The outstanding versatility of the Apache may be further gauged from a brief report in Defence News of June 2011, which summarized five years of service by Apache in Afghanistan, describing it as the platform of choice when fire support was requested by soldiers on the ground – for close combat attack, ISTAR, escort and support to other operations. It noted that in many cases the mere sight of an Apache at the scene of a contact was sufficient to persuade the enemy to make a swift retreat and added,
‘The most sophisticated weapon system currently in service with the British Army, it carries a fire-control radar and radar frequency interferometer [a passive radar receiving device] providing an integrated surveillance and attack system. The Apache can operate in all weathers, day or night, and detect, classify and prioritize up to 256 potential targets in a matter of seconds.’
Another interesting comment was made by WO2 Giovanni Morini in conversation with the author. He has had eleven years of experience with the AH force, firstly with 651 Squadron and then with 656, rising steadily through the ranks,
‘The professional standards of the entire Army Air Corps have risen over the last decade and this is due in no small part to the experience we have all had in introducing and operating the Apache. We are like three sides of an equilateral triangle, aircrew, ground crew and REME, all needing each other and sharing mutual respect and trust. I have a great respect not only for my three OCs, Majors Cash, Amlôt and Neville, but for all Squadron members who have strived to be the best they can and who have made the Squadron what it is today.’
His words are echoed by Colonel Andy Cash, now the AH Force Commander who believes that the AAC was given a helicopter and associated equipment that was second to none, a training package of the highest quality and very demanding operations to fulfil. The Corps has risen to the challenge outstandingly, with teamwork the key to this success,
‘The confident and capable ALPC who effectively takes charge of the aircraft on the FARP, the signallers at the MPS and the REME technicians are all just as much a part of the crew now as the pilots.’
It was apposite that, in December 2011, personnel from the Apache Force ‘cleaned up’ at the annual Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators awards ceremony. This included a Master’s Commendation to 656 Squadron for its work on board HMS Ocean and the Sir Barnes Wallace Medal to former OC, Major David Amlôt. This was richly deserved and demonstrated that the wider aviation community recognized the professionalism and brave determination of Squadron personnel.
As the research for this book is being concluded in 2012, the Squadron’s task (under its latest OC, Major Piers Lewis, the first ‘home grown’ AH OC) is to train for its role as Contingent Operations Squadron, ready for deployment operationally anywhere in the world at short notice. The Squadron is still leading the way as the AH Force as a whole prepares to adapt to a post-Herrick world. The immediate future for the Squadron is likely to be based on close cooperation with HMS Illustrious, 3 Commando Brigade RM and 16 Air Assault Brigade, as both the maritime and land-based contingency requirements are developed. The learning process never stops.
An Operational Conversion Flight (OCF) is currently embedded within the Squadron with the task of providing CTR to all new AH pilots who have completed CTT at Middle Wallop. Within this training role the Squadron has seen soldiers of all hues pass through its ranks, from airtroopers to royalty.
In April 2012, two Apaches from the Squadron fired one Hellfire missile each at a training target that was positioned by HMS Illustrious, in the sea off Northern Scotland, where the ship was taking part in the multinational Exercise Joint Warrior. This was the first time that the pilots had fired live missiles in the UK. As well as training the Apache pilots themselves, the firings also allowed the ship’s crew to practice safely delivering the missiles from weapon magazines to the helicopters on the flight deck. Piers Lewis, commented,
‘The Apache crews are comfortable operating in all environments and this has once again demonstrated our ability to fire Hellfire from sea, having launched from HMS Illustrious. We forged excellent links with HMS Ocean last year – and are now making similarly strong links with Illustrious.’
Much has changed in the last seventy years, the complexity and capability of today’s Apaches would have been far beyond the imaginations of the pioneer Auster pilots, fitters, signallers and drivers who took part in the Burma campaign. Moreover, instead of directing ground-based artillery from the air, 656 Squadron now constitutes airborne artillery itself, being directed from the ground by FAC/JTAC. Yet much remains the same, the Squadron is still on call for operations far away from home, with small numbers of aircraft and personnel giving a level of support far beyond that which could reasonably be expected of a single squadron. Back at base, technicians and other specialists still labour tirelessly to keep the aircraft and equipment ready for combat. The skill, dedication, courage, comradeship and good humour of all Squadron members, either in the air or on the ground, remains a constant factor. This is a quite remarkable unit with a history to match and at times surpass those of any squadron in British military service.