751 Squadron (Portugal)

The 751 Squadron "Pumas" (Esquadra 751) is a helicopter squadron of the Portuguese Air Force. It is part of Grupo Operacional 61 and it is located in Air Force Base No. 6 (Base Aérea Nº 6, BA6), Montijo, south of Lisbon. It operates the AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin. 751 Squadron moto is "Para que outros vivam" (That others may live) and their crews have rescued 2851 people since 1978.

1978-2006
The 751 Squadron was created in April 29, 1978, operating 4 SA 330 Puma helicopters. At the time, its Primary Mission was Search and Rescue and the Secondary Missions were Tatical and General Air Transport. The SA 330 Puma operated had been previously employed in the Portuguese Colonial War and after the war end were adapted to a new role. These changes made the helicopters able to perform the required Search and Rescue Missions in the Portuguese Search and Rescue areas of responsibility. To execute these missions a crew of five and a helicopter were in a 24h alert at Air Force Base nº6. In the 1990s a permanent detachment, the Madeira Air Detachment starts operations from Porto Santo airport. This detachment also had a crew and a helicopter on a 24h alert to execute Search and Rescue operations, and has as its secondary mission the execution of tactical and general air transport operations.

2006-Today
In 2005 the 751 Squadron started to operate the AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin, the SA 330 replacement. In February 11, 2005 the first two Merlins arrived at Portugal. After the crew's conversion to the new helicopter, the AW101 Merlin started its operational activity in Air Base nº6 on 3 February 2006 and in Madeira Air detachment on the 22nd of the same month. This aircraft upgrade allowed the 751 Squadron to be fitted with the latest helicopter technology, increasing the operational range from 200NM to 400NM. After the introduction of the Merlin in the Portuguese Air Force there were major changes in the Portuguese Search and Rescue assets. On 30 November 2005, the Azores Air Detachement was created, operating from Air Base nº4 (BA4), from Lajes, Azores. This detachment comprises two helicopters and two crews, having one of the crews on a 24h permanent alert.

Since its activation the 751 Squadron has flown a total of more than 40 000 hours, 10 000 hours of those with the Merlins.

The 751 Squadron in Portugal's SAR organization
Organized Search and Rescue services were created from the need that countries had to provide a Search and Rescue service, maritime and aeronautical, to all craft that enter their areas of responsibility. The existence of a SAR organization in a country creates a safer environment to the maritime and aeronautical industry, allowing the development of these industries and consequently their economic growth. Portugal, being a country with a long maritime history, has a long tradition in providing SAR services. The Portuguese Search and Rescue Region (SRR) is the second largest in the world, being second only to the Canadian SRR and it has an area of 5 million square kilometers. The Portuguese SRR coincides with Lisbon and Santa Maria Flight Information Regions (FIR). SAR responsibility in Portugal is shares between the Portuguese Air Force, the Portuguese Navy and the Civil Protection National Authority, all working in cooperation.

The Portuguese SAR military operational control is comprised by:


 * 2 Rescue Coordination Centers (RCC) in Lisbon and Lajes
 * 2 Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers (MRCC) in Lisbon and Ponta Delgada (Azores archipelago)
 * 1 Maritime Rescue Sub Center (MRSC) in Funchal (Madeira archipelago)

It is in this control structure that the 751 Squadron is included, with one AW101 Merlin alert helicopter in Montijo Air Force Base, one AW101 Merlin alert helicopter in Support Aerodrome nº3 in Porto Santo (Madeira archipelago) and two AW101 Merlin helicopters in Lajes Air Force Base nº4 (Azores archipelago). The Portuguese Air Force also provides other air assets to the SAR organization, including P-3, C-130, C-295, Falcon 50 fixed wing aircraft and Allouette III helicopters. Despite the large national SAR area of responsibility, the 751 Squadron has provided SAR support to neighboring countries, performing rescue missions in both Spanish and Moroccan Search and Rescue Regions.

SAR Crew
The SAR crew in the Portuguese AW101 Merlin comprises:
 * Pilot in Command - Directs, executes and plans all the flight related actions. As the aircraft commander he is the ultimate responsible for all the decisions taken.
 * Co-pilot - Directs, executes and plans flight related actions.
 * Systems Operator - Directs and executes winching operations.
 * Rescue Swimmer - Executes the recover of the victims from either water or land, using the helicopter's winch to be lowered into land or ships.
 * Nurse - Evaluates and provides the needed health care to victims.

