7 Squadron - RAF Special Forces Flight

7 Squadron SF flight are based at RAF Odiham and form part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) along with AAC 657 Squadron.

The unit was formed shortly after the 1982 Falklands conflict, during which a need for specialist helicopter support for SAS/SBS operations was highlighted. The RAF, which already had an experienced SF Hercules flight in 47 Squadron, was given the task. The Chinook HC1 (later upgraded to HC2/2a) met the needs of the SAS and SBS, as it had the range and cargo-carrying capability their missions required.

read more : Chinook HC2

A planned upgrade from HC2s to HC3s has been in the works for some time now but has been dogged by financial problems. If completed, the Chinook HC3 will come up to a similar specification as the American MH-47E, with improved avionics, electronic countermeasures, crew protection, fuel tanks and in-flight refueling capabilities.

read more on : Chinook HC3 procurement problems

7 Squadron also operate 2 Gazelle HT3 helicopters which are used for Night Vision Goggles (NVG) training and for scouting out routes ahead of the Chinooks.

7 Squadron Operations

• 1983 - Chinooks from 7 Squadron, operating from Akrotiri, Cyprus carried supplies to British troops in Lebanon
• 1986 - Present - 7 Squadron undertook many operations in Northern Ireland
• December 1988 - A pair of 7 Squadron Chinooks assisted Scottish authorities in the aftermath of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the village of Lockerbie.
• 1991 - During Desert Storm 3 SF flight Chinook HC1s, each painted with special camouflage schemes and carrying extra avionics, deployed to a forward operating base at Al Jouf, Saudi Arabia. Over the course of the war, SF flight:
  • inserted SAS foot patrols into Western Iraq
  • flew resupply missions in support of SAS fighting columns operating in the western Iraqi desert
  • delivered an SBS sabotage team close to Baghdad in order to destroy communications cables
  • once Iraqi forces had been expelled from Kuwait, SF flight flew the SBS into the capital city to secure the British Embassy (watch video)
• 1991 - 7 Squadron delivered humanitarian aid to the Kurds in Northern Iraq
• Mid 90s - 7 Squadron supported NATO humanitarian efforts in Croatia
• 1997 - 7 Squadron support the SAS on 2 separate missions to rescue imperiled British nationals in war-torn Albania
• 1997 - 7 Squadron inserted SAS teams close to Pristina for Operation Tango
• 1999 - Supported NATO operations in Kosovo
• 2000 - 7 Squadron supported the 1 Para Battle Group during Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone. The unit would later carry the SAS, SBS and Paras into the heart of the Sierra Leone jungle during Operation Barras.
• December 2001 - the squadron flew SBS/SAS assault units onto the MV Nisha cargo ship in the English Channel
• 2001-present - 7 Squadron SF flight is believed to have been flying in support of UKSF in both Afghanistan and Iraq. At the present time, public domain details of any such operations are few and far between.

7 Squadron Losses

• On June 2nd, 1994, ZD576, a SF flight Chinook HC2, crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland in dense fog. All of the 29 people on board (4 crew and 25 passengers) were sadly killed. The helicopter had taken off from RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, bound for Fort George, Scotland. The passenger list included many top-level members of the British intelligence apparatus in Northern Ireland.
  video : new evidence on SF Chinook Crash

RAF 7 Squadron Info motto : "Per diem, per noctem" (By day and by night) based at : RAF Odiham aircraft : Chinook HC2 Helicopters

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