A Royal Navy Sea King pilot, on exchange to the Royal Australian Navy RAN, saved the lives of four firefighters by accurately dumping 1,500 litres of water on a 40ft wall of fire, writes Graham Davis, assistant editor Australian Navy News.

The life-saving water drop, which also protected 20 homes, came during the 21-day 'Black Christmas' bushfire emergency in New South Wales, which saw 150 homes destroyed in 700,000 hectares of bushland.

Some 15,000 firefighters from across Australia and New Zealand were deployed during the crisis.

The RAN committed 300 of its own personnel, scrambling nine helicopters from HMAS Albatross at Nowra, 75 miles south of Sydney.

It was from 817 Sqn there that Lt Cdr Terry Tyack, in command of Sea King 'Shark 20' was called in on water-bombing missions around the village of Cudmirrah, south east of Nowra. With him were Lt Peter Wynter, Lt Grant Anson and Lt Karly Pidgeon.

On January 7 four members of the Falls Creek Rural Fire Service had been sent to protect a row of homes from an approaching bushfire at Cudmirrah.

They were led by Sean Chipman, a leading seaman aircraft technician from Albatross who, like many sailors living in the region, had joined the local volunteer fire brigade.

"It was 2.30pm and the fire was coming very fast through the bush," Sean recalled.

"The flames were about 300 metres away. The air was full of sparks and embers. The heat was intense and we were between the fire and the houses. We were concerned for our lives.

"Suddenly a Squirrel helicopter arrived overhead which called in reinforcements.

"Then a Navy Sea King appeared and dropped the contents of its Bambi bucket on the head of the fire."

The water damped down the worst of the fire allowing ground crews to move forward and extinguish it.

Sean credited the Sea King - "an angel with rotor blades instead of wings" - with saving the four lives and 20 homes, and later took time out to visit 817 Sqn to thank Lt Cdr Tyack and his crewmembers.