Three Puma RAF helicopters soar over Shropshire as they tour UK for the final time

RAF Puma HC.Mk 2 helicopters flew over the RAF Museum in Cosford, then Shawbury airbase today (Wednesday, March 26).

The aircraft will be retired at the end of this month after serving for more than 50 years in the British Armed Forces.

The first two Puma aircraft were delivered on January 29 in 1971. Its operational service began in April two years later and the Puma has taken part in operations with the Royal Air Force around the world.

To mark the end of the aircraft's illustrious career, three mark 2 Puma helicopters departed from their home base at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire for the final time this morning and began a series of flypasts over sites across the UK to say their goodbyes.

Crowds gathered and waited eagerly in anticipation as the helicopters arrived at Cosford at 11.15am and at RAF Shawbury at 11.26am.

The Puma helicopters then headed off to Hillsborough Castle and around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They are set to return to the Midlands tomorrow (March 27) where they will fly over an RAF base at Stafford and the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield.

The Puma has been used in a variety of combat roles, including the tactical movement of troops, weapons, ammunition and stores on the battlefield alongside the extraction of casualties and in response to medical emergencies on the frontline.

The aircraft is capable of carrying 16 passengers, 12 fully equipped troops or up to two tonnes of freight.

The helicopter can also be fitted with up to six stretchers for casualty evacuation or medical emergency responses.

The Royal Air Force says the retirement of the Puma will "enable avoidance of additional in-service costs" and enable the introduction of its replacement as soon as possible. 

A new H145 helicopter will enter service next year and be deployed in both Cyprus and Brunei in support of British forces.

Speaking about the Puma’s retirement, Squadron Leader Neil Davidson, second in command of 33 Squadron, said: "It is quite a responsibility because you are the eyes and ears for the pilots when you are in the cabin because they can’t see to the rear of the aircraft or underneath. One of your key roles is to voice marshal the aircraft and provide the safety clearances.

"I have had many different roles throughout my time on Puma, but my most exciting is probably on operations. Between operating in Iraq and in an urban environment in Baghdad to operating in Kabul in Afghanistan, by day and night, it has been getting into some really tight sites that the Puma is exceptionally good at to pick up the troops or get them in where they need to be.

"This has been the only aircraft I have been on for most of my career apart from a few training aircraft. It is really about the people in the squadron and the people you get to know over those 20 years that I have been flying on Puma. What a great team we have and lifelong friends that you work with day in, day out.

"The aircraft is great, but it is what it represents in the squadron and force is excellent."

Meanwhile, Station Warrant Officer at RAF Benson, Robert Warren revealed that he once had to recover a Puma helicopter in Iraq after one of the aircraft suffered an engine failure. 

He said this was the "most challenging" environment he had worked with the aircraft in.

"I first worked on the aircraft in 1993 and I followed the aircraft to RAF Benson and it has been a huge part of my life ever since," said Mr Warren.

"It has been a large part of my family and I have had some great times and amazing experiences with the aircraft throughout my career."