It all started when…
In May 2018 the Army Air Corps’ 657 Squadron was approaching a time where the retirement of the venerable Lynx AH.9A would coincide with the disbandment of the Squadron. It was therefore a fitting occasion to celebrate not only the closure of a unit which had contributed so much to UK defence over many years and the people who had served within it, but also the end of a long line of Lynx models which had served for decades before the advent of their replacement, the Wildcat.
This project was completed within the Ministry of Defence and not under Dynamic Vectors. It serves only as an illustration of what some of our designers can do.
The first engagement with 657 Squadron was over the subject of imagery, in hope of recording a momentous time in the type’s career. During that time the concept of a retirement paint job was being floated within the Army Air Corps and, at first, was expected to be a simple marking just behind the main undercarriage. Being on-board from a photographic point-of-view led to the question being asked about offering something up in the design sense as well, to give the Squadron scope to go further if they so wished.
Several months later the date of retirement was fast approaching and a design was settled on of which the Army approved. Serco partners at RAF Odiham had also come on-board to support the project so the stage was set for applying paint to the selected airframe (ZG917).
Meanwhile, RAF Odiham were highly supportive in closing part of the runway one evening to allow some staged photography as two Lynx returned from their penultimate training sortie at a time perfectly planned to coincide with sunset. The runway lights were illuminated and the pair paused for 5 minutes in front of our lens.
Timescales to adorn ZG917 in new colours were tight, so a manageable livery had to be designed for an application window of just one week. Again, that meant trying to draw maximum impact out of the use of just 2-3 colours. It had to be ready for a final tour of four Lynx around the UK on the 16th January 2018 so the paint application occurred immediately after the winter break. It was an absolute honour to join the Lynx over London at the conclusion of their flypasts, with the final livery leading the formation down the Thames to say goodbye to the UK capital.
It was an incredibly poignant moment to capture the helicopters during the final stage of their farewell flight as they represented the last four Lynx of any mark in service with the UK forces. It mirrored the retirement of the Royal Navy’s Lynx HMA.8 in 2017, which at that time had been the only other variants of the type still operating in the UK. After the flypasts one last hope existed - that of capturing the very final sortie of ZG917 as it transited from Odiham to Middle Wallop and into the care of the Army Air Corps Museum a few days later.
It was a joy to hear that the museum had decided to preserve the aircraft but it was unlikely to fly again so this twilight sortie had to count for imagery. Before progressing through Salisbury Plain, the final vision we pitched to 657 Squadron was to bring the aircraft to the hover in front of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst! As the spiritual home of Army officer training and being located relatively close to RAF Odiham, it seemed only right to request permission to mark the Lynx’s bowing out in this way. At the last possible moment, just before the aircraft was started for its delivery flight into storage, the permissions came through.
The Sandhurst landing was completed on time and through a gap in the weather, before the last two Lynx headed west towards Middle Wallop. The machines looked as nimble in 2018 as they no doubt had done in years gone by and, despite their age, their status as a thoroughbred was clear. Like many types which reach the end of their service lives, the Lynx had developed into a capable and refined platform. Whilst the replacement Wildcat was to improve on that foundation, the quality in the type was clear.
True to form, the Squadron was not willing to lose its edge right up to its last sortie so conducted a fast-roping profile to the top of a building on Salisbury Plain enroute. It was incredibly impressive to watch the agility of the machine as it assaulted the target but equally heart-wrenching to see the hulk of a Lynx AH.7 in close proximity, as a sign of things to come for its AH.9A brothers after their ‘last hurrah’ in the air. A brief stop near Stonehenge to conduct some ‘quickstop’ profiles followed as the Army aviators sought to keep their skills sharp…and then onwards towards the inevitable…
On arrival at Middle Wallop a large crowd of onlookers had gathered to soak up the final sight and sound of the two Lynx in the air where they belonged. When the engines were finally shut down it was a sad but proud feeling to have been able to play a small part in delivering a project which enabled the Lynx’s story to be told and which led to so much interest and celebration. To have been offered the gift of photographing those final days on three separate occasions was an extraordinary opportunity. SO much gratitude is felt towards 657 Squadron and the Army Air Corps for allowing these images to be planned and captured with them. The landings at Middle Wallop signified the end but the Service had bid goodbye to the aircraft in serious style. With that, the Lynx could bow out into the history books, leaving an exemplary career behind it.
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