Sea King Training Unit

Formed on 1 Dec 1977 as a Royal Navy unit and commissioned on 17 Feb 1978 at RNAS Culdrose, home of the RN Sea King fleet. Its role was to train RAF air and ground crews in the SAR role with the newly acquired Sea King HAR.3. By Aug 1978, crews were proficient enough to begin feeding 202 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth. It then became a two airframe unit (with access to the Culdrose Sea King simulator) attached to 706 NAS from Oct 1979, until it moved to RAF St.Mawgan during 1993. It was known as the Sea King Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) from 1 Apr 1996. It was disbanded on 16 Oct 1996, when its airframes and personnel became 203(R) Squadron.