Danish Air Force says goodbye to the Sea King
Nearly 500 people have waved goodbye to the last of the Danish Air Force Sea Kings.
For 45 years, the Sea Kings operated by 722 Squadron at Karup have assisted in rescue operations across the country helping hundreds of people.
At the retirement event on June 17, Tactical Air Command chief executive, Maj Gen Henrik Dam, sounded a big thank you to former crew members, former patients and special invitees who had come to say farewell to the stalwart helicopter.
As part of the event, the last three operational aircraft carried out a flypast which was recieved with loud applause. Two of the aircraft landed and the third then carried out one final rescue demonstration.
In his speech Maj. Gen. Dam touched on the difficulties the S-61 had at the initial stage, but which improved over time. He drew parallels to the EH101 taking over the rescue duties which has also had difficulties in its initial operational phase.
Squadron Leader Lars Henrik Thor Green talked about his mixed feelings of the S-61 - from the good experiences where lives have been saved, and the emotionally difficult experiences where lives are lost. Finally, Tommy Hesselbjerg who was the last pilot of SAR guard shared a few anecdotes from his time as a pilot on the S-61.
722's hangar featured displays of hung lifejackets from previous missions, and scrapbooks where visitors could read articles dating back to the early 1970s about the many missions S-61 has contributed.
Source: Danish Air Force
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