The walls of 751 Squadron’s crew room are quite a sight. Almost every inch of space is covered by a sea of luminous orange life vests, each one telling the story of a lifesaving SAR mission. A closer look reveals personal inscriptions, handwritten on every vest. The date of the mission. The names of the crew. The exact coordinates of the rescue and most importantly of all, the number of lives saved.
It is a visible and very sobering reminder of 751 Squadron’s motto para que outros vivam, which translates into English as "so that others may live". This motto has been tested to the extreme countless times since the squadron’s formation in 1978. Over the past 47 years, crews have saved more than 5,100 lives. And every day, that number rises.
An extraordinary SAR pedigree
751 Squadron operates from Base Aérea No.6 in Montijo, just across the mouth of the Tagus River from the Portuguese capital Lisbon. The base itself is enormous and perfectly located.
A minute’s flying time to the west and aircraft are over the North Atlantic. Such proximity is important. When every second can be the difference between life and death, speed of response is everything.
Deputy Squadron Leader, Major Rodolfo Curto describes the unique scenario facing the Merlin fleet: “The number one challenge is our Area of Responsibility. We cover an area about the same size as Europe – that’s more than 5.6 million square kilometres. It spans roughly half of the North Atlantic and represents the second largest of Area of Responsibility anywhere in the world, behind only Canada.
"Something like 90% of our missions are over water. When you factor in the extreme weather conditions of the North Atlantic and the fact that we respond to emergencies which can be hundreds of kilometres from the nearest land, we need to be prepared for every kind of situation. The key is teamwork. We expect the best and prepare for the worst.
"We also have the right helicopter for the mission. The Merlin is perfect for what we need. It has the combination of exceptional range, capability, and performance to operate successfully in this incredibly harsh environment.”
How the fleet operates
The Portuguese Air Force operates a fleet of 12 AW101 Merlins, maintaining SAR alert readiness across three bases. As well as Montijo on the mainland, there is a base at Terceira Island in the Azores—the archipelago of nine islands located around 1,600km west of Portugal—and a third location at Porto Santo in Madeira. The Azores base is home to 752 Squadron, which operates in tandem with 751 Squadron to provide SAR cover 24/7, 365 days a year.
SAR is the primary role for the fleet, accounting for around 80% of missions. However, the Merlin also performs tactical airlift operations. Four aircraft—tail numbers 9, 10, 11 and 12—are in a combat search and rescue (CSAR) configuration. A further two Merlins are configured for fisheries protection.
For the SAR mission, there is a crew of five: Pilot in command, co-pilot, hoist/systems operator, rescue swimmer, and flight nurse. It is clear from speaking to the crew that every mission relies on perfect co-ordination between each crew member. It’s also obvious how much they trust and respect each other. “We are only as strong as the weakest link in the chain,” explains Major Curto. “We train for many hours, to the point that every action becomes instinctive. Everyone understands the part they play, and we are all completely committed to what we do. It’s the only way.”
751 Squadron history
The squadron was formed in 1978 and originally operated a fleet of SA-330 Puma helicopters. The arrival of the AW101 Merlin in 2005 heralded a new era of capability, almost doubling the squadron’s radius of action and enabling crews to operate at night, with access to latest generation technology.
Going the full distance
Our visit coincides almost exactly with the 20th anniversary of the Merlin entering service with the Portuguese Air Force. There is no time for the crews on call to celebrate the milestone.
Two simultaneous alerts come in. The first involves an elderly man on board a cruise ship who has suffered a suspected stroke. The second is for a casualty with reported internal bleeding. A Merlin is dispatched and the crew performs consecutive rescues to transport each casualty to the mainland.
Is this normal? Two alerts at the same time? “Two on the same day, yes. Two at exactly the same moment, it’s rare,” explains Rescue Swimmer, Senior Master Sergeant Ivo Pinto, who is acting as our guide.
Crews have to be in a constant state of readiness. During daylight hours that means being in the air within 30 minutes of an alert (45 minutes in the Azores and Madeira). At night, the readiness state is two hours.
Pinto says that the squadron is called to the aid of all types of vessel. Merchant ships, yachts, cruise ships, fishing trawlers. Some are close to shore, other hundreds of kilometres away in the open ocean. “The shipping lanes close to shore are a transit route and extremely busy. But then we can also be called to incidents three flight hours away in the North Atlantic. This is why the bases in the Azores and Madeira are vital. They extend our range significantly.”
For SAR missions beyond 120nm, Merlin crews are accompanied by fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft, which will typically arrive on scene first to provide advance information to the Merlin crew. “This means there is no time wasted when we arrive on station,” says Pinto. “We can maximise every moment to perform the rescue.
"The furthest from shore we have ever conducted a rescue is 375nm. It requires precision planning, a clear understanding of weather conditions, as well accurate calculations on things like fuel burn.”
Captain Paulo Ribeiro – Flight Nurse
“We deal with every kind of medical emergency you can imagine. Heart attacks, strokes, crush injuries, broken limbs. When we arrive at the scene of the incident, every second matters. It is often several flight hours from the nearest hospital and without immediate intervention, the casualty may not survive. So, we take the medical care directly to the patient.
"Prior to joining the Air Force I worked in a hospital and have extensive Emergency Room experience. I then decided to take a different career path. To qualify as a flight nurse requires a very high level of training in areas such as advanced life support and trauma care. There are currently seven of us performing this role in 751 Squadron.
"As well as treating the patient inside the helicopter, there are times when the casualty needs to be stabilised on board a vessel. In this case, the flight nurse and the rescue swimmer are hoisted down together so that we can triage the patient immediately on scene.”
Senior Master Sergeant Ivo Pinto – Rescue Swimmer
“It takes a certain kind of person and mentality to be a rescue swimmer. I describe it jokingly as ‘intelligent insanity’. By that I mean, we need to have a clear approach to managing risk because we are the ones going into the water.
"There is a physical side to it. Getting accepted to be a rescue swimmer is hard. Something like 75% of candidates fail the initial physical test. There are also medical and psychological exams, followed by a rigorous training programme with the squadron.
"You need to have strong communication skills and mental resilience because you are dealing with life and death situations. You want every rescue to be successful. Sometimes it doesn’t work out and that can be hard to deal with.
"I joined the Air Force as a Comms Operator in 2000 and served in Afghanistan among other places before applying to be a rescue swimmer in 2009. The best part of the job is seeing the seeing the faces of the people you are rescuing. You know that you are getting them back safely to their family.”
Final impressions
Spending time with 751 Squadron is a humbling experience. They are a team in every sense of the word. Warm and welcoming. Courageous but down-to-earth. Ready to put their lives on the line every day. Yet, also in need of a reminder that what they do is not normal. As Systems Operator Master Sergeant Nuno Soares says: “You fly so many missions that it can become routine, but then you step back and you think, no, it’s not a normal job. We are here to save lives.”
Para que outros vivam. So that others may live.