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Buoyed by Boyd: Commando fliers of 845 NAS take top trophy for global efforts
1 May 2025
Commando aviators of 845 Naval Air Squadron have been singled out for their efforts to support and prepare for front-line operations in all environments.
The Merlin Mk4 helicopter squadron received the Boyd Trophy, presented to individuals, crews, flights or entire squadrons for “the finest feat of aviation” in the preceding 12 months.
With a history going back to the immediate aftermath of WW2, the trophy acknowledges outstanding airmanship spanning anything from combat in the skies of Korea or the Falklands to rescue missions, or pushing the boundaries of naval aviation by introducing new aircraft or equipment into service.
In 845’s case, it’s collective feats between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024 which earn it the title – handed to the squadron’s outgoing CO Commander Ben McGreal by the Director Force Generation and Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm – Rear Admiral Rimington… great nephew of the admiral for whom the trophy is named.
Over the period covered by the award, the Yeovilton-based Commando Helicopter Force squadron was heavily committed in the Arctic, the sands of the Middle East, the deserts of Oman, and the tense Eastern Mediterranean.
At the peak of operations, seven of the squadron’s ten Merlins and all its personnel were deployed, spread across five locations in Europe and the Middle East.
The focal point was supporting Operation Chambray, the UK response to the Israel-Gaza crisis, courtesy of three Merlin Mk4s embarked on RFA Argus.
The helicopters were rapidly prepared to operate in a contested environment, with full ballistic protection and defensive aid suites installed to the trio in just 38 hours.
Once embarked, two of the three Merlins were always available for missions and flew 270 hours in support of training, exercises and operations before Argus resumed her Littoral Response Group South deployment east of Suez.
Throw in desert training in the Middle East, several months in the Norwegian Arctic for winter training/NATO exercises, support to counter-terrorism operations in the UK, bringing through new air and ground crew and participation in the RAF’s Cobra Warrior and its own Wessex Storm exercises at home, and the net result, in the words of the squadron’s trophy citation, was “significantly increased operational capability and a level of output not seen on the Commando Helicopter Force for some time”.
It continues: “The path that 845 NAS has crafted and followed has seen them accrue knowledge and apply their skills in the environments where our adversaries are actively operating: the High North and Middle East.”
The trophy was presented as the squadron readied to deploy once more; it will support HMS Prince of Wales and the Carrier Strike Group throughout their 2025 deployment, performing a multitude of missions from moving commandos and their kit around, to recovering downed aircrew if necessary.