If needed, a specialized medical team may be taken on board during any SAR mission.

Assigned Missions
The 751 Squadron is responsible for the following missions:
 * Search and Rescue (SAR)
 * Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
 * Aeromedical Evacuation (AIREV)
 * Air Logistic Support Operations (ALSO)
 * Tactical Air Transport (TAT)
 * Fishing Activities Surveillance (SIFICAP)

SA 330 Puma
Performed with the SA 330, the assembling of a very large antenna (283 meters) in the town of Muge, the placement of the power lines to the village of S. Romão in Serra da Estrela, the installation of Bugio's lighthouse dome in 1981, as well as 163 missions during the Tejo river floods in 1979 and 1983 totaling 255 flight hours, 1386 people evacuated and 11.244 kg of cargo air lifted. Support was also provided during the rescue operations following the Portuguese biggest train accident - in Alcafache - in September 11, 1985, were several injured people were transported to Viseu, Oporto and Lisbon hospitals. Search and Rescue missions include the winching of 15 sailors during the shipwreck of the ship "Angel del Mar" and the winching of 17 sailors from the ship "Bolman III", on January 10, 1994. On Christmas Eve of 2000, one SA 330 rescued 22 sailors from the ship "Coral Bunker" that ran ashore in Viana do Castelo. This was, until now, the mission where more people were rescue during a single sortie. VIP missions include the transport of Pope John Paul II on his three visits to Portugal.

AW-101 Merlin
In 2010, the transport of Pope Benedict XVI in his first visit to Portugal. The 751 Squadron was in different occasions, requested to provide support to neighbouring countries, such as Spain and Morocco. As an example, the support provided during the rescue of the sailors of the sunk "MV KEA", 180NM off the coast of Galiza, Spain, in March 2010. The crew that performed this mission was later awarded, by SASEMAR (the Spanish agency responsible for the Search and Rescue services in Spain) the "Ancla de Plata" award, an annual prize that intends to congratulate crews and people that contribute to SAR or Anti-pollution missions. In December 2011, the 6 missing fishermen from the fishing vessel "Virgem do Sameiro" were located and rescue by one of the 751 helicopters, north of Figueira da Foz. Their ship had sunk 3 days before and the fishermen had been adrift in a life raft.

Aircraft
The 751 Squadron operates 12 AW101 Merlin helicopters in 3 different versions. 6 SAR helicopters, 2 SIFICAP helicopters and 4 CSAR helicopters.
 * SA 330 Puma (1978–2006)
 * AW101 Merlin (2006-Today)

Squadron Leaders

 * MAJ/PILAV Fernando Caetano Mendes - August 1, 1978 / July 30, 1981
 * TCOR/PILAV Manuel dos Santos Nicolau - July 31, 1981 / May 16, 86
 * MAJ/PILAV Victor Manuel Lourenço Morato - May 15, 1986 / December 8, 1986
 * MAJ/PILAV Rui Mora de Oliveira - December 9, 1986 / September 23, 1988
 * MAJ/PILAV António Magalhães Cruz - November 7, 1988 / July 8, 1990
 * MAJ/PILAV Jorge Manuel da Rocha Fernandes - July 9, 1990 / October 14, 1991
 * MAJ/PILAV Luís António Flôr Ruivo - January 13, 1992 / September 13, 1992
 * MAJ/PILAV Joaquim Epifânio Santana Santos - September 14, 1992 / September 16, 1993
 * MAJ/PILAV Luís António Flôr Ruivo - November 29, 1993 / April 2, 1996
 * MAJ/PILAV Augusto Manuel De Sousa Brites - April 3, 1996 / May 25, 1997
 * MAJ/PILAV Vítor César Soares Vieira - June 16, 1997 / July 29, 1998
 * MAJ/PILAV Alexandre Paulo Menezes Figueiredo - July 30, 1998 / August 30, 2000
 * TCOR/PILAV João Tiago Cabral de Almeida Carvalho - August 31, 2000 / June 3, 2002
 * TCOR/PILAV Manuel Maria Mories Dionísio - June 3, 2002 / May 5, 2005
 * MAJ/PILAV Hélder Cardoso - May 5, 2005 / May 4, 2007
 * MAJ/PILAV Jorge Pina - May 4, 2007 / August 25, 2008
 * TCOR/PILAV António Moldão - August 25, 2008 / September 28, 2010
 * TCOR/PILAV José Diniz - September 28, 2010 / October 24, 2011
 * TCOR/PILAV João Carita - October 25, 2011 /