Gazelle bases in U.K.
 

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

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

32 Sqn at Northolt also operated a few.

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

665 squadron jhc aldergrove northern Ireland

And 3 Flight AAC at RAF Topcliffe.

1 AAC Gutersloh & 12 Flt Bruggen.

Two of the best known UK bases :}

Boscombe Down (ETPS)

Still there, I believe.

Part of 5 Regiment AAC.

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

RNAY Fleetlands used to have one.

Pontius ...added for completeness :)

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/ima...9/7/101378.jpg

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

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.

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

658 Sqn at Credenhill