they got the "Squirrels"
http://cdn.airplane-pictures.net/images/uploaded-images/2010/9/7/101378.jpg

[serf]

3Flt AAC(V)-RAF Turnhouse and RAF Leuchars.

[opfixclear]

7 Flight AAC - West Berlin (RAF Gatow)
25 Flight AAC - Belize
657 Squadron AAC - Oakington
661 Squadron AAC (1 Regiment) - Hildesheim BAOR


Also at 8 Flight but I don't know if they were actually based there or just on limited tasking.

[MPN11]

No. 32 Sqn had 3 during my wife's time at Northolt (87-89) and I managed to get one to give me and a colleague a lift to Shawbury for a meeting. Nice way to travel. It think it was officially Continuation Training, or a Navex ;)

[HEDP]

2 (Olympic) Flt AAC at Netheravon (dates not known) had Gazelles

[HaveQuick2]

658 Sqn at Credenhill

[Saintsman]

Slight thread drift.

If I remember correctly, there was a Gazelle parked in a hangar at Odiham around 1990, that was seized as part of a drug bust.

Did it ever get co-opted into the Forces' inventory?

[ericferret]

Long Kesh, Ballykelly,Sydenham.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ohzOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA353&lpg=PA353&dq=3+CBAS+GAZELLE+SYDENHAM&source=bl&ots=JgovBDpS6K&sig=zrMil5pFNtBvv1rUjmLumZLxq4I&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=3%20CBAS%20GAZELLE%20SYDENHAM&f=false

Seems to be a lot of information of bases and units in this book.

Interesting statistics 700,000 hours flown by Army Aviation in Northern Ireland in 37 years, with 37,000 in 1973.

[Davef68]

No. 32 Sqn had 3 during my wife's time at Northolt (87-89) and I managed to get one to give me and a colleague a lift to Shawbury for a meeting. Nice way to travel. It think it was officially Continuation Training, or a Navex ;)

2 HT3s were brought up to a similar standard to the HCC4

[Davef68]

Hi Steve,

Off hand -

Royal Air Force -

RAF Shawbury - 2 FTS with Gazelle 1976 till 1997 timeframe having came from RAF Tern Hill

RAF Odiham - assigned to Special Forces Flight (part of 7 Sqn)



18 Squadron at (I think) Laarbruch had a couple as well, but that is outwith the Uk as per the OP.

On the same note, AAC ones were based in Hong Kong

[Could be the last?]

50 years....... I heard yesterday that there is the potential to fully 'glass cockpit' the BATUS gazelles - surely with the role out there, it is time to call it a day and get a more useful ac? However, maybe even more radical, considering the requirements, have a common fleet of the same ac supporting BATUS/84/Brunei/Kenya etc, just a thought!

[Davef68]

50 years....... I heard yesterday that there is the potential to fully 'glass cockpit' the BATUS gazelles - surely with the role out there, it is time to call it a day and get a more useful ac? However, maybe even more radical, considering the requirements, have a common fleet of the same ac supporting BATUS/84/Brunei/Kenya etc, just a thought!
And tie in with the new MFTS helicopters by using H135/145s?

[Mechta]

656sqn AAC were based at RAE Farnborough and operating Gazelles when I started there in 1981.

Farnborough (http://www.656squadron.org/history/farnborough/)

[kaitakbowler]

660Sqn AAC RAF Sek Kong, replaced by Scouts in '78.

PM

[AnglianAV8R]

16 Flight AAC, Dhekelia, Cyprus

[Sloppy Link]

http://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/590613-gazelle-bases-u-k.html

The clue is in the title....

[Thaihawk]

660 Sqn at Sek Kong was initially issues with Gazelles in 1975-1976, but these were returned to the UK and replaced by Scouts. Maybe the Gazelle was found to be unsuitable in the Far East?.

32 Sqn had (at one point) 4 Gazelle HCC.4s.

There were a pair of Gazelle AH.1s with 8 Flt at Credenhill in the late 90s.

[higthepig]

However, maybe even more radical, considering the requirements, have a common fleet of the same ac supporting BATUS/84/Brunei/Kenya etc, just a thought!

No military helicopters in Kenya now, service is provided by Everett Aviation and Tropic Air.

[ValMORNA]

Slight thread drift, but associated content . .


I attended an 'Open Day' at Sek Kong sometime in my second double-tour in HK in the period 1969-1975 and took this photograph. My daughters posing beside an army helicopter - I know nothing about 'modern aircraft' recognition so can't say which type this was.

[BossEyed]

It's a Sioux.

And it ain't modern. :)

[ericferret]

Thaihawk

660 was in Germany in 1975/76 at Soest. Tours in NI (Long Kesh) with the Scout in 75 and the Gazelle in 76. The Gazelle did not go in 75 as reliability was bad largely due to lack of spares and maintenance experience.

History[edit]
The squadron's numerical designation was first used by No. 660 Squadron RAF, a Royal Air Force squadron which served from 31 July 1943 until 31 May 1946 operating from bases in England, France and Germany. Its duties and squadron number were transferred to the AAC upon the corps' formation on 1 September 1957.[1][2][3] No. 660 Sqn was subsequently re-formed in October 1969 adopting the designation of No. 660 Aviation Squadron AAC. Based at Topcliffe and equipped with Westland (Agusta-Bell) Sioux AH.1 and Westland Scout AH.1s, it formed part of 2 Regiment Army Air Corps (2 Regt. AAC).[3][4]

The squadron moved to Salamanca Barracks, at Soest-Bad Sassendorf Airfield in 1971, becoming part of 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (4 Regt AAC) the following year. In January 1973, it was renamed 660 Squadron AAC and in May 1974, while a Salamanca Barracks, it was the first unit to receive the Westland Gazelle AH.1 for operational service in May 1974. A Scout Flight was later swapped with No. 654 Squadron AAC in October 1977, making it an entirely Gazelle squadron. The squadron was then assigned to 3 Regiment Army Air Corps (3 Regt. AAC).[3][5]

On 1 April 1978, the squadron was re-designated as No. 663 Squadron AAC (663 Sqn), and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the new squadron which was based at Salamanca Barracks.[3][4][5] [6] Later that same year, No. 660 Squadron was re-formed at Sek Kong in Hong Kong equipped with the Scout AH.1.

[ValMORNA]

BE, Post #34,


My Aircraft Recognition dates from instruction in that genre at Middleton-St-George in 1956-57. 'Propellers in front - good, propellers on top - what the hell is that!'