The Royal Navy Lynx

1982, The author (right) with Flight Commander Bob McKellar and CPO Tug Wilson, plus Lynx Mark 2, XZ 722 ARFA, heading south from Ascension Island to join the Task Force. ( Author )
The Royal Navy Lynx
An Operational History
Larry Jeram-Croft
First published in Great Britain in 2017 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright Larry Jeram-Croft 2017
ISBN 978 1 47386 251 7
eISBN 978 1 47386 253 1
Mobi ISBN 978 1 47386 252 4
The right of Larry Jeram-Croft to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.
Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword Archaeology, Atlas, Aviation, Battleground, Discovery, Family History, History, Maritime, Military, Naval, Politics, Railways, Select, Transport, True Crime, and Fiction, Frontline Books, Leo Cooper, Praetorian Press, Seaforth Publishing and Wharncliffe.
For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England
E-mail:
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author alone and should not be taken to represent those of Her Majestys Government, MOD, HM Armed Forces or any government agency
Foreword
I am delighted to introduce this book written by Larry Jeram Croft. The Lynx Helicopter has a long and illustrious history within the Royal Navy, as is demonstrated by its outstanding operational record.
Reading this book I am reminded of the flexibility of the aircraft as it has covered a much wider range of roles and capabilities than it was originally designed for. I was fortunate to fly the aircraft during my Service career as a Flight Pilot, Flight Commander and as Senior Pilot of 815 Naval Air Squadron and therefore experienced first-hand its strength, reliability and effectiveness.
In recording and celebrating the invaluable work of the Lynx aircraft, I am certain that this book will be an inspiration for the next generation of pilots as well as ensuring its proud place in Naval Aviation history.
HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York, KG, GCVO, CD, ADC
As I moved from the venerable Wasp HAS Mk 1 (just why would anyone fly a Mk1 anything?) to the Lynx HAS Mk3, my aviation world suddenly looked very much more comfortable. Having all that Lynx power and speed was an extraordinarily step up the ladder of capability. And it had doors. And the spare engine definitely helped, so I very gradually weaned myself off waiting for the undemanded downwind engine-off at 400 at night over the sea
My modest (nearly) 500 hours was a sheer pleasure, even if Larry is right, and the Lynx did rattle and leak a bit. But, compared to almost everything else we flew, it was a dream. Though we lost good friends in accidents, and we will never forget them, it never let me down. Im grateful for that.
This is a wonderfully full record of the venerable contribution of the Lynx, and Im delighted Larry has had the time to pull it off. Delve and enjoy!
Admiral Sir George Zambellas, GCB, DSC, DL FRAeS
Author Profile
Larry Jeram-Croft spent thirty years in the Royal Navy. He trained as an aircraft engineer and then as a helicopter pilot. He was awarded a Queens Commendation for search and rescue duties and flew the Lynx off HMS Andromeda during the Falklands War. Retiring from the Royal Navy in 2000 as a Commander, he worked in industry for seven years before retiring for a second time. He then bought a yacht and lived in the Caribbean with Fiona, his wife, before returning to the UK to write books. He now lives in Somerset, where apart from writing he continues to fail to hit a golf ball with any skill whatsoever.
Apart from this book, he currently has eleven novels available on Amazon. Seven of these are the Jon Hunt series that have been described as the British Top Gun and cover the career of a modern naval officer in current times starting from the Falklands and covering events thereafter. Based on his own military experience they are regularly praised for a degree of authenticity rarely found in military fiction.
Acknowledgements and Thanks
Many people have helped me produce this book. Indeed it would not have been possible without them. Individual contributors have already been given acknowledgement against their respective articles. However, I would like to thank all those who have given their time, dug out old photos, and trawled through their records to remember things that happened, in many cases quite a long time ago. Apart from those contributors, I would also like to acknowledge the particular input and help I received from the following:
AgustaWestland Ltd:
Dave Gibbings, Colin Hague.
The Lynx Wildcat Maritime Force:
Commanding Officer, Commander Louis Wilson-Challon
The Force Warfare Officer, Lieutenant Commander Chris Yelland.
815 Squadron:
Commanding Officer, Commander Philip Richardson
Senior Observer Lieutenant Commander Matt Boulind Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Alex Sims
Air Engineer Officer, Lieutenant Commander Brett Gilliss
Flight Commander and Heritage Officer, Lieutenant Rich Bell
The Fleet Air Arm Museum: Barbara Gilbert
The RN Flight Safety Centre:
Commanding Officer, Commander Ben Franklin
Lieutenant Commander Polly Hatchard
AET Stuart Donovan
Royal Navy Media Communications Staff at Whale Island for approval to use articles from the RN Cockpit and Flight Deck magazines.
Finally, I would like to apologize to all those who flew this marvelous aircraft and whose stories I have not been able to include. In such a long period of time there would be far too many anyway. Hopefully, those I have chosen provide sufficient evidence as to what a fantastic machine the Lynx has been.