News and Reports

First "Sea King" Mk.48 of Belgian Air Component put into retirement.

   

Delivered on December 19th, 1975, RS01 was put into 'retirement' this December 17th, 2008 after 33 years of dedicated service.
After this last flight from Koksijde AFB  to Brussels, with Base Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Aviator Rudy THEYS, at the commands and assisted by Commander-Aviator Karel "Fozzy" Kinable and Flight Engineer Rudy Debergh, RS01 will now find its place near his brothers in arms of all times within the 'air-section' of the Royal Army Museum at Brussels located within the prestigious framework of the park of the 'Cinquantenaire' (half a century - fiftieth anniversary park). 

RS01, the oldest of the five Westland Sea King Mk.48 Search & Rescue helicopters of the Belgian Air Force has been flown up 10585 flight hours with 523 real interventions, during it's discrete, but not less brilliant career.

In the period from 1995 - 1997, the Sea King became very popular to the public due to the Belgian VRT TV production “Windkracht 10”,  a 23 episodes long fiction television story about life, love and adventures of the pilots and crews of the 40th Search and Rescue Squadron of Koksijde AFB  and later on the movie "Koksijde Rescue - Windkracht 10"

Until now all 5 Sea King’s totalizes over 51.000 flight hours with 2.466 real scramble interventions during which 1.452 people has been saved.

The most remarkable scramble of all these was surely on March 05th 1987 when the ferryboat  “Herald of Free Enterprise” sunk before the coast of Zeebrugge and together with SAR helicopters from the Dutch and British Marine more than 260 people has been rescued. 

 

However, the Sea King the will not disappear out of the Belgian skies before 2013 when the last machine will be retired after been replaced by the new twin engine NH Industries NH-90 helicopter of which an agreement for an initial order of 8 with an option for 2 more is signed in 2007.

  

Text & Pictures  © A. Roels/IAPA