Sea King HAR3A – ZH541, RAF No.22 Sqdn – Search and Rescue REF: AA33415
Scale: 1:72
Dimensions: Rotor Span: 260mm
£39.99
22 Squadron was formed as an Air Sea Rescue Squadron at Thorney Island in 1955, It had an initial establishment of eight Whirlwind Mk 2s and was planned to operate from four detached Flights to provide SAR cover over the South and South East Coasts and Wales. The Whirlwinds were replaced by Wessex and in 1997 the Wessex were replaced by new build Sea King HAR 3As. The HAR3As are with A flight at Royal Marine Base Chivenor which is the squadron’s headquarters and B Flight at Wattisham with HAR3s being operated by C flight at RAF Valley. A key modification to the aircraft is the FLIR Systems Sea King Multi-Sensor Systems (SKMSS) based on the Star-Q camera system. The system entered service in June 2004 and equipped the entire RAF Sea King fleet by 2006. On 16 August 2004, following severe flash flooding at Boscastle in Cornwall seven helicopters were scrambled including two from 22 Sqdn at Chivenor and more than 120 people were airlifted to safety. Estimated release date: August 2008
