USAF
HH60G Pave Hawks
detached onboard French Navy's Tonnerre LHD
From
1 to 3 October 2011, a detachment of US Air Force’s Personal Recovery
(PR) with HH60G Pave Hawk was operating from the French Navy’s
Tonnerre BPC (Mistral Class LHD) offshore Sirte, Libya.
USAF HH60G
Pave Hawks land on French Navy's Tonnerre off Libya
(picture: EMA/French Navy)
The Air Force personnel,
coming from Greece on October 1st, were projected on the Marine Nationale
ship Tonnerre by the coalition to validate the ability of BPC (Batiment
de Projection et Commandement, Mistral Class) to host an extra CSAR party.
The goal being to increase on very short notice, closer to the coast,
this capacity. (Pave Hawks have the ability to be air refueled which makes
them perfect for this role.)
French and
US crewmen have a chat onboard Tonnerre LHD (picture:
EMA/French Navy)
HH60G Pave
Hawk on the deck of Tonnerre BPC (picture:
EMA/French Navy)
The US Air Force crews
said they were impressed by the comfort of the BPC and the capacity of
its helicopters hangar.
In the U.S., PR detachments operate to the benefit of civilian populations
during shipwrecks for example, or recently during Hurricane Katrina. Abroad,
it is in Afghanistan that they are currently mainly deployed. "We
come directly from the province of Helmand in the south, where we just
spent four months," said Major José.
A USAF airman
show the Pave Hawk's cockpit to his French counterpart (picture:
EMA/French Navy)
The mission of the Tonnerre
was the occasion of many exchanges. "A pilot from 55th Rescue
Squadron (RS) is currently assigned to our unit, the helicopter squadron
01,067 Pyrenees, says a French Commander. "We share the same
procedures. The difference is that our helicopters are less spacious
and older than the Caracal, "explains Captain Chris with a smile.
French Navy
crew from Tonnerre prepare to refuel a USAF HH60G Pave Hawk (picture:
EMA/French Navy)
On
October 3rd at noon, the American detachment left the Thunder to join
the military base in Kalamata, Greece. On the way, an air tanker refueled
the HH60Gs twice during the four hours of flight necessary to reach
the Greek soil.
From: http://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/autres-operations/operation-harmattan-libye/actualites/libye-le-tonnerre-accueille-un-detachement-americain
A French Army
Tigre helicopter takes off while a French Army Cougar and USAF HH60G sit
on the deck of French Navy's Tonnerre (picture:
EMA/French Navy)
