This week marks 84 Squadron’s 50th anniversary of non-stop flying operations from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. This is a momentous milestone, as no other RAF flying Squadron has operated continuously on an RAF station for that long.
They are the most senior helicopter Squadron in the RAF and the last remaining RAF search and rescue Squadron. They have provided an invaluable service for all aircraft and personnel that have operated from Akrotiri as well as the Cypriot authorities. The Squadron marked the occasion with a parade at RAF Akrotiri and a 3-ship flypast across Cyprus.
The Squadron was reformed at RAF Akrotiri on 17th January 1972. It initially flew Westland Whirlwind helicopters, which conducted many successful rescue missions including an Archbishop, RAF pilots and 125 passengers from a sinking Turkish ferry in a heavy storm. One of the most miraculous rescues was of a soldier who went missing off the coast of Cyprus and was found 9 hours later swimming towards Lebanon. The Squadron also delivered a baby in an aircraft 1000ft above Limassol.
In December 1981 the Whirlwinds were replaced with Wessex helicopters, which were the first aircraft to deploy to Beirut during the Lebanon crisis flying 27 sorties and recovering the British Embassy staff back to Cyprus. Soon after, 84 Squadron introduced the aerial firefighting capability to Cyprus which has saved countless lives whilst batting raging wildfires.
The Griffin HAR2 replaced the Wessex in 2003 and had the first ever RAF female flying Squadron Commander. The Griffin helicopter brought further operational success, including the rescue of 25 crew members from a ship that sank 15 miles from Syria. Other operational highlights include rescuing injured workers from an oil rig that had a poisonous gas leak. During 2021 the Squadron played a valuable role in fighting the unprecedented wildfires in Cyprus. They flew continuously to drop over 112 tonnes of water on the fires in critical areas in 2 days.
