Commando fliers undertake unusual supply mission

The wings of the Royal Marines swapped guns, ammunition and supplies to help hikers in the frozen Norwegian Arctic.

As a ‘thank you’ to their hosts for permitting annual winter training (Operation Clockwork) deep inside the Arctic Circle, the commando aviators performed an unusual delivery mission – saving locals weeks of effort in brutal conditions.

According to a Royal Navy press release:

“The Commando Helicopter Force – based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset – makes extensive use of the fields around Bardufoss as crews practice ‘whiteout’ landings and take-offs, setting up makeshift refuelling points or camps to train personnel how to live, eat, survive in this harshest of environments. The same terrain is also popular with winter hikers – the Royal Marines helped with the (thankfully successful) search for missing walkers last month – for whom refuge cabins are provided should the weather close in.

Several such huts pepper the remote Øvre Dividal National Park on the Norwegian-Swedish border – about 40 miles southeast of Bardufoss air base, the hub of the Commando Helicopter Force’s winter training. Troms Turlag (The Norwegian Trekking Association) provides firewood for the cabins, which are all located more than 2,000ft above sea level – and there are no roads. Instead, park authorities have relied on local volunteers riding snowmobiles through the wilderness for weeks to make the deliveries, potentially disturbing the local reindeer population and other wildlife.”

Enter the Merlin Mk4s of 845 Naval Air Squadron, not only capable of carrying 24 Royal Marines into battle, but also supplies and equipment (including 105mm howitzers and BV tracked vehicles) slung beneath the aircraft.

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