Former HMS Gannet boss returns to Prestwick duty

A former Commanding Officer of HMS Gannet and the Naval Flying Standards Flight has made a welcome return to the cockpit this weekend as a pilot.

Lieutenant Commander Roger Stringer, who lives in Mauchline, has returned to the Ayrshire base - the UK's busiest helicopter search and rescue unit - for his final job before retiring from the naval service.

This is the fourth time in his career as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot that Lieutenant Commander Stringer has been based at HMS Gannet.

But there was to be no gentle easing in for him, as the jobs just kept on coming on Friday and Saturday morning, his first duty back in the hot seat.

In fact, all in all, he and the duty crew carried out four call-outs, as well as a routine training sortie, all in his first 24 hours back at the controls.

The day commenced with a training sortie alongside the current Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Debdash Bhattacharya.

Rescue 177, the call sign for the Royal Navy SAR aircraft from HMS Gannet at Prestwick, was then tasked at approximately 1445 to conduct a medical transfer for a casualty from Barra in the Western Isles, to Glasgow Southern General Hospital. Refuelling en-route at Dunstaffnage near Oban, the 300 nautical mile round trip was completed in snow showers and freezing conditions with the crew returning to Prestwick at 1850.

The crew was then scrambled at 2010 to respond to a call from an aircraft which had suffered a single engine failure off the Farne Islands in Northumberland. The aircraft, however, landed safely and Rescue 177 was re-tasked to assist the Mountain Rescue Team at Helvellyn in the Lake District. Despite the best efforts of the crew, though, the weather prevented a direct transit and, whilst returning to Prestwick Airport to refuel, the alert was cancelled at 2140.

To round the day off, the duty crew was scrambled again at 2350 to conduct another medical transfer, this time for a patient from Oban to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. The transfer was completed in dark, moonless, sub-zero conditions and the aircraft returned to Prestwick to land at 0235 on Saturday December 4, some 12 hours after its first launch.

Commenting on his first day's duty, Roger said: "Today can be likened to a baptism of fire.

"Coming to work at eight in the morning I thought that I might be fortunate enough to be afforded a more gentle transition into my new post rather than being in the cockpit for 12 hours; two thirds of which were at night and finishing at two-thirty the following morning!

"The enormously rewarding taskings saw us fly north, south, east and west over the length and breadth of our area of responsibility which is the largest in the UK.

"Despite having spent several years previously based at Prestwick I was still struck by the privilege that we enjoy in HMS Gannet, flying over one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring parts of the country.

"Having operated pretty much all over the world during my long career in the Royal Navy, there is nothing quite like coming home and being in a position to apply knowledge and skills developed in a range of theatres to assist the local communities."

Lieutenant Commander Bhattacharya, the current Commanding Officer of HMS Gannet, said: "I am thrilled that Roger has returned home to HMS Gannet.

"To have someone with his huge aviation experience and in-depth knowledge in the aircraft or crewroom alongside our more junior aircrew creates fantastic learning opportunities for all involved.

"I am looking forward to many more flights with him but it would be nice if they weren't quite as hectically busy as it was today!"

From Friday through to Sunday, the duty crews at HMS Gannet responded to a total of six call outs - added to the rest of the week's calls, it was a total of 12 call-outs from Monday November 29 to Sunday November 5.

Source: Royal Navy

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