page_title: No. 330 Squadron RNoAF
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: No. 330 Squadron RNoAF / Operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Helicopter from the No. 330 Squadron RNoAF demonstrating rescue operation at an air show in central Oslo
context_page_description: No. 330 Squadron RNoAF is a helicopter unit of the Royal Norwegian Air Force and is Norway's military search and rescue service. The squadron operates ten Westland Sea King helicopters based at six airbases along the coast. Headquartered at Sola Air Station, the squadron has detachments at Rygge, Florø, Ørland, Bodø and Banak. The unit's primary duty is search and rescue, with secondary duties consisting of air ambulance, disaster relief and special operations support.
  The squadron has its roots in the No. 330 Squadron RAF, which conducted maritime surveillance, Arctic convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare during the Second World War. It was established on Iceland on 25 April 1941, where it operated Northrop N-3PB and Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplanes. It relocated to RAF Oban in Scotland on 23 January 1943 and adopted Short Sunderland flying boats in the same role. It relocated to Sola in June 1945, where it operated mostly as an airline until December, when it was deactivated.
  The unit was reactivated between 20 July 1953 and 5 July 1958 to operate the Republic F-84G Thunderjet fighters, first based at Gardermoen Air Station and from 1956 at Rygge.
context_section_description: The 330 Squadron is part of the 137th Air Wing of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is based at Sola Air Station, with detachments at Florø, Ørland, Bodø and Banak. The unit's primary role is search and rescue. The squadron is funded through a cooperation between the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Operationally the squadron is under the command of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Southern Norway (JRCC SN) and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway (JRCC NN), respectively. Norway has signed agreements with Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the United Kingdom and Russia which under given circumstances may result in the 330 Squadron operating within these countries' territories.
  The squadron operates twelve Westland Sea King helicopters. Two are located on each base at any given time, except for Florø which only has one helicopter. Up to two helicopters are on long-term maintenance at any time. At all bases at least one of the helicopters is on stand-by at any time.
  The helicopters are manned by two pilots, a systems operator, a navigator, a technician/lift operator, a rescue swimmer and an anaesthesiologist. Five of these are military personnel, while the anaesthesiologists work for the local health trust and are funded through them.
  The Sea Kings fly a combined 4,500 hours per year. Half of these are used for missions, the remainder for training. Because the unit operates under military rules, it has a stricter training regime than civilian operators. It can also operate under more severe weather conditions. The bases have on-call rooms and a crew on duty at all times. The squadron aims as an average scrambling time of 15 minutes; this varies between 10 and 25 minutes depending on the time of day, the layout of the base and preparations.
  The 330 Squadron is part of the National Air Ambulance Service. It carries out about 800 missions per year, or about ten percent of the total helicopter ambulance missions in Norway. The unit's helicopters are used when the ordinary helicopter ambulances (Eurocopter EC135, EC145 and AgustaWestland AW139) are unable to operate due to weather; missions in which a large cabin is needed such as due to the number of patients or an incubator; and in areas where the Sea Kings are closer and areas where there is no ordinary air ambulance service. Ambulance use must be permitted by the JRCCs.
  When not used for SAR missions, the Sea Kings may be used for auxiliary and transport missions within the armed forces, assisting the Norwegian Police Service, aerial firefighting and anti-pollution.
caption: A demonstration of a rescue
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