Hurricane Heroes Finally Return Home

216 flight has arrived back in Yeovilton to a hero’s welcome after bringing humanitarian assistance to victims of two of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the Caribbean.

The Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter was deployed with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Mounts Bay and was involved in a dramatic rescue of a family after Hurricane Maria.

Immediately after Hurricane Irma hit Anguilla, RFA Mounts Bay arrived on the scene to deliver six tonnes of aid to the islands, restore power to its hospital and clear the local runway.

It’s now been seven months since they were deployed, clearing the devastation from Hurricane Irma, and Maria, which followed shortly afterwards.

It was the first time that a wildcat was deployed to the Caribbean, and it performed exceptionally well.

The crews from RFA Mounts Bay delivered vital shelter, food and water to those affected in the British Virgin Islands, whilst attempting to restore security to the territories.

At the height of the disaster, there were 1,000 troops situated in the region to aid the relief effort.

The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Ocean also joined the relief effort, having been diverted from deployment in the Mediterranean.

The Chief Petty Officer has expressed his pride at the operation's success: 

“Mounts Bay is not an aviation ship- it wasn’t ideal to keep an aircraft in.

"But the guys worked really hard, and the aircraft performed outstandingly.

“We had one little scare where we had to strip the engines on a 38 hours’ watch- but that was it.

“The lads worked really well. You couldn’t ask for a better team.

“We’ve now done over 200 flying hours on this aircraft”.