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Culdrose bids farewell to Merlin legend Steve, ‘last of the Cold War warriors’
11 November 2025
One of the Navy’s last ‘Cold War warriors’ has retired after a remarkable career spanning 50 years with the Fleet Air Arm.
Steve Murray served for 35 years in the Royal Navy full-time, another seven with the Reserves and eight more years as a contractor, passing his vast experience in submarine hunting to a new generation of aviators.
He has flown 35 types of aircraft, operated from at least eight aircraft carriers, seen active service in the Gulf, and commanded a helicopter flight, two squadrons and Merlin Helicopter Force.
And though today’s aircraft, equipment and systems used in the fight against ‘the enemy below’ have changed dramatically over his five-decade career, the basics of the hunt: determination, dedication, painstaking thoroughness have not.
Retiring from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, the 68-year-old former commander said: “I am one of the last Cold War anti-submarine warriors and I’ve really enjoyed the tactical challenge and the opportunity to pass on my knowledge to the next generation. The old principles are still valid and effective today.”
He was joined by friends and family at a farewell event at the air station’s Merlin Training Facility, where he was presented with a cake and gifts including a wall clock mounted inside a helicopter tail rotor drive shaft bracket, while the head of the Fleet Air Arm Rear Admiral Anthony Rimington wrote a valedictory letter thanking the aviator for his outstanding service.
From Manchester, Steve joined the Royal Navy aged 18 in 1975. He was selected for observer training at 750 NAS at RNAS Culdrose in 1976. He then learnt to operate Wessex helicopters before converting to Sea King and was appointed to 814 NAS the following year.
He said: “I had a lot to learn about anti-submarine warfare – but I got a lot better, very quickly. You find your position right at the bottom of the pile and you quickly do what you’re told, listen, learn and work hard.
“You also find out who the talented guys are and learn from them. I’ve still got some very close friends from that period. In the Fleet Air Arm, you make some fantastic life-long friendships.”
I’ve still got some very close friends from that period. In the Fleet Air Arm, you make some fantastic life-long friendships
Steve said those early years instilled in him an ethos which he carried throughout his career – earning him a fearsome reputation for demanding the highest standards.
“I’ve always said you should be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be,” he said. “That means never being found wanting professionally. Be proud and do the spadework. ‘Just enough’ is not good enough.”
His time with the Fleet Air Arm covers pretty much every anti-submarine helicopter squadron, time on Search and Rescue with 771 NAS, a three-year exchange with the US Navy, and work as a trials officer for Sea King and Merlin helicopters at Boscombe Down, notably for the first Gulf War enhancements.
He helped introduce the first-generation Merlin into service as senior observer of 700M Squadron in 1998, then commanded 814 NAS operating those same new helicopters aboard HMS Ark Royal.
He was still in command of the Flying Tigers in the spring of 2003 when the squadron embarked on RFA Fort Victoria for the second Gulf War.
“Our task was to establish the surface picture and identify every unit in the northern Gulf close to the Al Faw Peninsula,” he said. “But we also moved people and stores ashore, and remained ready to back lift injured troops to embarked medical facilities.
“It showed the flexibility of the Merlin and it’s crews. We didn’t need to role fit or retrain. We could do all of that.
“My ‘head mark’ was always to command a squadron at sea, doing what I was trained for. I was very honoured and privileged, and I really enjoyed it. It was a tremendous time, made by great people in 814 and Ark Royal. We had a very, very happy squadron that all worked hard and played hard.”
Steve went on to become the fifth ‘Commander M’, commanding the maritime Merlin Helicopter Force before retiring from the full-time RN in 2010.
He remained at Culdrose as an instructor in the Merlin Training Facility, first for the Royal Naval Reserves and then under contract with Babcock and later Serco.
“There comes a point when you do have to pass on the headset on to someone else. I know that the guys coming through are good and perform well on operations,” Steve said.
“I also know that anti-submarine capability is in really good hands with some outstanding instructors in the Merlin Training Facility. That gives me a lot of comfort as I retire.”