A Mountain Rescue team has published a touching tribute to the crews who have served on the RAF’s SAR teams at RAF Lossiemouth through the years.
Braemar Mountain Rescue used their social media site this week to public a video tribute to crews of the RAF’s 202 Squadron detachment at the Moray base with whom they have worked on hundreds of rescues over the years.
At the end of this month the familiar bright yellow Sea Kings will no longer depart from RAF Lossiemouth, the SAR role being taken over by a civilian contractor from April 1.
In their tribute a spokesman for the Braemar team said: “The iconic yellow Sea King rescue helicopters provided by 202 Sqn RAF will be retiring from service in a couple of weeks.
“The contract for search and rescue helicopters will move from the RAF to Bristow Helicopters. Our local base is at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and the helicopters from there and elsewhere in the UK have become a familiar sight in the skies around Braemar since the late 1970’s.
“As a team we are very sad to see the Sea King retire from service and it’s fair to say it’s been a very welcome sight for us on too many occasions.”
The team added a short video of images and scenes shot by mountain rescue team members during a callout last summer, when Rescue 137 was heading back from the central Cairngorms to Lossiemouth.
Hopes remain high that the Ministry of Defence will agree to pass one of the Sea King’s that have flown from the Moray base to be used as a permanent exhibit at the Morayvia Aeronautical and Science attraction planned to be based at Kinloss.
People wishing to back that bid are being invited to sign an online petition.