Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS Seahawk; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serving the Fleet Air Arm's front line AgustaWestland Merlin helicopter squadrons.
History
1940–1999
Admiralty surveyors first started preliminary surveys of land near Helston in 1942. RNAS Culdrose was built by John Laing & Son and commissioned as HMS Seahawk five years after these initial surveys. The station was originally designed to be a wartime airfield lasting about ten years.
The initial plans were for Culdrose to serve as a Naval Fighting School, it soon developed other roles. These varied roles included such things as the trials of the Navy's first jets, training of airborne early warning crews and as a home base for carrier-based aircraft. Over the years the station's emphasis changed from fixed wing aircraft to rotary wing, although its main role remains largely the same.
In 1958, HMS Seahawk was given the Freedom of the Borough of Helston, a parade thanking the town was set up in 1958 and is still happening; on 20 September 2018, the parade celebrated its 60th anniversary.
From 1968 it was one of the designated locations for plan PYTHON, the plan for continuity of government in the event of nuclear war.
2000 onwards
On 18 May 2012, British Airways flight BAW2012 carrying the Olympic Flame, from Athens International Airport, landed at RNAS Culdrose. The aircraft, an Airbus A319 painted yellow and named 'The Firefly', carried dignitaries including Seb Coe, Princess Anne, and David Beckham. The following day the Olympic Flame started its first leg from Land's End, through Cornwall, to Plymouth. Its final destination was the Olympic Stadium in time for the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The air base puts £100 million into the Cornish economy and is one of the largest single-site employers in Cornwall.
Units
Flying and notable non-flying units based at RNAS Culdrose.
Royal Navy
Fleet Air Arm
700X Naval Air Squadron – ScanEagle RM1 and RQ-20 Puma
750 Naval Air Squadron – Avenger T1
814 Naval Air Squadron – Merlin HM2
820 Naval Air Squadron – Merlin HM2
824 Naval Air Squadron – Merlin HM2
Merlin Training Facility
1700 Naval Air Squadron
Engineering Training Section
Merlin Depth Maintenance Facility
Naval Flying Standards Flight (Rotary Wing) School of Flight Deck Operations HMS Seahawk Volunteer Band
Operations
Helicopter operations
Merlin
814 Naval Air Squadron and 820 Naval Air Squadron operate the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 primarily in the carrier based anti-submarine warfare role. The Merlin is fitted with an advanced sensor suite of active/passive sonics, Orange Reaper Electronic Support Measures and Blue Kestrel radar and provides a strong force in under-water warfare and anti-surface unit warfare. The unit's various roles include protecting the Royal Navy against surface and sub-surface threats, command and control, transport, evacuation and Search and Rescue capabilities.
824 Naval Air Squadron is the Merlin Operational Conversion Unit, incorporating the Operational Evaluation Unit flight. The Merlin Training Facility (MTF) is part of 824 NAS, and is a first in that it encompasses pilot, observer, aircrewman and engineering training under one roof. The facility comprises a Cockpit Dynamic Simulator (CDS), 3 Rear Crew Trainers (RCT), 6 Part Task Trainers (PTT), computer-based training (CBT) classrooms, a Mechanical Systems Trainer (MST) and a Weapon Systems Trainer (WST).
Merlin Depth Maintenance Facility
The Merlin Depth Maintenance Facility (MDMF) performs depth maintenance on AW101 Merlin helicopters of the Royal Navy. MDMF is located at RNAS Culdrose, and is a partnership between the UK Ministry of Defence, AgustaWestland, Serco and Lockheed Martin.
For UK Merlin helicopters depth maintenance is centred on a 4-year cycle. MDMF is based upon a pulse line system, similar to a production line; each Merlin "pulses" through 9 phases in turn – removal of major components, inspection, structural repair, fault rectification (3 phases), rebuild, systems test and flight test.
Naval Flying Standards Flight (Rotary Wing) All rotary wing (helicopter) pilots, observers and aircrewmen are assessed annually by NFSF(RW) examiners. This covers all helicopter squadrons at RNAS Yeovilton as well as Culdrose. The assessment consists of a ground exam and a check flight, and may also occur if a squadron has referred them to NFSF(RW).