Around 60 Royal Navy personnel of 846 Naval Air Squadron are helping keep the peace around Basra in Iraq, but heat and dust are making their task just that bit more difficult.

The squadron’s five Sea King Mk 4 assault helicopters, based at Basra airport, are supporting ground troops in their mission to maintain law and order.

Senior Pilot Lt Cdr Niall Griffin said: “We are effectively a force multiplier. We can move a small number of troops around to cover a large area, setting them down to set up random roadblocks – known as Eagle Vehicle Checkpoints – to help in the prevention of smuggling, arms trafficking and so on.

“We are involved in reconnaissance sorties, covering oil pipelines and power lines to prevent sabotage and oil smuggling.

“Another important role is to be on standby for casualty evacuation. And the very presence of helicopters seen overhead has a great deterrent value.”

Flying hours in Basra are considerably more than they would normally undertake at their home base, RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset.

But the extreme heat limits the times when the Sea Kings can fly, with the fierce midday sun effectively grounding them. Frequent sand and dust storms do not help helicopter operations, either.

The aircrew at least get a chance to see some of Iraq – the maintenance crews are largely restricted to Basra airport during their eight-week tour.

The Senior Maintenance Rating is CPO Derek Scott, who said: “Our task is to produce three serviceable aircraft each day – not always easy as there’s a lot of pressure on engines.

“Although these Sea Kings were re-engined for desert operations, we still have to closely monitor them.

“The lads are working extremely well in these conditions, but it really takes four or five weeks to get over the heat stress and get fully acclimatised.”

With temperatures still over 50 degrees centigrade, AEM Ben Naylor said: “All the metal is too hot to touch in the daytime. The aircraft don’t fly when the temperature exceeds 45 degrees, but the servicing and maintenance still goes on.

“We are working a 24 hours on, 24 hours off routine, rigging up lighting at night to keep on working.”

AEM Craig Cairns, whose hands were blistered through handling hot metal, said: “The answer is to either wrap rags around the tools, or to keep the tools in a bucket of cold water.”

He said the temperature is actually cooling down now – a few weeks ago the mercury was touching 60 degrees.

Squadron personnel live in the Airport Hotel, close to the aircraft, but although it sounds comfortable it is plagued by power cuts – which cuts refrigeration and air conditioning – and the water and sewage systems do not work. Instead, personnel use portable toilets and mobile shower units outside, and bottled water is provided.

Senior Pilot Lt Cdr Niall Griffin is proud of his team: “I’m actually staggered that they’ve all kept their chins up and just keep on the job.

“We’re working here with units of the Army Air Corps and RAF too, and all three services get on well – it’s a truly joint services operation.”

The current team will soon be relieved by squadron colleagues, and after one more stint there will be an abrupt change of scenery – in early 2004, 846 Squadron is scheduled to fly to Norway, swapping plus 50 degrees for minus 25.