RAF & IAC food drops to farms in NI
RAF & IAC food drops to farms in NI
Ulster Television reporting that an RAF Chinook has been called in to Northern Ireland in order to drop food supplies to farms and livestock cut off by snow. Support will be provided from south of the border by the Irish Air Corps.
Chinook food drops
Just curious, given the current RAF overseas commitments, how many Chinooks are currently available in the UK?
JAS
Chinook food drops
Just curious, given the current RAF overseas commitments, how many Chinooks are currently available in the UK?
JAS
Not many, I'll wager JAS.
This should be a wake up call for the Great British public, and successive governments who have reduced our armed forces to a shadow of their former selves, in spite of ever increasing overseas commitments.
In the minds of the public there is still a great standing army hanging around in barracks polishing their boots, and rows and rows of aircraft on remote airfields just waiting to answer the call. Thus whenever there is any sort of emergency at home the call goes out - "why don't they bring in the troops?" The answer of course, there aren't enough left and those that remain are either on ops or preparing to go on them.
It is a sad indictment that the deployment of ONE Chinook helicopter in aid of the civilian population makes news, welcome, of course, as its contribution is. Sixty years ago when the great East Coast flood disaster caused widespread damage and loss of life, thousands of troops were mobilised to assist the civil authorities. When it happens again, which it will, pace the climate change deniers, we'll be hard put to provide one chopper and a platoon of troops to help.
Health - education - education - health chant the politicians of all parties when saying what their spending priorities are. But shhh - dont mention defence , that's a dirty word.
This should be a wake up call for the Great British public, and successive governments who have reduced our armed forces to a shadow of their former selves, in spite of ever increasing overseas commitments.
In the minds of the public there is still a great standing army hanging around in barracks polishing their boots, and rows and rows of aircraft on remote airfields just waiting to answer the call. Thus whenever there is any sort of emergency at home the call goes out - "why don't they bring in the troops?" The answer of course, there aren't enough left and those that remain are either on ops or preparing to go on them.
It is a sad indictment that the deployment of ONE Chinook helicopter in aid of the civilian population makes news, welcome, of course, as its contribution is. Sixty years ago when the great East Coast flood disaster caused widespread damage and loss of life, thousands of troops were mobilised to assist the civil authorities. When it happens again, which it will, pace the climate change deniers, we'll be hard put to provide one chopper and a platoon of troops to help.
Health - education - education - health chant the politicians of all parties when saying what their spending priorities are. But shhh - dont mention defence , that's a dirty word.
Aside from operational deployments and training / maintenence etc, four of the UK's 46 Chinooks are kept on permanent standby to respond to global contingencies that occur from time to time, plus a single aircraft that is on permanent alert to respond to UK government taskings and emergencies.
It will be this UK-assigned aircraft you would have seen in the NI news.
It will be this UK-assigned aircraft you would have seen in the NI news.
Red On, Green On
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Sixty years ago when the great East Coast flood disaster caused widespread damage and loss of life, thousands of troops were mobilised to assist the civil authorities.
They were bored senseless because of a complete lack of imagination by the authorities in how best to use them and keep them occupied. In any case long after the end of National Service we still had much larger numbers during my own time in the RAF in the 60s and 70s, since when numbers have just about halved.
Well, I certainly remember the cold winter of 1962/3. But even then the snow had mostly gone by early March.
The TV news frequently covered the efforts of military helicopter crews taking food to snowed-in farms:
Britain's coldest winters on record in pictures - Telegraph
Still, at prep school it meant we couldn't play rugby, so we spent much of the time tobogganing instead....
The TV news frequently covered the efforts of military helicopter crews taking food to snowed-in farms:
Britain's coldest winters on record in pictures - Telegraph
Still, at prep school it meant we couldn't play rugby, so we spent much of the time tobogganing instead....
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BEagle ...
At Prep School you tobogganed ... We at Grammar School sledged (in the Metalwork Masters commandeered steel filing cabinet as it happens ... which sported RAF roundels IIRC ... you cold get four in it Bobsleigh style with the draws removed) !
At Prep School you tobogganed ... We at Grammar School sledged (in the Metalwork Masters commandeered steel filing cabinet as it happens ... which sported RAF roundels IIRC ... you cold get four in it Bobsleigh style with the draws removed) !
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 27th Mar 2013 at 13:37.
Back in Beagle's winter of 62/63 (when up Edinburgh way, we still had snow around till May), I'm fairly certain that some of the RAF's brand new Argosies went dropping fodder to snowbound farms - probably free drop rather than by parachute, but I'm sure that somebody here can confirm/deny.
Oh FFS! CAS get a grip:
TTN
I hate to tell you this, but when I joined in the early 80s the RAF was approx 86000 strong, today we are close to 1/3 of that at 31500
If we had any spare C130s, with trained crews, we might; but we haven't.
Three British Army Chinook helicopters
during my own time in the RAF in the 60s and 70s, since when numbers have just about halved.
Do we not have any C130s that can drop stuff by parachute.
