RAF Helicopters

RAF Search and Rescue Helicopters

Seaking helicopter 128 hovers astern of Filey lifeboat

Sometimes the lifeboats have to work in close contact with the search and rescue helicopters of the RAF, most often in searches for a missing boat or person. Here at Filey we would work with the Seaking helicopters from 202 Squadron RAF Leconfield nr Hull,

The helicopters have a different role to play in search and rescue than the lifeboats, obviously they cannot tow in a broken down boat, but for searching a large area in a short time or evacuating an injured person from a boat hundreds of miles out to sea they are ideal. Their primary use is for the military but are more often used to help civilians who get into trouble.

We exercise as often as is possible with the helicopters practicing winching to and from the lifeboats, sometimes at night. These exercises are invaluable to the crews as you never know when you will have to do it for real.

128 winches down the man overboard dummy, which had been thrown over and left for the helicopter to find and retrieve from the sea on a recent exercise

128 on the beach at Filey to pick up a diver with a suspected attack of the bends