Illustrious ready for front-line duties after final test off the South Coast

In driving rain hundreds of civilians were evacuated from a war-torn land to safety aboard HMS Illustrious.

The veteran aircraft carrier staged a mock rescue of civilians from Devon and Cornwall as two months of rigorous training came to a climax.

Steaming a dozen miles off the Cornish coast, Lusty launched Sea Kings from 845 and 846 Naval Air Squadrons to help the Foreign and Commonwealth Office organise the evacuation of entitled citizens seeking sanctuary – a mission not unlike that performed by the Royal Navy in the Lebanon and Libya in recent years.

Supported by Royal Marines from 40 Commando, the exercise scenario required Illustrious to work with the FCO to evacuate scores of people from Torpoint, Dartmoor and Dartmouth.

At HMS Raleigh in Torpoint, a 30-strong team from Lusty set up a processing centre for 100 evacuees, checking their paperwork and providing immediate medical attention if required.

Evacuees were flown in by helicopter from additional sites on Dartmoor and at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth after the commandos had secured a safe meeting point.

Personnel from Raleigh and BRNC played the part evacuees, who were then flown to the ship by Sea King to be fed and made comfortable for passage to a friendly country from where they could make their own way home.

“I’ve been involved in a number of evacuation exercises myself while serving on board ship, but it was good to take part in this and see if through different eyes,”

said 22-year-old warfare specialist Jo Watson who normally works as a member of the main gate staff at HMS Raleigh but played the part of a pregnant woman for this exercise.

“Illustrious' ship's company were very efficient and it was so realistic that by the end I actually began to think I was involved in genuine situation and was the person I was playing.

“I think it was the best exercise I've been involved in. It gave me the chance to learn and to see how I could improve for the next time I'm involved in an exercise or have to do it for real.”

The Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (known throughout the RN simply as ‘NEO’) exercise was one of the final acts of Illustrious’ two-month training package around the South West, which saw her go from the basics of operating helicopters at sea to large-scale amphibious landings in north Devon and finally evacuating civilians from a war zone.

"A fundamental element of a modern warship is the ability to switch from war fighting to a more humanitarian posture at short notice,”

said Lt Cdr John Patterson of Flag Officer Sea Training which has overseen Illustrious’ demanding autumn of trials and tribulations.

“This training exercise prepares Royal Navy warships to react quickly in support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure the protection of British citizens abroad – as recently demonstrated by HMS Cumberland in Libya.”

With the evacuation complete, Illustrious’ package of Operational Sea Training was over; the ship’s company received a ‘pass’ for their efforts which means in the New Year the carrier will assume the role of on-call helicopter carrier, ready to deploy at short notice as required by the Government.

Fresh from her success at OST, Illustrious made a bee-line for Hamburg – an early Christmas present for the ship’s company as reward for their efforts since the carrier emerged from refit in the summer.

Lusty is due back home in Portsmouth on Friday.