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Osprey aircrew train with lifeboat for sea rescues

Andrew Turner
BBC News, Norfolk
Reporting fromCaister-on-Sea
Andrew Turner/BBC Two Osprey helicopters in a clear blue sky, with a band of white cloud beneath and a slight rainbow caused by the downdraught.Andrew Turner/BBC
The two Osprey helicopters each deployed crew to attempt winching exercises

American military aircrew have performed sea rescue exercises off the Norfolk coast.

Two Osprey helicopters from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk took part alongside Caister's lifeboat team.

Each crew attempted to lower winching strops - used to rescue personnel from the water - on to the lifeboat deck.

Lt Hailey Malay from USAF 352nd Special Operations Wing described the training as crucial for both teams.

Caister Lifeboat A USAF Osprey helicopter flies over the sea, with its downdraught causing a rainbow beneath it. Ahead of it is the Caister Lifeboat, with the wake trailing after the vesselCaister Lifeboat
Aircrew from USAF Mildenhall performed winching exercises with Caister Lifeboat

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter but fly like a plane.

The craft, stationed at RAF Mildenhall in 2013, are capable of flying at 315mph (507km/h).

Monday's exercise was conducted to train crews as the fleet begins its return to active service.

Andrew Turner/BBC Two Osprey helicopters are pictured in the clear blue sky with a small rainbow created by the spray caused by the downdraught. The starboard side of the Caister Lifeboat all-weather vessel is visible on the left of the image with the coast and foreshore in the distant left.Andrew Turner/BBC
The exercise lasted about two hours

Lt Malay said two air crew practiced several times to lower a winching strop on to the lifeboat deck while each was travelling ahead, requiring both the pilot and lifeboat skipper to maintain the same speed and bearing.

She added: "We could be called on for a variety of personnel recovery operations.

"Imagine a distress call comes in, someone is injured on a boat far out at sea and they need urgent medical attention.

"That's where the Osprey, with its unique capabilities comes in, we can quickly reach those in need, even in challenging weather."

Caister coxswain Guy Gibson said: "It's a totally different winching procedure to our coastguard, so we learned a lot and I think it was a good exercise for them."

Andrew Turner/BBC Guy Gibson, the coxswain of Caister Lifeboat, wearing a yellow jacket and lifejacket, with a blue and grey scarf underneath. He has a full beard and moustache and combed short hair. He has sunglasses at the back of his head. He is standing on the deck of the lifeboat, part of which can be seen as a black band on the lower right of the image. The boat is on the beach, with the sand and sea behind, and a clear blue sky.Andrew Turner/BBC
Caister Lifeboat coxswain Guy Gibson said his crew and the USAF Osprey personnel learned a lot

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