Farewell to the Third Squadron of the Spanish Navy, but not to its AB-212 helicopters

This Tuesday, July 30, the Spanish Navy held the farewell ceremony for its Third Squadron and its helicopters.

The AB-212 'Gato' helicopters of the Spanish Navy seen up close and in great detail
Members of the 3rd Squadron of the Spanish Navy show their AB-212 helicopters

The event, held at the Rota Naval Base, served to say goodbye to the second oldest unit of the Spanish Navy's Aircraft Flotilla. This unit was founded in 1965 and began flying with Agusta-Bell AB-204B helicopters, the initial version of the famous Huey.

The Third Squadron received four AB-204Bs in 1965, perhaps the reason why the unit’s emblem featured four cats, as “Cat” was its radio callsign since its founding. The AB-204Bs were equipped for anti-submarine warfare, being able to carry AS-11 and AS-12 missiles, Mk.44 torpedoes, and M-200 rocket launchers, each capable of launching 19 2.75-inch Mk.4 rockets.

The AB-204Bs of the Third Squadron began to be replaced by AB-212s in 1974. Seven units of this helicopter arrived in Rota until 1980 and the Spanish Navy received a total of fourteen AB-212s, of which half are currently in service.

The AB-212 has been an excellent multipurpose helicopter, used in troop transport missions, fire support, logistics transport, medical evacuation, search and rescue, maritime surveillance, etc. In the Spanish Navy, they have become highly appreciated helicopters thanks to their great versatility and low logistical footprint. For years, they have been routinely deployed on the Santa María Class frigates (F-80), on the Galicia Class amphibious assault ships and on the "Juan Carlos I" L-61 aircraft carrier.

Between 2015 and 2018, the Navy's AB-212s underwent a modernization process, being equipped with a cockpit with digital screens. It is a shame that only six years after completing that process, these helicopters are decommissioned a year before the arrival of their replacements, the NH-90 MSPT.

The personnel of the Third Squadron will be transferred to a new unit, the Fourteenth Squadron, officially created in May of this year and which will be in charge of operating the new NH-90 MSPT, a maritime transport variant of this European helicopter manufactured by Airbus Helicopters, based on the NH-90 GSPA Standard 3 used by the Spanish Army. The Spanish Navy plans to receive seven NH-90 MSPTs between 2025 and 2026.

It should be noted that the farewell to the Third Squadron of the Navy does not mean goodbye to the AB-212s, since these helicopters will be transferred to the Sixth Maneuver Helicopter Battalion (BHELMA VI) of the Spanish Army, created in 1986 and based in Los Rodeos, Tenerife. This unit operates three AB-212s purchased in the 1980s and which have not been modernized, unlike the Navy's AB-212s. These three AB-212s of BHELMA VI should have already been retired in 2017, and will surely be decommissioned after the arrival of the naval AB-212s.

I dedicate this entry as a tribute to all the personnel of the Third Squadron, especially to its Fallen. The memory they have left in all these years of service to the Spanish Navy is already indelible, and that memory will always be linked to the familiar sound of the two-bladed rotor of their "Gatos". BRAVO ZULU!

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Main photo: Armada Española.