No. 7 Flight AAC

No. 7 Flight Army Air Corps
Bell 212 of the No. 7 Flight AAC supporting the Household Cavalry Regiment during a training exercise in the jungles of Brunei in 2017.
Active1 September 1957 (1957-09-01)–1 August 2021 (2021-08-01)
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeHelicopter flight
RoleTransport
Part ofArmy Air Corps
Last home baseMedicina Lines, Seria, Brunei Darussalam[1]
Aircraft flown
HelicopterBell 212 AH1/AH3

No. 7 Flight Army Air Corps (No. 7 Flt AAC) was an independent flight of the British Army's Army Air Corps, latterly based at the British garrison at Medicina Lines in Seria, Brunei, on the island of Borneo.[1]

History

7 Flt AAC Gazelle over Brandenburg Gate in 1983 over Berlin, Germany.

The flight was originally formed as No. 7 Reconnaissance Flight Army Air Corps in 1 September 1957 (1957-09-01), at what was then known as Taiping, British Malaya[2] and was part of No. 656 Squadron AAC.[3] On 24 December 1962, 7 Recce Flight AAC then moved to Brunei on the island of Borneo, and remained there until 31 December 1966, when it was disbanded.[3]

No. 7 Flight Army Air Corps was re-formed in 1970 (1970), at RAF Gatow in Berlin, where it operated Bell Sioux AH.1, and from 1977 until 1994, Westland Gazelle AH.1 helicopters.[3] It was part of the Berlin Infantry Brigade.[3] It was disbanded October 1994,[3] and then returning to Borneo, it reformed on 1 November 1994 at Seria in Brunei, where it supported the resident infantry battalion from the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Training Team Brunei (TTB), which runs jungle warfare training courses.[3][4] The flight used Bell 212 AH1 and AH3 light helicopters.[3][4]

On 1 August 2021 (2021-08-01), the flight was expanded and raised to squadron size, and consequently re-designated as No. 667 Squadron AAC.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. September 2020. p. 8.
  2. ^ Greenacre & Peters 2024, p. 45.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "6-10 Flights AAC". British-Army-units1945on.co.uk. British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "New designation for Army Air Corps jungle support unit". Key.Aero. Key Publishing. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  • Greenacre, John; Peters, Mike (2024). Ops Normal - The Authorised Operational History of the AAC 1957-2017. Vol. 1 (1957-79). Warwick, UK: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-804515-34-1.
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