Past three months the Portuguese Navy Helicopter 19Th Detachment Fénix Flight went on a mission in the Aden Gulf against piracy aboard the Portuguese Frigate N.R.P. "D. Francisco de Almeida".
The mission took about three months but we have been in the area of operation just about two months and the rest as passed in transit from and to Portugal. Our journey started at August the 15Th and lasted until November the 15Th the day of our return to our home base near Lisbon.
During the transit to the operation area the ship and helicopter detachment spent most of the time training for the upcoming mission, training procedures and means of operation related to the type of mission and to maintain the qualifications of both aircrew and ground crew up to date.
Our first stop was in Greece on the beautiful island of Crete at a military base near Shania known as Souda Bay. Because of maintenance issues I had the opportunity to visit Shania Airport and Military Air Base operated by the Greek the American and at that time and because of the Libya operations also used by the French and the Italian. Well a pilot among airplanes what more can I ask for this Christmas?
Here some pictures of my stay in Crete. Some are images air to ground from the helicopter and other of the air base, hope you enjoy them.
From this position to the bottom Photos by: Roberto Cachaço
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