Publication:The Fearless Times Issue 2 2009/Merlin Magic
By LEUT Mark 'Flowers' Flowerdew
Toowoomba, hosted a visit from a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter from 902 Expedi-tionary Air Wing (EAW), 814 SQN on Tuesday 28 July 2009, whilst conducting opera-tions in the Northern Arabian Gulf.
The crew of the Merlin detachment based at Seeb airfield, Muscat, Oman, were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Toowoomba and get some rare deck time practice, particularly with an RAN Anzac Class frigate. Toowoomba's Seahawk was also airborne at the time, both aircraft flew in company and images of the Merlin, landing on Toowoomba were captured. Coincidently both aircraft are from Tiger squadrons as RN 814 SQN are known as the “Flying Tigers” whilst 816 SQN are known as the “Fighting Tigers”.
As part of Op SLIPPER and the operations in the North Arabian Sea, Toowoomba having now proved interoperability with the Merlin is available on standby to act as lilypad to support and extend Merlin aircraft operations in the Arabian Sea.
Members of Toowoomba's flight deck team were pleased to get an opportunity to work with the Merlin as it provided some new and interesting experience, particularly given the size of the Aircraft. In fact, it was good news all round given the quality of the training achieved by the RN aircrew who were able to consolidate some valuable embarked operations which is not available to them whilst they are based ashore at Seeb.
CMDR Ingham who accepted an invitation to fly in the Merlin was very impressed with the power and nimbleness of the helicopter, given the considerable size of the airframe.
Since her arrival in the MEAO in June, Toowoomba has taken every opportunity to forge strong relationships with the other coalition forces deployed to the Gulf. This is allowing members of the her Ship's Company to regularly conduct Personnel Exchange Programs which is providing new professional experiences, promoting cooperation and enhancing our understanding of how other navies operate. The crew from 814 SQN Merlin detachment were most impressed with Toowoomba's capabilities and are now looking forward to working more closely with the RAN in the future.
